News
Muslim minorities targeted amid Chinese crackdown on religion
Thousands of Hui Muslims gathered at a mosque to prevent its demolition.
California churches address housing crisis
Amid rising homelessness, congregations are building affordable housing.
Israel’s Druze minority galvanizes opposition to nation-state law
Participation in high-profile mass protest was a departure for the Druze, who are celebrated in Israel for their patriotism and military service.
Catholics and lawmakers respond to Pennsylvania report on clergy sexual abuse
Pope Francis wrote, "We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them."
Museum of the Bible returns stolen Gospels manuscript
The museum is investigating the origins of 3,000 artifacts in its collection.
Katie Geneva Cannon, groundbreaking womanist ethicist and theologian, dies at age 68
Teaching was her ministry.
Augsburg University rallies around professor facing deportation
The Lutheran school and local officials have called for Mzenga Wanyama and his family to stay.
Israel's collective farms offer a refuge to African migrants
The grassroots initiative mobilized in response to government plans to expel asylum seekers.
Indonesian anti-terrorism law responds to church attacks but worries human rights groups
The anti-terror law expands the power of Indonesia's military and police.
Study links extremism to local expressions of anti-Muslim prejudice
Sociologists and a statistician examined Internet search data provided by Google. Their findings suggest that "violent extremism results from the failure of ethnic integration."
Episcopal Church allows all priests to perform same-sex marriage rites
Under a new rule, priests will be able to marry same-sex couples despite their diocesan bishops' objection—but no priest is required to preside at any wedding.
Luther Seminary to pilot two-year M.Div.
The M.Div.X program hopes to train innovative church leaders—with no student debt, says seminary president Robin J. Steinke.
Israel’s parliament passes law declaring nation to be Jewish
The law, also making Hebrew the only official language, has garnered criticism in Israel and abroad.
U.S. Muslim candidates running in record numbers
There have been nearly 90 contenders in national, state, or local races—including several who could be the first Muslim woman in Congress.
Daniel Lehmann to be first Jewish president of Graduate Theological Union
The consortium in Berkeley, California, includes research centers and seminaries of multiple faith traditions—but has been previously led by Christians.
CAR priests killed amid faith leaders advocating for an end to the conflict
Firmin Gbagoua was the sixth Catholic priest to be killed. Fighters claim that religion is fueling the conflict—but religious leaders point to economic causes.
Church's Nativity scene protests family detention
Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis has statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph behind a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
In Europe, religious minorities face mounting hostility, harassment
Nationalism and anti-immigrant movements have gained ground.
U.S. travel ban leaves far-flung Syrian family in limbo
Dahouk al-Omar has been hoping to be reunited with a son in Chicago. Now it's uncertain whether that will ever be possible.
Proposed Christian law school reconsiders sexual conduct restrictions after Canadian court ruling
Law societies denied accreditation to the program at Trinity Western University, an evangelical school in British Columbia, citing its community covenant as discriminating against LGBTQ applicants.