For years, conservative Christians have used the principle of religious freedom to prevail in legal battles on issues like contraceptive insurance mandates and pandemic restrictions. Now, abortion rights supporters are employing that argument to challenge one of the right’s most prized…
Saudi Arabia’s new Hajj booking process has left many foreign pilgrims frustrated
Muslims from around the world began the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Monday (June 26). This year, about 2.6 million pilgrims are expected in the Islamic holy city, as the kingdom has lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on foreign…
Pope’s peace envoy arrives in Moscow after the short-lived Wagner rebellion
Pope Francis’ peace envoy arrived in Moscow on Tuesday in hopes of helping find “a solution to the tragic current situation” of the war in Ukraine, weeks after making a preliminary visit to Kyiv, the Vatican said.
As Pittsburgh shooter stood trial, members of a congregation he attacked found parallels with Palestinians in the West Bank
About two weeks ago, the CEO of HIAS, the Jewish refugee aid group, testified in the trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman — discussing how his group’s partnership with one of the building’s congregations prompted the shooter to commit the attack.
The search for gender identity, say trans seekers, brought them closer to God
Ari Fernandez, a journalist and aspiring rabbi living in Atlanta, began to realize the gender they were assigned at birth wasn’t a good fit in 2018, when they were reconnecting with their Jewish roots by working at Hillel International, a…
Unitarian Universalists elect first woman of color, openly queer president
A womanist theologian, ethicist and minister was installed as the 10th president of the Unitarian Universalist Association Sunday afternoon (June 25), following an uncontested election in which she secured 95.5% of the vote. She is both the first openly queer person…
How Christian groups helped parents pull books from some Pennsylvania school libraries
On May 12, the library coordinator for Pennsylvania’s Central Bucks School District sent an email to colleagues that some conservative parents and Christian advocacy groups had long prayed to see.
Tired of hiding: Jews at US colleges face rising antisemitism from left and right
“I just noticed your ring.” To Maya Satnick, it had seemed like a compliment. As the first-year student walked across the campus of San Diego State University four years ago, another student, a stranger, had approached her.
In Pitch to Evangelicals, Trump Casts Himself as Christian Crusader Who Helped End Roe v. Wade
One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, former President Donald J. Trump reminded a gathering of evangelical activists in the nation’s capital how he had shaped the court’s conservative supermajority that ended nearly 50 years of constitutional…
What is the Hajj pilgrimage and what does it mean for Muslims?
Over 2 million Muslims will take part in this week’s Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, as one of the world’s largest religious gatherings returns to full capacity following years of coronavirus restrictions.
US Jews mourn the anniversary of the fall of Roe with a yahrzeit
U.S. Jews gathered in online forums across the country before sundown on Friday (June 23) to light a candle marking the one-year anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade, and mourning those who have died because abortions were not…
Religion and public education: How a new charter school tests the law
More than six decades ago, a landmark United States Supreme Court decision deemed prayer in public schools unconstitutional. That hasn’t stopped other attempts to blur the line between taxpayer funding and religious education.