When Daniel Schleider and his wife, Lior, leave Israel next month, it will be for good — and with a heavy heart.
2nd Vatican official says pope OK’d ransom payments for nun
A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.
Across the country, a push to observe Muslim holidays in school calendars
Instead of fully enjoying celebrations for Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan, Aisha Majdoub has often found herself preoccupied, wondering what her classmates were doing or thinking about missed schoolwork as she tried to commemorate the…
Far-right Israeli minister finds enemy in JDC, the mainstream American Jewish aid group
An American Jewish group that has provided aid to Jewish communities in crisis for more than a century has become the target of one of Israel’s newly empowered far-right ministers.
Charter school movement divided over religious Oklahoma proposal
The Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City has created a schism in the charter school movement with its application for the nation’s first openly religious charter school.
Racial Justice Leaders Are Calling For An End To Deadly Traffic Stops
Three racial justice leaders have joined forces to call on members of local, state and federal government to address a common issue: minor traffic stops that can escalate and result in civilians being injured or even killed.
Russian Christians Make Theological Case for Peace
On an Advent Sunday in a small Protestant church in St. Petersburg, a Russian pastor nervously approached the pulpit. While his senior leadership was publicly neutral about the war, he was about to preach from the Sermon on the Mount…
Preemptive Love Coalition to merge with Search for Common Ground
A year after ousting its founders, the Preemptive Love Coalition announced Thursday (March 16) that it has merged with the international peace-building nonprofit Search for Common Ground.
Buddhism Went Mainstream Decades Ago. US Churches Still Aren’t Ready.
Churches dot Linwood, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Yet drive down a quiet road past Holy Spirit Church of Columbus and Christ Centered Apostolic Church and you’ll find an unexpected sight: a brightly colored Buddhist shrine with ornate…
AR-15 lapel pins are more than political provocation — they’re symbols of the violence at the heart of white Christian nationalism
Violence has always been at the center of White Christian nationalism: the vow to impose order on those perceived as un-American, if need be with force, either by the police or by wielding a gun themselves.
US tribes get bison as they seek to restore bond with animal
Dozens of bison from a mountain park outside Denver were transferred Wednesday to several tribes from across the Great Plains, in the latest example of Native Americans reclaiming stewardship over animals their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.
Tennessee’s drag ban rehashes old culture war narratives
Tennessee recently passed legislation that bans drag from being performed in public spaces, as well as in the view of children. Although Tennessee is the first state to enact such a ban, it is unlikely to be the last, as others with…