race
A year after the Charleston church shooting, what has changed?
By Lauren Markoe — June 8, 2016
(RNS) Trying to start a race war, a gunman killed nine black people at Mother Emanuel church. For some in Charleston, it was a test of faith.
Why was Muhammad Ali the greatest? He had a clear moral vision
By Hussein Rashid — June 4, 2016
(RNS) His religious identity was new to the American public, but he did with it what many believers have done -- offered a voice of moral clarity and urgency to the issues of the day.
Study: Changes in racial composition lead to decline in church attendance
By Kimberly Winston — May 10, 2016
(RNS) Does higher diversity lead to lower attendance in churches? A new study says yes.
Charleston shooting survivor Jennifer Pinckney: ‘I want to carry on (Clementa’s) work’
By Jesse James DeConto — February 10, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) Jennifer Pinckney survived the Charleston massacre that took her husband’s life and the lives of eight others. “I want him to smile down on us. I want him to be proud," she said at a Duke University event.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi urges supporters not to let race, religion dominate upcoming election
By Reuters — October 17, 2015
Toungup, MYANMAR (Reuters) Hardline Buddhist monks and nationalists have branded Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy too sympathetic to Muslims and unwilling to protect Buddhism.
Southern Baptists cozy up to GOP after pulling back (COMMENTARY)
By Jonathan Merritt — July 27, 2015
(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention has been a vocal ally of the Republican Party in recent years, and this latest move indicates that it is having a difficult time breaking from its past behavior.
Q&A: From Ferguson to Baltimore, black America’s faith is tested
By Adelle M. Banks — May 1, 2015
(RNS) "How do you have an unshattered faith in the face of the death of your son?" said the Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas. "That is what black faith has always been about."
#blacklivesmatter in Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s ‘A.D.’
By Adelle M. Banks — April 1, 2015
(RNS) Mark Burnett and Roma Downey's "The Bible" miniseries was criticized as too white. Now they're back with "A.D.," and the cast is more multicultural than you might imagine.
The Southern Baptists’ challenge on race (ANALYSIS)
By Jacob Lupfer — March 27, 2015
(RNS) If Southern Baptists' public posture remains primarily a catalog of concerns of aggrieved white conservatives, they shouldn’t be surprised if few black folks come along.
A young Jewish woman, raised as white, learns she’s not
By Lauren Markoe — March 13, 2015
(RNS) Lacey Schwartz didn't know she was a Jew of color until she uncovered a family secret.
Southern Baptists try to diversify churches — but will it work?
By Heidi Hall — February 23, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Russell Moore's proposed solution -- diversifying worship spaces -- will take some work. Of 50,500 Southern Baptist congregations, 3,502 identify as predominantly African-American, or about 7 percent.
U.S. churchgoers still sit in segregated pews, and most are OK with that
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — January 16, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) But beware, said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer: "If you don't like diversity, you're really not going to like heaven."
Black churches offer scholarships to students at Michael Brown’s alma mater
By Elisa Crouch — January 14, 2015
WELLSTON, Mo. (RNS) The scholarships would cover four years’ tuition at colleges and universities operated by the AME, AME Zion and CME historically black denominations.
How adoption has forced evangelicals to grapple with race relations
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — December 22, 2014
(RNS) “People who previously assumed that racial prejudice was back in the Jim Crow era are awakened by it with their own kids," said Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore.
Is talk of privilege ‘lunacy’? On Richard Dawkins, skepticism, and certainty
By Chris Stedman — December 10, 2014
Richard Dawkins and others have already demonstrated that they're not afraid to direct their skepticism toward religious ideas. But the freethinking spirit they strive to embody and promote can't be limited to this one area.