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ICE deports undocumented immigrant who left church sanctuary
He left church sanctuary for what he hoped was a short appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He never returned.
Einstein’s ‘God letter’ hits auction block
A handwritten 1954 letter by physicist Albert Einstein in which the Nobel laureate is dismissive of religion in general and Judaism in particular is expected to bring a seven-figure price when auctioned by Christie’s in New York City on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Civil rights advocate and adviser to Dr. King recommended for Congressional Gold Medal
The Rev. James Lawson, a United Methodist minister known for his advocacy of nonviolence in the civil rights era and beyond, has been recommended for a Congressional Gold Medal.
Churches fight predatory payday lending with political pressure, small loans
Anyra Cano Valencia was having dinner with her husband, Carlos, and their family when an urgent knock came at their door. The Valencias, pastors at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth, Texas, opened the door to a desperate, overwhelmed congregant.
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.
New website hopes to make sermons vital part of life
Every week, millions of Americans go to houses of worship to hear a message from a spiritual leader. Most of those congregations are small. And few sermons ever make their way beyond the four walls of a given congregation.
‘Fat and Faithful’: New book probes spirituality of body image
As a teenager, J. Nicole Morgan was fond of her reflection in the mirror. She liked her eyes and her smile. But then she looked at her arms and stomach and reminded herself that she was not pretty and could not possibly be the person God made her to be.
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.
Partisanship drives religious attitudes and not the other way around
Which comes first — religion or politics? On the one hand, political scientists have long held that people’s political choices are formed by their childhood faith, which, for the most part, sticks with them. On the other, 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, a thrice-married adulterer who rarely attends church.
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.
Liberty president censors student newspaper over critics
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. stifled an effort by the school’s newspaper to report on an event last weekend organized by his critics, said a student editor.
Farrakhan calls on Trump to repent
Minister Louis Farrakhan called on President Trump to repent for what the Nation of Islam leader called America’s mistreatment of black people over the centuries.
President’s family gets special dispensation to fly on Sabbath
When it comes to Jewish observance, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump may be in a class by themselves.
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.
Religious leaders celebrate denial of easement for Dakota Access pipeline
Native American and other religious leaders called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision on Sunday to deny an easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline an answer to prayer.
Educators worry science will be casualty of Trump administration
Science and education professionals are increasingly alarmed about the impact President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks — many of them evangelical Christians — could have on science standards in public schools.
Muslims respond to Trump with #MuslimsReportStuff
During the second presidential debate last Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump encouraged Muslims to report suspicious behavior when they see it happening.
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.
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.
