Interpreter Valarie Holmes portrays Angela, one of the first enslaved Africans to arrive in Virginia, at Historic Jamestowne on March 30, 2019. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks
Need to know: Friday, August 2, 2019
Angela, a First African, tells her story in Jamestown, but her faith is a mystery
An interpreter attempts to fill in the gaps even as she and scholars of the 400-year history of enslaved Africans say they believe this particular woman was nevertheless a believer of some sort.
From New York to Alabama, blacks worshipped in own spaces before slavery’s end
As the nation marks the 400th anniversary of the forced arrival of Africans in Virginia, a Harlem church joins others that have represented the enduring faith of slaves, free blacks and their descendants.
Montgomery, Ala., churches part of city’s 200-year history of slavery, civil rights
'It is the cradle of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the modern civil rights movement,' said a local church historian.
Leaders of religious right balk at labeling Trump a racist
While some faith leaders have rebuked President Donald Trumps for a series of tweets they find offensive, his religious right supports claim the president's remarks are not racist and show his tough leadership style.
The scandal of Barr’s reinstating the death penalty
Church leaders should be calling him out, writes Mark Silk.
More presidential candidates are visiting mosques than ever before
Prior to the 2020 election, presidential candidates rarely — if ever — visited a mosque on the campaign trail. But that’s changing.
Latest news from RNS
Babylon Bee, Snopes feud over fact-checking satire
The popular fact-checking site Snopes and the Babylon Bee, a religious humor site, have feuded online over the difference between 'fake news' and satire.
SC Protestant-only ministry changes course, opens its doors to Catholics
Earlier this month, Miracle Hill Ministries announced it would allow Catholics to serve as parents to foster children in its government-funded foster care agency.
More churches are checking the national sex offender registry. Is it helping?
Running potential employees through the national sex offender registry may be useful, but the data it provides is limited.
More views from RNS
Will the Catholic Church self-destruct or bridge the partisan divide?
American Catholics are almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, which means the church can either self-destruct or bridge the partisan divide, writes Thomas Reese.
Have we no decency? A response to President Trump
When does silence become complicity? What will it take for us all to say, with one voice, that we have had enough? The question is less about the president's sense of decency, but of ours, write Mariann Edgar Budde, Randolph Marshall Hollerith and Kelly Brown Douglas.
Why do racists hate ethnic and religious clothing?
Seeing someone dressed in unfamiliar attire, like a Punjabi kurta pajama, may cause confusion or raise an eyebrow. It should not be a cause for hate, writes Simran Jeet Singh.
