Slavery and Religion
Survey: Confederate memorials still divide Americans and religion is a big predictor
By Yonat Shimron — September 28, 2022
(RNS) — Majorities of Protestants, Catholics and Mormons support efforts to preserve Confederate monuments and memorials, a PRRI survey finds.
After Elizabeth: The spiritual implications of imperial succession
By Lisa Sharon Harper — September 15, 2022
Lag in slavery reparations from US Jesuits irks descendants
By Deepa Bharath — August 16, 2022
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Bart Barber wants the Southern Baptist Convention to regain its rural soul
By Riley Farrell — July 21, 2022
FARMERSVILLE, Texas (RNS) — The struggle to pull the SBC’s 13.7 million members ‘back from the brink’ has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Barber, a pastor from rural Texas.

Excavation of graves begins at site of colonial Black church
By Ben Finley — July 19, 2022
(AP) - If human remains are found in the plots that are being targeted, DNA tests and analyses of bones will be conducted, said Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg’s director of archaeology.

The Martinican bèlè dance – a celebration of land, spirit and liberation
By Camee Maddox-Wingfield — June 27, 2022
(The Conversation) — After years of marginalization, the bèlè dance has been embraced by a growing community who see it as a form of social and spiritual healing.

A pioneering Shabbat service marks a new way to observe Jewish Juneteenth
By Yonat Shimron — June 19, 2022
(RNS) —The Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat was the first Jewish service organized and led by Jews of color to mark the annual celebration of freedom that is now a federal holiday.

Descendants of enslaved people join dig on former Jesuit plantation
By Renée Roden — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — Vickie White Nelson, 49, has deep roots in southern Maryland. Her ancestor, Regis Gough, was enslaved there on a plantation owned by Jesuits.

James Forbes’ ode to Juneteenth calls on Americans to embrace the promise of freedom
By Yonat Shimron — June 18, 2021
(RNS) — The retired pastor's spoken word is not simply a paean to freedom. It’s a call to all Americans to face the reality of the nation’s history and the unfinished work of Juneteenth.

Michael Twitty’s ‘kosher soul’ cuisine offers an updated story of liberation
By Yonat Shimron — March 26, 2021
(RNS) — The Jewish culinary historian encourages people to celebrate their braided cultures. "Tradition is what you make," he says. His Passover Plate will look different from the one most Jews use.

Black Christians, don’t demonize African spirituality
By Darnise Martin — January 5, 2021
(RNS) — African elements give life to many churches, but outside of a Christian context, they are described as pagan and harmful.

Southern Baptist seminary presidents nix critical race theory
By Yonat Shimron — December 1, 2020
(RNS) — The seminary presidents may be reacting to factions within Southern Baptist circles that have complained the denomination is drifting to the left.

Alabama Southern Baptist pastor resigns after speaking at party for a KKK leader
By Yonat Shimron — July 30, 2020
(RNS) — Will Dismukes, who is also a Republican state representative, resigned from his church after offering an invocation at a birthday party honoring a Confederate general who was also the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

‘More than individual sin’ — Black pastors urge evangelicals to admit systemic racism
By Yonat Shimron — July 2, 2020
(RNS) — While liberal Christians have embraced the idea of social or collective sin, especially when it comes to racism, white evangelicals have typically resisted such notions as unbiblical. A Black Southern Baptist pastor is now calling them out on it.

Al Mohler, Southern Baptist leader, says he was ‘stupid’ to defend slavery in 1998 CNN interview
By Jonathan Merritt — May 15, 2020
(RNS) — The Rev. Al Mohler, longtime Southern Baptist leader, repudiated past comments defending slavery, calling them ‘stupid,’ says he is ashamed of seminary title with a link to slaveholder.
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