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Crystal Cathedral, former home of ‘Hour of Power’ to become Roman Catholic seat
For nearly 30 years, the Rev. Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral was not only a religious landmark, but an architectural wonder and an embodiment of flush times in Southern California’s Orange County.
Documentary details past and present of AME Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has released a short film online about its history that includes an interview with the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the pastor killed in a June 2015 racial attack on his historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., church, in which he talks about the historically Black denomination’s significance.
Chicago churches join growing movement of congregations paying off medical debt
This Thanksgiving, 5,888 families in Cook County, Ill., will receive a card with the names of several congregations belonging to different Protestant Christian denominations throughout the city of Chicago and these words: “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We want you to know that all your debts have been forgiven.”
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.
Black clergy offer churches as COVID-19 vaccination sites
After more than 1,100 people received the coronavirus vaccine in the fellowship hall of a Black church in Oklahoma City, its pastor credited trust and teamwork for the accom- plishment.
Faith groups mobilize against opposition to Syrian refugees
Religious groups are pushing back against a wave of opposition toward Syrian refugees and are working to preserve the United States as a haven for those fleeing their war-torn nation.
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.
Black Muslim life honored in new online portrait exhibit
A new online exhibit featuring portraits of Black Muslims was launched earlier this month by Sapelo Square, a Black Muslim education and media collective.
President Obama to host Pope Francis at White House
President Obama will welcome Pope Francis to the White House during the pontiff’s U.S. visit in September to “continue the dialogue … on their shared values and commitments on a wide range of issues,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest has announced.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nativity scene shows Holy Family separated in cages
The Nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church is striking. Mannequins of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are separated in individual cages topped with barbed wire. A baby Jesus is wrapped in what resembles a Mylar blanket, similar to the sheets migrants have been given in holding cells.
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.
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.
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.
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