Congress
Religious makeup of the new Congress overwhelmingly Christian
By Emily McFarlan Miller — January 3, 2017
(RNS) Nearly 91 percent of members of the 115th Congress convening Tuesday (Jan. 3) describe themselves as Christian, according to a new analysis by Pew Research Center.
Vandals paint swastikas around home of Indian-American, Christian candidate
By Lauren Markoe — October 25, 2016
(RNS) Someone sprayed swastikas on Peter Jacob's home.
A year later, Pope Francis’ address to Congress looks even more prophetic
By John Gehring — September 21, 2016
WASHINGTON (RNS) But will Americans, and our politicians, heed his beautiful words on the common good in the midst of this ugly presidential election?
Politicians ignore Reason Rally at their peril
By Tom Krattenmaker — June 1, 2016
(RNS) A glass-half-full assessment of the secular movement shows a level of progress and momentum that promises to make it harder for politicians to disregard, writes Tom Krattenmaker.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is discriminatory. Let’s fix it
By guest — May 18, 2016
(RNS) RFRA is being used as a vehicle for institutions and individuals to argue that their faith justifies myriad harms -- to equality, to dignity, to health and to core American values. This is wrong.
Why Pro-Life Democrats are disappearing
By Tobin Grant — May 10, 2016
In six years, the number of pro-life Democrats in Congress has dropped from forty to just two.
What naming ISIS’ actions ‘genocide’ would mean to Christians (COMMENTARY)
By Jennifer A. Marshall — March 16, 2016
(RNS) To not say the truth would give Islamic militants a green light, says one Iraqi priest.
For Syrian refugees, faith groups want a US welcome mat
By Lauren Markoe — November 19, 2015
(RNS) Religious groups are pushing back against a wave of opposition toward Syrian refugees and are working to preserve the U.S. as a haven for them.
Turkish faith movement secretly funded 200 trips for lawmakers and staff
By Paul Singer — October 30, 2015
WASHINGTON — A Turkish religious movement has secretly funded as many as 200 trips to Turkey for members of Congress and staff since 2008, violating House rules and possibly federal law, a USA TODAY investigation has found.
Taxpayers fund Christian-focused congressional prayer caucus
By Paul Singer — September 29, 2015
The caucus meets weekly in the U.S. Capitol to defend the role of (mostly) Christian faith and prayer in the U.S. government and support a conservative vision of religious liberty.
What Pope Francis can teach the US Catholic Church about Thomas Merton (COMMENTARY)
By Rose Marie Berger — September 25, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) It is time for the Catholic Church in America to restore Thomas Merton to his rightful place as an exemplar of Catholic faith.
In his own words: Transcript of Pope Francis’ speech to Congress
By Religion News Service — September 24, 2015
(RNS) Original text of Pope Francis' speech to Congress on Sept. 24, 2015
Pope Francis to Congress: ‘Stop fighting, start working!’
By David Gibson — September 24, 2015
(RNS) Francis carefully laid out a vision of political cooperation for the common good -- one that highlighted economic injustice as a chief threat to family life and stressed the moral imperative to care for the environment.
Pope Francis’ real challenge to Washington’s pols: Be politicians, not partisans! (ANALYSIS)
By David Gibson — September 18, 2015
(RNS) As Washington prepares to welcome the pontiff, pols and pundits are trying to figure out if Francis’ appearances will help, or hurt, one party or the other.
TONY CAMPOLO: Why Christians should vote for Hillary
By Tony Campolo — April 13, 2015
The former spiritual advisor to President Bill Clinton says he supports Hillary even though he is pro-life. He lays out why he thinks other Christians should too.