News
Former art studio of LA’s ‘pop art nun’ designated as historic monument
By Alejandra Molina — June 4, 2021
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The former art studio of the late Corita Kent, known as LA’s 'pop art nun,' had been slated for demolition to make way for additional parking.
Kenyan woman ‘marries’ the Holy Spirit in Anglican ceremony
By Fredrick Nzwili — June 4, 2021
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — A man who said he is her husband viewed the most recent ceremony differently: “There are not two marriages here. She is my wife.”
Falwell: Liberty University lawsuit is excuse to shame him
By Associated Press — June 4, 2021
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Jerry Falwell Jr. claims the suit focuses on his wife's personal life while not addressing his "actions as the leader of Liberty."
North Carolina House OKs allowing right-to-carry in churches at schools
By Associated Press — June 4, 2021
(AP) — The bill is an attempt by gun-rights advocates to put religious venues at schools on par with standalone places of worship.
“Dead end”: German cardinal offers to quit over church abuse
By Nicole Winfield and Kirsten Grieshaber — June 4, 2021
BERLIN (AP) — Cardinal Reinhard Marx, offered to resign as archbishop Friday over the Catholic Church's mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases, declaring that the church had arrived at “a dead end."
Calvin University’s first openly gay student body president paves a path
By Yonat Shimron — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — Claire Murashima’s role as a gay student body president directly challenged the school’s theological positions.
‘Green fluff’ brings the taste of church potlucks home during a pandemic year
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — ‘Like a church lady hug,’ green fluff and its many-hued counterparts have been a church potluck staple for generations.
‘We’ve been here all along’: Author pushes back against erasure of young Asian American Buddhists
By Alejandra Molina — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — In her debut book, ‘Be the Refuge,’ author and former Buddhist chaplain Chenxing Han asks: ‘Where are all the young adult Asian American Buddhists, and what can we learn from them?’
SBC sources: Paige Patterson made ‘black girl’ comments cited in Russell Moore letter
By Bob Smietana — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — Patterson was also critical of the Rev. Fred Luter, the SBC’s first Black president, saying Luter and other ‘ethnic’ leaders didn’t understand how important the denomination’s theology was.
PTL! Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain to star as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in biopic
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — The biopic also will depict a number of other evangelicals who were prominent during the 1980s, including Jerry Falwell Sr., Jimmy Swaggart and Pat Robertson.
Report: Number of mosques in US grows overall, but African American mosques in decline
By Joseph Hammond — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — The majority of America’s new purpose-built mosques are found in suburban areas, a shift that reflects the demographic footprint of Muslims in America.
Russell Moore parts from Southern Baptists personally as well as professionally
By Adelle M. Banks — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We want to be a home base for Dr. Moore and his family as he serves the body of Christ at large,’ said the lead pastor of Immanuel Nashville.
Leaked Russell Moore letter blasts SBC conservatives, sheds light on his resignation
By Paul O'Donnell and Bob Smietana — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — In a letter written more than a year before his resignation, Moore explained his troubles with the SBC leadership in bitterly frank terms. Then-President Donald Trump barely makes an appearance.
Russell Moore to ERLC trustees: ‘They want me to live in psychological terror’
By Religion News Service — June 2, 2021
(RNS) — In February 2020, the president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission defended himself after a second task force was mounted to investigate complaints against him.
White House science adviser to be sworn in on a 500-year-old Jewish text
By Jack Jenkins — June 2, 2021
WASHINGTON (RNS) — ‘The minute we realized the question was values, we all went to tikkun olam,’ said Eric Lander, incoming director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
