Race & Religion
Princeton Theological Seminary removes name of slaveholder from chapel
By Kathryn Post — January 27, 2022
(RNS) — Princeton Theological Seminary’s board unanimously voted to dissociate the name of slaveholder and anti-abolitionist Samuel Miller from the school’s chapel.
Will my book be banned?
By Jemar Tisby — January 26, 2022
(RNS) — The power of books to create new realities for readers makes banning books particularly heinous.
The unlikely story of America’s highest ranking Muslim soldier and TikTok favorite
By Joseph Hammond — January 24, 2022
(RNS) — A chance encounter with an army chaplain put Colonel Khallid Shabazz's military career on a different path.
Fund to preserve, assist Black churches gets $20M donation
By Jay Reeves — January 17, 2022
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The announcement about the donation from the Lilly Endowment was timed to coincide with the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday on Monday.
On MLK Day, King III implores Senate to act on voting rights
By Michael Warren and Jeff Martin — January 17, 2022
ATLANTA (AP) — A day before the U.S. Senate was expected to take up significant legislation on voting rights that is looking likely to fail, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s eldest son condemned federal lawmakers over their inaction. Speaking in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Martin Luther King III said though he was marking the federal holiday […]
What we won’t hear on Martin Luther King Day, and what we need to hear
By Cheryl Townsend Gilkes — January 17, 2022
(RNS) — Our memory of King’s ‘Dream’ speech has been reduced to sanitized sound bites.
New book examines the religious lives of people without homes
By Yonat Shimron — January 14, 2022
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Susan Dunlap's 'Shelter Theology' describes the faith of people living in a homeless shelter, many of whom believe God guides and blesses them.
Illinois marks ‘Muhammad Ali Day’ as boxer’s legacy continues
By Joseph Hammond — January 14, 2022
(RNS) — The date chosen, Ali’s birthday, happens to fall this year on the observance of Martin Luther King Day.
Hartford International University expands Black ministries with Howard Thurman Center
By Adelle M. Banks — January 12, 2022
(RNS) — ‘The center’s North Star will be Thurman’s insistence on social justice and responsibility within a spiritual framework,’ its director said.
10 up-and-coming faith influencers we wrote about (or published) in 2021
By Paul O'Donnell — December 30, 2021
(RNS) — 2021’s rising stars in religion were those speaking as much to social concerns as spiritual ones.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu: father of South Africa’s ‘rainbow nation’
By P. Pratap Kumar — December 28, 2021
(The Conversation) — Archbishop Tutu earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world.
Idaho church window once depicting Robert E. Lee now honors Black female bishop
By Adelle M. Banks — December 22, 2021
(RNS) — ‘We recognize this section of our window is more than a benign historical marker,’ the United Methodist church’s leaders said in 2020.
New documentary ‘Daughters of Eve’ imagines a Bible, and world, with women at the center
By Kathryn Post — December 15, 2021
(RNS) — The documentary invites Christians to reevaluate their beliefs about women's place in the Bible and the world.
Advent, race and the intimacy of Incarnation
By Robert P. Jones — December 3, 2021
(RNS) — If we take the Incarnation seriously, we have a responsibility to build a theology where all of humanity is assumed in the body of Jesus.
The Unite the Right rally changed her life. She now wants to defeat white nationalism.
By Yonat Shimron — November 26, 2021
(RNS) — Since that searing summer day four years ago, Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin has devoted herself to better understanding what happened and working to make sure it never happens again.
