Most American megachurches have rebounded well from the COVID-19 pandemic as more than 80% reported they are flourishing, according to a new report by Hartford Institute for Religion Research. The study examined responses from 331 mostly Protestant congregations with 2,000…
PCUSA declares Israel’s actions in Palestine genocide
The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted June 30 to declare Israel’s actions in Palestine genocide, to boycott all products from Israel and to call for an arms embargo against the nation. Meeting in Milwaukee June 27 to July 3, the denomination’s…
Supreme Court’s support for birthright citizenship draws partisan reactions
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of birthright citizenship in a June 30 ruling striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to end the historic right. The 6-3 decision affirms the long-held understanding of the 14th Amendment,…
High court says feds can deny reentry to Green Card holders
Green Card holders can be denied reentry into the United States even if border officers have no solid proof they have committed a crime, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23. The 6-3 ruling in Blanche v. Lau held that…
PNBC plans ‘Freedom Sunday’ this weekend
The Progressive National Baptist Convention’s “Freedom Sunday” will challenge its churches to speak prophetically and to ask what the nation’s 250th anniversary means to them. The denomination co-founded by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961 has provided its congregations with…
Judge bars Tennessee from revealing immigration status of sick children
A Nashville judge issued a restraining order temporarily barring the Tennessee Department of Health from reporting the identities of hundreds of extremely ill and disabled immigrant children to a state immigration office. The June 24 order was issued in response…
High court allows Trump to deport Haitians and Syrians
The Trump administration can now end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians who fled to the United States to escape natural disaster and persecution in their home countries, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 25. The 6-3 decision along…
The Intercept challenges Trump’s retaliation against protesters
An online news organization sued the Trump administration June 24 to win the release of documents related to a federal database established to retaliate against protesters and others exercising constitutional rights. The Intercept is asking the U.S. District Court for…
UN says Israel has committed war crimes and genocide in Gaza
Israel committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by intentionally injuring and killing children in military operations in Gaza and surrounding areas, a United Nations task force charges. More than 20,100 Palestinian children have been killed and 44,000 wounded…
Court blocks Trump’s federal voter database
A federal court has ordered the Trump administration to dismantle a massive database created to investigate and potentially purge U.S. citizens from voter rolls nationwide. Maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, the databank was formed by merging sensitive data…
US Supreme Court denies Rastafarian damages for illegal haircut
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23 that inmates cannot seek damages if their religious rights have been abused or denied by prison officials. The 6-3 decision along ideological lines came in the case of Damon Landor, a Rastafarian whose…
Trump EEOC claims more religious discrimination on vaccine mandates
In another instance of the Trump administration punishing companies for past demands that workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $358,000 to resolve a dozen claims. Under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the Equal Employment…