homepage featured
German Catholics’ confusing attempt to allow Communion for Protestants
By Tom Heneghan — July 12, 2018
(RNS) — New guidelines intended to allow German Protestants to receive Catholic Eucharist with their Catholic spouses has left the country's Catholics caught between its majority’s desire for a relaxation of the rules and the limits to change in the world’s largest church.
Christian film producers plan movie about Thai cave rescue
By Yonat Shimron — July 11, 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — The producers behind Christian films like 'God's Not Dead' are already in Thailand with plans to develop a movie about the 18-day saga of the soccer team trapped in a flooded cave.
Supreme Court nominee dishes out mac and cheese to homeless
By Yonat Shimron — July 11, 2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — Brett Kavanaugh stood outside Catholic Charities in downtown Washington, where he spent an hour dishing out mac and cheese to a long line of people.
Inside the sacred danger of Thailand’s caves
By Andrew Alan Johnson — July 11, 2018
(The Conversation) In Thailand, caves like the one the soccer team was trapped in are said to be ruled by nature spirits who offer their followers something that Buddhism cannot: assistance with love, money, and other things monks do not provide. At the same time, the spirits pose a danger if slighted.
Catholic-heavy Supreme Court moves right as the church moves left
By Jacob Lupfer — July 11, 2018
(RNS) — The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court would drive the ideology of the Catholics on the court further to the right and exacerbate the already heightened angst about the institution’s ever more conservative Catholic majority.
Why has the Enneagram become so popular among Christians?
By Jana Riess — July 11, 2018
(RNS) — Why the uptick in interest in the Enneagram, especially among Christians? Next week, I'm attending an international conference to find out.
After shuttering 700 churches, Rwanda proposes stricter clergy guidelines
By Fredrick Nzwili — July 11, 2018
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — After closing more than 700 churches and some mosques in March, Rwandan government officials have moved to institute guidelines for how faith groups operate in the majority-Christian East African country.
Faith leaders on Kavanaugh: Defender or destroyer of religious liberty?
By Adelle M. Banks — July 10, 2018
WASHINGTON (RNS) — As debates over faith and culture continue, secularists worry Kavanaugh could be a 'disaster' for the principle of church-state separation, while some conservatives think he will be a staunch defender of religious liberties.
Martin Luther letter critical of Jews is up for auction
By Yonat Shimron — July 10, 2018
BOSTON (AP) — 'For these Jews are not Jews, but devils incarnate who curse our Lord,' Luther wrote.
Study links anti-Muslim discrimination with radicalization
By Yonat Shimron — July 10, 2018
(RNS) — It found pro-ISIS sympathy is most prevalent in communities with high levels of anti-Muslim sentiment.
5 faith facts on Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 9, 2018
(RNS) — President Trump has announced Brett Kavanaugh, 53, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit as his Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement late last month.
How I caused an earthquake in Israel
By Jeffrey Salkin — July 9, 2018
JERUSALEM (RNS) — A funny thing happened on the way to Jerusalem this past Shabbat.
Killings of Catholic priests in Africa raise fears that peacemakers are targets
By Fredrick Nzwili — July 9, 2018
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Following the killings of several priests in the Central African Republic, Catholic officials worry that clergy are being targeted by armed groups for their peacemaking efforts.
Haiti unrest strands a number of US church groups
By Yonat Shimron — July 9, 2018
(AP) — Church groups from South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Alabama are among those that haven't been able to leave, according to newspaper and television reports.
Photos of the Week
By Kit Doyle — July 7, 2018
(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes images from India, Japan, United States and more.