All results / Stories / Religion News Service
Faith groups sue Trump administration over refugee resettlement order
Three faith-based groups that assist with refugee resettlement are suing the federal government, arguing a recent executive order granting state and local officials the authority to block refugee resettlement violates federal law and inhibits their ability to practice their faith.
U.S. Catholic bishops to meet amid growing sexual abuse crisis
VATICAN CITY Catholic bishops in the United States announced Tuesday that, at the behest of Pope Francis, they will meet for a weeklong retreat in Chicago in January.
Democratic hopefuls seek support from young black faith leaders
Three Democratic presidential hopefuls fielded questions from black church leaders last week, bouncing between politics and prayer as they vied for support from an audience of about 5,000 black millennials.
Red Lip Theology: Candice Benbow’s love letter to Black women in the Black church
Candice Marie Benbow came to be a theologian by way of the death of Whitney Houston, who she considers “the ultimate church girl.”
Coalition seeks sainthood for 5 African-Americans
The founders of two religious orders and an African-American priest who had to train in Rome because no U.S. seminary would accept him are among five candidates being supported for sainthood by a new coalition of black Catholic organizations.
Denzel preaches gratitude at C.O.G.I.C. gathering
Hollywood star Denzel Washington, the son of a pastor, preached a sermon of gratefulness to hundreds of members of the Church of God in Christ at their annual Holy Congregation in downtown St. Louis.
Why Andy Warhol’s Brillo pads and other things are kosher
When pop artist Andy Warhol set out to turn ordinary consumer goods into art, he got all the details right.
Pope Francis preaches message of peace, care of the sick and environmentalism during 3-nation visit to Africa
Pope Francis greeted packed stadiums full of celebrating locals and spoke to crowds numbering up to 1 million people in Madagascar, the second stop on his weeklong, three-nation trip to Africa.
Religion bullying focus of U.S. education website
Dapinder Ahluwalia’s 14-year-old son starts high school next month. Like many parents, she’ll spend the last days of summer ensuring he has the right school supplies and a copy of his class schedule.
‘Revival!’ brings mostly black cast to movie depiction of Gospel of John
For creator Harry Lennix, the new movie “Revival!” — a retelling of the Gospel of John with a mostly African-American cast — is a film whose time has come.
NFL team owner, human trafficking and faith-based communities
The news that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting sex and prostitution in a spa as part of a monthslong investigation into a massive human trafficking ring is dominating headlines for its shocking revelation about a legendary owner and current Super Bowl champion.
At Christmas, babe in manger is not always white
When the Rev. Kip Banks’ family pulls out its nativity scene each Christmas, the African features of the baby Jesus provide lessons on both the Bible and self-esteem.
5-time Grammy nominee Bishop Rance Allen, known for blending rock, south and R&B with traditional gospel music, dies at 71
Gospel legend Bishop Rance Allen, a Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee perhaps best known for his gospel hit “Something About the Name Jesus,” has died at 71.
Agnes Abuom, global ecumenist, peacemaker and African church leader, dies at 73
Kenya Agnes Abuom, a global ecumenical leader and peacemaker, died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the age of 73 while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Nairobi.
Support grows for new hate crime reporting bill
Nearly three years ago, Khalid Jabara, an immigrant from Lebanon, died on his own doorstep in Tulsa, Okla., when his neighbor gunned him down.
Dean of nation’s black preachers dies
Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, widely considered the dean of the nation’s black preachers and “the poet laureate of American Protestantism,” died Sunday, April 5, 2015, after a ministerial career that spanned more than six decades. He was 96. “Dr. Taylor was a theological giant who will be greatly missed,” the Rev. Carroll Baltimore, past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, said of the minister who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
In Canada, Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous peoples, says it’s only ‘first step’
Pope Francis issued his first apology to the Indigenous peoples in Canada for the Catholic Church’s role in administering residential schools, which robbed many of their families and culture.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, now U.S. senator, said he heard ‘echoes of the spirit’ in swearing-in
On the first Sunday after he became a U.S. senator from Georgia, the Rev. Raphael Warnock described his election and the changing scene at the U.S. Capitol — from insurrection to inauguration — as forms of divine messaging.
Resilience after the hurricane
The president of the historically African-American Progressive National Baptist Convention traveled to the Bahamas island of Grand Bahama on Sept. 11 to assess the damage from Hurricane Dorian and came away with stories of damage and determination.

