Book bans in U.S. schools and libraries during the 2021-22 school year disproportionately targeted children’s books written by people of color – especially women of color – according to a peer-reviewed study we published. They also tended to feature characters of color.
When refugees are neither here, nor there
Standing by a surveillance camera and a sign marked “Kriminalforsorgen” — Danish for “prison service” — I first notice Kia’s gray eyes. Then a look of surprise, if not disappointment, when I ask if he can show me around the…
Papal elections aren’t always as dramatic as ‘Conclave’ – but the history behind the process is
I’m a historian of the medieval papacy and editor of the forthcoming three volumes of the Cambridge History of the Papacy. So it was more or less mandatory for me to see the new movie “Conclave.”
As COP29 begins, some voice concerns over religious freedom in host country Azerbaijan
When RNS reached out to the faith groups that have had a leading presence at recent COPs for comment on how they would approach their work given religious liberty violations, most were silent.
Jews are reeling from the Amsterdam attacks as unrest continues
Late on Thursday night, Esther Voet heard explosions from her home in the center of Amsterdam.
Vets in Ministry Won’t Retreat from the Military’s Suicide Crisis
Pastor Josh Holler says his US Marine Corps regiment had a saying: Suffer in silence.
Persecution of Eritrean Jehovah’s Witnesses condemned by human rights experts
Thirty years after Eritrea revoked the citizenship of Jehovah’s Witnesses, international human rights experts are condemning the nation’s persecution of the religious group and advocating for the release of wrongfully detained prisoners.
Yechiel Leiter, American-Israeli former settler leader who lost a son in Gaza, to serve as next Israeli ambassador to US
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Yechiel Leiter, an American-Israeli former settler leader whose son was killed fighting in Gaza, as the next Israeli ambassador to the United States.
How to know if your practice of Buddhism through listening to podcasts or use of meditation apps is ‘authentic’
Is digital Buddhism, which includes computer-assisted practices such as listening to podcasts and using meditation applications apps, authentic?
Temple Of Satan Gains Ground In Chile As Faith In Traditional Religions Wanes
It’s Friday night in Downtown Santiago, the capital of Chile, and a group of 15 people gather around a table, sharing a bottle of wine as the smell of tobacco and incense fill the air. Black candles burn on top of…
India’s ban on Salman Rushdie ‘The Satanic Verses’ may end — thanks to missing paperwork
The decadeslong ban of Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” in his native India is now in doubt — not because of a change of heart more than two years after the author’s near-fatal stabbing, but because of what amounts to some missing paperwork.
Anxious, grieving, elated: Clergy prepare to preach into the post-election whirlwind
As they mount their pulpits this weekend (Nov. 8-10), clergy of several faiths said that they expect emotions to be swirling still from President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Often facing a constellation of feelings in the…