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In LA, activists ‘summon spiritual energy’ to seek justice for Keenan Anderson
By Alejandra Molina — January 15, 2023
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — A vigil on Saturday for Keenan Anderson was not a protest but a 'spiritual gathering,' said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter.
As smudging goes mainstream, concerns rise over appropriation, overharvesting
By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 12, 2023
(RNS) — Along with the popularity of white sage comes concern about cultural appropriation, as well as overharvesting.
Dispute over abuse hotline reveals how far the SBC still has to go
By Bob Smietana — January 11, 2023
(RNS) — A group of Southern Baptist leaders is working to implement a set of reforms to respond better to sexual abuse. But many survivors still distrust them.
Cardinal George Pell, conservative force at the Vatican, dies at 81
By Claire Giangravé — January 10, 2023
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pell was praised for his forceful efforts to reform Vatican finances, but his life and career were marred in recent years due to sexual abuse allegations in his native Australia.
Chicago pastor James Meeks bids a tearful farewell after 38 years at Salem Baptist
By Bob Smietana — January 9, 2023
(RNS) — After 38 years as a pastor, Meeks said he wanted to leave while his church was still doing well. The Rev. Charlie Dates, who grew up at Salem, will become pastor of one of Chicago's largest congregations. The farewell service was attended by politicians and friends, including Jesse Jackson and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
William Barber points to NFL players’ humanity in prayer for Damar Hamlin
By Kathryn Post — January 8, 2023
(RNS) — The league is still reeling from Hamlin’s on-field injury on Monday night.
Who are the Christian nationalists? A taxonomy for the post-Jan. 6 world
By Bob Smietana — January 6, 2023
(RNS) — A guide to emerging Christian nationalist voices.
Faith leaders call for Putin to extend Christmas truce into a permanent cease-fire
By Kathryn Post — January 5, 2023
(RNS) — ‘There are always risks in peace. But there’s a bigger risk in war,’ said one pastor calling Ukraine to embrace the truce.
What to expect at the funeral Mass for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI
By Claire Giangravé — January 4, 2023
(RNS) — Benedict XVI’s funeral Mass will be a first even in the centuries-old history of the Catholic Church.
Benedict, the ‘other pope,’ dies at 95, leaving behind a unique and complex legacy
By Claire Giangravé — December 31, 2022
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign in 600 years, paved the way into the new millennium, but struggled to reconcile his traditional Catholic views with a world that he considered to be ‘under the dictatorship of relativism.’
At the signing of the marriage act, these two gay Christian men took the next step
By Yonat Shimron — December 30, 2022
(RNS) — Rod Snyder and Alex Orton are among thousands of LGBTQ Christians fighting for the acceptance they were denied by their families, churches and schools.
The most significant religion stories of 2022
By RNS staff — December 29, 2022
(RNS) — Faith communities and organizations were at the center of some of the year's most indelible moments.
Remembering faith leaders who died in 2022: preachers, writers and interpreters of faith
By Adelle M. Banks — December 28, 2022
(RNS) — In this year we lost people who were known for their political office but for whom religion played roles expectedly and unexpectedly.
The 10 most significant Jewish news stories of 2022
By A. James Rudin — December 27, 2022
(RNS) — Though dogged by a pernicious antisemitic wave, the news from the Jewish world had its share of hopeful moments.
How the battle over Christian nationalism often starts with homeschooling
By Bob Smietana and Emily McFarlan Miller — December 23, 2022
(RNS) — Some of the most popular homeschool curriculum textbooks teach that the first Europeans to arrive in Virginia and Massachusetts made a covenant with God to Christianize the land.