LYNCHBURG, Va. — According to Air Force data, no training program is more popular among prospective chaplains than Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, part of the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. One out of every five Air Force…
Innkeepers found guilty for turning away gay couple
LONDON (RNS) — Two Christian innkeepers have been convicted of sexual discrimination for refusing to allow a gay couple to share a double room at their hotel in Cornwall, England. Peter and Hazelmary Bull also were ordered by the Bristol…
INTERVIEW: Evangelists’ son reflects on culture and Christians
When Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s PTL ministry and Heritage USA theme park crashed and burned in the 1980s, their son Jay was sent into a dizzying downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and running from God. Now the pastor of…
Rosa Parks enshrined in stone at Washington National Cathedral
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Six feet above the vaulted entranceway to Washington National Cathedral, the rough contours of Rosa Parks’ face are taking shape. Using a motorized hammer and chiseling tools that date back centuries, stone carver Sean Callahan is working…
Enshrined in a cathedral’s stone
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Six feet above the vaulted entranceway to Washington National Cathedral, the rough contours of Rosa Parks’ face are taking shape. Using a motorized hammer and chiseling tools that date back centuries, stone carver Sean Callahan is working…
Religious persecution more prevalent, more severe in Muslim countries
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The New Year’s Day massacre at a Coptic church in Egypt. Christian converts facing the death penalty in Afghanistan. Swastikas painted on a Jewish synagogue in Venezuela. As the headlines deliver fresh stories of the persecution of…
Religious persecution on the upswing?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The New Year’s Day massacre at a Coptic church in Egypt. Christian converts facing the death penalty in Afghanistan. Swastikas painted on a Jewish synagogue in Venezuela. As the headlines deliver fresh stories of the persecution of…
Poll: Glenn Beck wrong leader to lead religious movement
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Glenn Beck’s recent “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington focused more on faith than politics, but most Americans don’t consider the conservative broadcaster the right person to lead a religious movement — or even know what religion he…
New drama focuses on forgiveness
WASHINGTON (RNS) — For playwright Marcus Gardley, the theater is his pulpit, and plays are his sermons. His latest production, Every Tongue Confess, seeks answers to the questions that swirled around the spate of arsons that hit black churches in…
Forgiveness for black church arsons theme of new drama
WASHINGTON (RNS) — For playwright Marcus Gardley, the theater is his pulpit, and plays are his sermons. His latest production, Every Tongue Confess, seeks answers to the questions that swirled around the spate of arsons that hit black churches in…
‘Vilification of religions’ resolution passes United Nations committee
NEW YORK (RNS) — A United Nations committee has adopted a resolution combating the "vilification of religions," but religious freedom advocates who oppose the measure say support for it continues to diminish. The resolution by Islamic countries is scheduled to…
Evangelical support for Israel at all-time high
JERUSALEM (RNS) — When Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee wrapped up a visit to Israel on Nov. 15 with 40 pastors in tow, he sought out the places where Jesus walked, preached and prayed some 2,000 years ago. But there…