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Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion puts spotlight on athletes observing Ramadan
NBA star Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion to Islam has brought new attention to the relationship between Muslim athletes and Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar, when Muslims abstain from food and drink during the day.
Poor People’s Campaign vows to continue push to end poverty, racism, militarism
A multiracial, intergenerational crowd of thousands of social justice activists, union workers and people of faith prayed, cheered and listened intently last Saturday as speakers on the National Mall called for a re-energized approach to fighting poverty and other social ills they say are plaguing the country.
Rev. Warnock locked in battle for U.S. Senate seat
The Rev. Raphael Warnock, the 51-year-old pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the historic church once co-pastored by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate in a special election in Georgia.
Study puts monetary value on good works done by U.S. religious organizations
Religion News Service Religion is worth $1.2 trillion a year to the American economy, according to the first comprehensive study of the question. “In perspective, that would make religion the 15th largest national economy in the world, ahead of 180 other countries in terms of value,” according to the study’s author, Brian J. Grim, president of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation and an associate scholar at Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project. “That would also make American religion larger than the global revenues of the top 10 tech companies, including Apple, Amazon and Google, or the combined annual revenue of the six largest American oil companies,” Dr. Grim said as he released the study Sept. 14 in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. Dr. Grim understands why the religious and nonreligious alike might look upon the exercise of valuing religion’s contribution to the economy skeptically. To put a value on the work of the nation’s 344,000 religious congregations representing all faiths, Dr. Grim looked at the schools, the soup kitchens, the addiction recovery programs and other activities they run and the programs’ impacts on local economies. He found that congregations and religiously oriented charity groups are responsible for 130,000 alcohol and drug abuse recovery programs; 94,000 programs to support veterans and their families; 26,000 programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and to support people living with the disease; and 121,000 programs to train and support the unemployed. They also operate more than 50,000 schools. He also determined that churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship employ hundreds of thousands of people and buy everything from flowers to computers to snow removal services. He believes the $1.2 trillion figure he came up with is a “conservative” valuation of the annual work of religious organizations in American society. Why crunch the numbers? Dr. Grim believes it is good to know the impact religion has on the nation. Dr. Grim also wants congregations and clergy — and the society that benefits from the charitable work— to appreciate the size of the contribution. In a country where people often hear much more about the evils committed by religious people — from sex abuse scandals to genocide — it’s time for some “balance,” Dr. Grim said. Even clergy often downplay the value of their work, said Ram Cnaan, director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cnaan, who attended the National Press Club presentation to help Dr. Grim unveil his work, said the study would allow the religious to take pride in their contributions. “This is a new day for the people who study congregations,” he said of Dr. Grim’s work, “The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis.” “This is the beginning of a national debate — not if religion is important but how much it is important,” Dr. Cnaan said. Dr. Grim said that secular organizations like the Red Cross and the Cancer Society and the host of other nonprofits certainly contribute generously to the social health of the nation. Indeed, he said if the work of the religiously motivated did not exist, “I don’t think we would see all the good of society disappearing. However, I think it would be significantly less.” William A. Galston, a Brookings Institution scholar and a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser who writes on religion and society, called Dr. Grim’s estimate of $1.2 trillion “a sensible number.” Dr. Grim’s paper, Dr. Galston said, can be used by religious organizations as “a credible calling card to get in the door” of policymakers who have too long undervalued their importance to society.
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.
Sister Helen Prejean, activist nun, talks about getting Jesus 'right'
Sister Helen Prejean wants to get religion “right.”
Hard hats replace bishops’ miters at Notre Dame’s first Mass since fire
Everyone, it seems, has an idea for how to rebuild Notre Dame.
Christian coalition protests Trump’s planned budget cuts
With ashes on their foreheads, sackcloth draped around their necks and the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, Christian leaders used the words “evil” and “immoral” to describe the federal budget cuts President Trump has proposed and many Republican lawmakers favor.
Bishop Tutu’s daughter quits priesthood after gay marriage
The daughter of Nobel laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa has given up her clergy credentials after marrying a Dutch woman. Mpho Tutu told South African media that because her church did not recognize her wedding, she could no longer serve in the country.
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.
Fewer Americans turning to prayer to relieve stress
Americans are feeling stressed not only during the holidays but year-round. The American Psychological Association’s newest “Stress in America” survey of 3,440 adults shows the public’s overall stress level remains the same as 2016, with an average level of 4.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most stress.
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.
Faith leaders react to Chauvin verdict
As the Minneapolis judge thanked jurors for their “heavy-duty jury service” on Tuesday, reactions already had begun to the three guilty verdicts in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the May 25 death of George Floyd.
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.
New liberal Christian groups working to dump Trump from office
Liberal-leaning Christian groups and faith leaders have formed a slate of new political action committees and initiatives in recent weeks, most of which criticize President Trump in ways that could help Democrats with religious voters in November.
World religious leaders condemn Paris carnage
Pope Francis raised the specter of a World War III “in pieces,” Muslims issued statements of condemnation, while evangelical Christians in America debated whether to speak of a “war with Islam.” These were some of the responses last week by religious leaders around the world to the series of attacks Nov. 13 in Paris that left more than 120 people dead and hundreds of others wounded.
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.
Medieval manuscript returned after museum discovers it was stolen
One year after the Green family — owners of the craft store chain Hobby Lobby and principal sponsors of the Museum of the Bible — agreed to pay a $3 million fine for illegally importing artifacts from Iraq, the museum is returning a medieval New Testament manuscript to the University of Athens after learning the document had been stolen from the Greek institution.
Rep. Omar, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
A Muslim civil rights organization has called on Fox News to fire host Jeanine Pirro for questioning Rep. Ilhan Omar’s loyalty to the United States in a monologue on her weekend show “Justice with Judge Jeanine” and suggesting the Minnesota Democrat’s decision to wear a hijab is “antithetical” to the U.S. Constitution.
