Lauren Markoe
Cash-strapped National Council of Churches to move to D.C.
WASHINGTON (RNS) The National Council of Churches is moving its headquarters from the historic "God Box" in New York City to Washington, a change that the cash-strapped ecumenical group predicts wi...
Did gun control prevent Jews from stopping the Holocaust?
As gun control moved toward the top of the American agenda after the Dec. 14 massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, gun rights activists began to invoke a curious analogy: the Holocaust.
...DuBois leaving White House faith-based post
WASHINGTON (RNS) Longtime White House aide Joshua DuBois, who heads the White House office focused on the intersection of religion and public policy, will step down on Friday (Feb....
At halftime, a religious alternative to Beyonce
Super Bowl halftime shows often burn more vivid images into the American conscience than the most-watched football game of the year, and can claim millions more viewers....
S.C. Episcopal diocese claims a victory in secession struggle
The breakaway Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina has won the latest round in its fight to secede from the national church.
...Abortion views unchanged 40 years after Roe v. Wade
In the past four decades, American attitudes have changed markedly on gay marriage, smoking, bullying and a host of other cultural issues. But on Roe v....
Religious coalition takes on the gun lobby
WASHINGTON (RNS) Dozens of the nation's faith leaders said Tuesday (Jan....
Africa rises, China falls on Christian persecution list
WASHINGTON (RNS) The persecution of Christians "vastly rose" in 2012 as radical Islamists consolidated power in Africa, according to Open Doors, a Christian missionary organization that publishes a...
Faith leaders want Americans to pray for collegiality
WASHINGTON (RNS) At a time when the ideals of compromise and collegiality seem like a distant dream in the nation's capital, an unusually diverse coalition of religious leaders is asking Americans ...
Contraception opponents hail DC court ruling
Foes of the federal contraception mandate are cheering an appeals court decision requiring the Obama administration to devise exemptions to the new rule for two Christian colleges.
...Use of death penalty grows rarer in U.S.
Though the number of death row inmates executed in 2012 remained unchanged from 2011 at 43, death penalty opponents say that capital punishment is on the wane.
...Poll: More than one-third of Americans see signs of end times in extreme weather
WASHINGTON (RNS) More than a third of Americans believe the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in the "end times" described in the New Testament – a period of turmoil prec...
Jews and Muslims applaud German vote to protect circumcision
The German parliament has relieved Muslims and Jews by passing a law Wednesday (Dec. 12) that allows infant male circumcision for religious reasons.
...Orthodox rabbis laud conviction of Hasidic man on sexual abuse charges
The world's largest group of Orthodox rabbis is lauding the process that led to the conviction of a Hasidic Jewish man on Monday (Dec....
Jewish and Christian leaders try to revive at-risk interfaith group
WASHINGTON (RNS) As a coalition of mostly Christian groups gathered here Thursday (Nov. 29) to support church leaders who have publicly questioned U.S....
Report: White Christian voters no longer hold keys to the White House
The road to the White House is no longer white and Christian.
...Voters in three states endorse gay marriage
Voters made history on Election Day three times over by endorsing moves to allow gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington State.
...Anti-Semitic incidents lowest in two decades
Anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. dropped by 13 percent in 2011, according to a recently released report by the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks assaults and other attacks on Jews.
...The biggest slice of Obama's religious coalition? The unaffiliated
WASHINGTON (RNS) The largest slice of President Barack Obama's religious coalition – at 23 percent – is not very religious.
...Jewish and Christian groups at impasse over U.S. aid to Israel
An established interfaith group is in danger of disintegrating as major American Jewish groups and prominent mainline Protestant churches differ over U.S....