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Bob Smietana

Bob Smietana is a Religion News Service national reporter.

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Faith leaders, activists, the pope urge Biden to empty federal death row before Trump term

A group of faith leaders, activists, law enforcement officials, and families of murder victims has called on President Joe Biden to spare the lives of about 40 inmates currently on death row in fed...
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Tony Campolo, sociologist and famed Red Letter Christian, dies at 89

Tony Campolo, an American Baptist minister and sociologist who spent decades trying to convince evangelicals and other Christians that their faith should motivate them to address social ills like p...
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After Hurricane Helene, faith groups ramp up disaster relief

Even before Hurricane Helene made landfall in the United States, near Tallahassee, Florida, on September 26, faith-based disaster groups were on the move....
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The SBC will sell its Nashville headquarters to defray abuse-related legal costs

An investigation into how leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have dealt with sexual abuse by clergy has cost more than $12 million over the past three years, causing the nation’s largest Pr...
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New lawsuit asks why nonprofit newspapers can endorse candidates but churches can't

A group of evangelical broadcasters who hosted Donald Tru...
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Why Catholic bishops rocked out to megachurch worship hits

In mid-July, Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, was transformed into a place of worship as more than 50,000 Catholics gathered for the National Eucharistic Congress....
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Philadelphia congregations in dispute over weekend parking in bike lanes

If all goes well, worshippers at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia will be able to park on the streets near the church in peace....
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How a perfect storm sent church insurance rates skyrocketing

John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church’s accountant with some bad news....
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Why a denomination is investigating late devotional writer Sarah Young

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, a book of daily devotions that combines Bible verses with friendly messages written as if Jesus were speaking, has been one of the bestsellin...
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Background checks, essential for kids' ministry, often remain a mystery

About 10 years ago, when the state of Pennsylvania passed a law requiring a background c...

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For infertile people, the fate of frozen embryos is deeply personal

When Ericka Andersen and her husband started infertility treatment a decade ago, they were hoping for one successful pregnancy....
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Is religion good for you? The answer is complicated, new global Gallup report finds.

A new report from Gallup finds that religious people around the world report being more...
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Giving is up at churches and people are back, but clergy are still thinking about quitting

Three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches have fewer people in the pews, more money in the collection plate and less conflict than they had in 2020....
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SBC leader Willie McLaurin resigns after admitting he falsified resume

Willie McLaurin, the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee, resigned suddenly on August 17 after admitting he had falsified his resume....
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Many Black SBC churches have women pastors on staff. Will they be expelled next?

Earlier this year, Southern Baptists expelled five churches from the nation’s largest Protestant denomination for having women as pastors....
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Ouster of Saddleback and Fern Creek from SBC over women pastors is affirmed

Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting affirmed a decision to expel two Southern Baptist churches, including Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, bec...

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