News
Who will President Joe Biden listen to on faith matters?
By Jack Jenkins and Emily McFarlan Miller — November 8, 2020
(RNS) — The nation's second Catholic president is likely to bring a more restrained, interfaith approach to his faith-based politics than his predecessor.
Joe Biden, president-elect at last, was shaped by a very American Catholic faith
By Jack Jenkins — November 7, 2020
(RNS) — The way he manages his allegiance to Catholicism gives a glimpse of how Biden will govern as he takes hold of an office he has sought since 1988.
5 Faith-facts about VP-elect Kamala Harris, a Black Baptist with a Hindu family
By Yonat Shimron — November 7, 2020
(RNS) — Few, if any, vice presidential candidates have had as much exposure to the world’s religions as Kamala Harris, the 55-year-old senator from California whom Joe Biden picked Tuesday (Aug. 11) as his running mate.
Southwestern Baptist adjunct professor, wife, struck and killed by drag racer
By Bob Smietana — November 7, 2020
(RNS) — A Baptist theologian and 'just a good guy' and his wife were killed Friday, leaving behind four children.
Photos of the Week
By Kit Doyle — November 6, 2020
(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes the U.S. presidential election, Day of the Dead commemorations and more.
5 faith facts about Whitney Houston, set to be inducted in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
By Adelle M. Banks — November 6, 2020
(RNS) — 'On any stage that I stand on I praise the Lord; I claim him everywhere I go,' Houston said at the 1998 Dove Awards.
Evangelical asylum-seekers stuck in Mexico hold prayer vigil for the US election
By Bob Smietana — November 6, 2020
(RNS) — 'Their lives and the lives of the children depend on the outcome of the election,' said Alma Ruth, founder of the Texas-based Practice Mercy Foundation.
‘It took a long time to get here’: Mauree Turner becomes Oklahoma’s first Muslim lawmaker
By Alejandra Molina — November 6, 2020
(RNS) — The 27-year-old Black, nonbinary community organizer said she has heard from many who 'didn’t feel like they had a place in politics.'
Study finds that queer Christians quit the church twice as much as others
By Kathryn Post — November 6, 2020
(RNS) — A study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion strongly associated queer identity with a decision to attend church less frequently or stop going altogether.
Exit polls show few changes in the religious vote
By Yonat Shimron — November 5, 2020
(RNS) — Support for President Donald Trump among white evangelicals remained constant. Catholics split their vote. And non-Christians voted overwhelmingly for Joe Biden.
A former Catholic school-turned-Nashville swingers club is reborn as homeless shelter
By Bob Smietana — November 5, 2020
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Churches and other faith-based groups form the backbone of the emergency shelter system for the homeless. But COVID-19 means many shelters are having to shut down or find creative ways to open.
Pope Francis attempts to tackle sexual abuse globally and in his own backyard
By Claire Giangravé — November 5, 2020
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — This ongoing clergy sex abuse trial at the Vatican will be a litmus test for the efficacy of Pope Francis’ reforms.
Nearly 2,000 Catholic nuns sign letter demanding Trump ‘count the votes’
By Jack Jenkins — November 5, 2020
(RNS) — ‘It may be frustrating that we do not know immediately who won our 2020 Presidential election. Nonetheless, democracy is worth the hard work and the wait,’ said Sister Simone Campbell.
Five states elect first-ever Muslim lawmakers, from Oklahoma to Delaware
By Aysha Khan — November 5, 2020
(RNS) — On Tuesday, voters in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Oklahoma and Wisconsin all elected their state legislatures’ first-ever Muslim lawmakers.
Celeb pastor Carl Lentz, ousted from Hillsong NYC, confesses he was ‘unfaithful’ to his wife
By Roxanne Stone — November 4, 2020
NEW YORK (RNS) — An email sent to church members on Nov. 4 cited the reason for Lentz’s termination as ‘leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures.’
