RNS Morning Report: Protestant Foster Care; Weed And Faith; Iranian Broadcaster Detention

A room in one of Miracle Hill’s three group homes for children in foster care in South Carolina. RNS photo by Yonat Shimron

Need to know: Thursday, January 24, 2019

Government allows S.C. foster care group to keep Protestants-only policy

The exemption will allow Miracle Hill, a Greenville-based Christian ministry, to continue to accept only Protestant churchgoing parents to its federally funded foster care program.

Does God care if you smoke weed? Many Bay State faith groups say yeah, man

For many people of faith in the Bay State, legalization hasn’t burned away the moral issues that come with using drugs for fun.

Muslim groups condemn detention of Iranian broadcaster

Muslim civil rights organizations have joined press freedom and other human rights groups in questioning the detention of the American-born journalist.

With new ‘affirmation’ policy, American Bible Society loses LGBT staffers

The new policy allows the 203-year-old organization, which was founded to publish, distribute and translate the Bible, to let go of any LGBT employee who is not celibate.

Seeing each other in the public square: The lessons of Covington Catholic

The case of the Covington Catholic High School students reminds us that we always do violence when we fail to recognize each other as other selves, writes William Muller.

Studying the Declaration of Independence like it’s the Torah: One synagogue applies old methods to reflect on modern divisiveness

Amid the ceaseless divisiveness of national politics and political tension within the synagogue, Rabbi Michael Holzman hoped studying the texts in the same manner that Jews normally study scripture would help his congregants clarify their ideas of what it means to be American.

 


 

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