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‘Walk of Faith’ tour tells tale of Hollywood’s Christian beginnings
By Heather Adams — February 12, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The place sometimes known as 'Hollywood Babylon' was founded as a preserve of an abstinent Christian lifestyle.
‘Brewery church’ is the latest in craft of luring folks to church
By Ken Chitwood — February 12, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) — What its founders call their town's 'newest premier destination brewery' is also a spiritual community known as Castle Church.
Christian leaders, time to check your own yearbooks for past racist actions
By Jemar Tisby — February 11, 2019
Pastors should not wait for their racist past to be exposed before they deal with it.
Southern Baptist leaders vow to improve addressing sex abuse after papers’ report
By Adelle M. Banks — February 11, 2019
(RNS) — 'I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure we never make these mistakes again,' Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said in response to an investigation by Texan newspapers.
Rep. Omar apologizes for tweets on AIPAC’s influence
By Laurie Kellman — February 11, 2019
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi's public rebuke of a freshman representative who helped deliver the Democratic House majority was the latest exposure of an increasingly tense split among Democrats over U.S.-Israeli policy.
Kenya’s Catholic bishops provoke debate over public health and contraception
By Doreen Ajiambo — February 11, 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Citing an acute shortage of priests as a reason to obey the Vatican's longstanding ban on artificial forms of family planning, a bishop ignited a larger debate about family size and poverty.
To Baptist clergy sex abuse survivors: 10 tips from the trenches
By David Clohessy and Christa Brown — February 11, 2019
(RNS) — We who have been dealing with abuse issues for years already see familiar patterns of institutional protection and image management in Southern Baptist leadership's response.
Popular Israeli band drops out of Eurovision rather than perform on Shabbat
By Bob Smietana — February 11, 2019
JERUSALEM (RNS) — An Israeli band made up mostly of young adults with disabilities will perform during the 2019 Eurovision telecast. But a dispute over performing on the Sabbath kept the Shalva Band from representing Israel in the Eurovision contest.
Photos of the Week
By Kit Doyle — February 8, 2019
(RNS) — This week’s gallery includes the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, the enthronement of the new head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and more.
Mexico’s Fiesta de la Candelaria ends Christmas with a bang
By Irving Cabrera Torres — February 8, 2019
(RNS) — A traditional Candlemas celebration in the southern Mexican town of Tlacotalpan combines mischief and heartfelt adoration of the Virgin Mary.
‘If you care about democratic society, fight anti-Semitism’
By Yonat Shimron — February 8, 2019
(RNS) — Deborah Lipstadt writes with a scholar’s analytical gaze about the ugly upturn of anti-Semitism, but she concedes, “My attempt to explore a perplexing and disturbing set of circumstances is written with the hope that it will provoke action.”
Six-year prison sentence for Jehovah’s Witness in Russia sparks outcry
By Marc Bennetts — February 8, 2019
MOSCOW (RNS) — Dennis Christensen, a 46-year-old carpenter who has lived in Russia for more than two decades, was sentenced on Wednesday.
US Muslim leaders call on China to end persecution of Uighurs
By Aysha Khan — February 8, 2019
(RNS) – The letter called for the release of detainees from the internment camps and for U.S. consumers to boycott imports produced by detainees’ forced labor.
After attack on Hindu community, Kentucky shows the way forward
By Jay Kansara — February 8, 2019
(RNS) — Indian and Hindu Kentuckians work with leaders across faith and cultural backgrounds to show a united front in the face of hate crime against Hindu temple in Louisville, Ky.
Supreme Court: Execution of Muslim inmate can proceed
By The Associated Press — February 7, 2019
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — The inmate argued that Alabama's execution procedure favors Christian inmates because a Christian chaplain employed by the prison typically remains in the execution chamber during a lethal injection.
