The Rev. Tim Blackmon speaks at Wheaton College on Nov. 18, 2019. Video screengrab via Facebook/Wheaton College
Need to know: Friday, July 10, 2020
Racial slur, ‘The Idiot’s Guide to Kama Sutra’ led to chaplain’s firing, says Wheaton College
Meanwhile, the former chaplain says his firing comes after he shared theological articles the college ‘deemed ideologically problematic.’
Vatican-owned hospital makes history by separating conjoined twins
'When you encounter lives that can be saved, it must be done. We cannot and we must not turn our gaze away,' said Mariella Enoc, the president of the hospital Bambino Gesú, where the twins were successfully separated days before their second birthday.
Jehovah’s Witnesses move global conventions online amid COVID-19 pandemic
Jehovah's Witnesses have moved their large-scale conventions, which have been held every year since 1897, online due to COVID-19.
How wearing masks and masculinity got confused
Some of the most robust arguments against masks have also come from some of the political and religious right’s paragons of performative masculinity, writes Tara Isabella Burton.
To fight racism, we need to confront religion’s racist past
There’s nothing ‘past’ about American racism — it is our present, and will be our future unless we abandon the triumphalism of the country's founding faith, writes Simran Jeet Singh.
On religion, the Supreme Court protects the right to be different
Recent decisions are about safeguarding pluralism, not taking sides in the culture wars, writes Michael W. McConnell.
Latest news from RNS
Kanye’s running for president — and his platform has a lot of God in it
The rapper hinted that his presidential run may be his most overt fusion of faith and politics yet, with religion impacting everything from his decision to run to his views on vaccines.
Court: Some employers can refuse to offer free birth control
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's ruling could leave more than 70,000 women without free contraception.
Breath, the divine metaphor, becomes a hallmark of America’s twin crises
The normally simple, normally unconscious act of drawing breath has come to define the United States’ most pressing problems. What the world’s faith traditions have to say about the meaning of our first act as humans.
More views from RNS
Religious exceptionalism gains ground at the Supreme Court
(RNS) — But significant questions remain.
As a Sufi singer, I believe the sounds of world religions can cultivate compassion during COVID-19
Intercultural listening cultivates our compassion and humanity during a crisis, writes Shumaila Hemani.
President Erdogan, preserve Hagia Sophia as a church
(RNS) — The Quran says that God’s name is extolled abundantly in churches, synagogues and mosques, which is reason enough to protect all such places of worship. But respect for others’ holy places extends deep into Muslim history.
