Feb. 28, 2023, marks 30 years since the beginning of the Waco siege, the confrontation at a Texas compound that killed around 80 members of the Branch Davidian religious community and four federal agents.
West Virginia ‘religious freedom’ bill headed to governor
A West Virginia bill described by supporters as a tool to protect religious freedom and labeled a “license to discriminate” by LGBTQ rights advocates is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
Religious schools can build a community of faith without discriminating. The law should reflect that
In 2018, Australians were shocked to learn that religious schools still had the right to discriminate against LGBTQ students and staff.
Legacy of Wounded Knee occupation lives on 50 years later
Madonna Thunder Hawk remembers the firefights.
‘Holy Queer’ author seeks Black church inclusion beyond singing with choir
The Rev. Karmen Michael Smith wants to clean house — specifically what he sees as the lack of full openness by the Black church to people like him.
Three big numbers that tell the story of secularization in America
About six months ago, Americans’ belief in God hit an all-time low. According to a 2022 Gallup survey, the percentage of people who believe in God has dropped from 98% in the 1950s to 81% today; among Americans under 30, it…
West Virginians clash over religious freedom bill at hearing
Some people said West Virginia needs a law to codify the right of residents to challenge government regulations that interfere with their religious beliefs because of growing threats to their constitutional freedoms.
White supremacists behind over 80% of extremism-related U.S. murders in 2022
Mass shootings in the United States accounted for most extremism-related fatalities last year in the country with over 80% of those murders committed by white supremacists, data released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showed on Thursday.
Jimmy Carter Was America’s Evangelical-in-Chief
After issuing a pardon for Vietnam-era draft resisters on his first full day in office in 1977, thereby closing a festering wound in the United States’ recent past, then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter informed his vice president, Walter Mondale, that one of his…
Invested Faith recognizes more innovators
Five young innovators have been named to the sixth class of Invested Faith Fellows. Each will receive a $5,000 unrestricted grant and an invitation to tell their story through the Invested Faith community and website. This class brings the total…
Israel’s rightward shift is straining its ties with US Jews
An array of U.S. Jewish leaders are sounding alarms about what they see as a threat to Israel’s democracy posed by its new government, fearing it will erode the independence of its judiciary and legal protections for minority groups.
Sage, sacred to Native Americans, is being used in purification rituals, raising issues of cultural appropriation
White sage, which is sacred to a number of Native American tribes in the southwest United States, has been adopted by both some contemporary Pagans and New Age practitioners for purification rites.