President Obama hosted his last Easter Prayer Breakfast with Christian leaders, pausing to reflect on what he called a “bittersweet” occasion.
Americans see immigrants more favorably than do Trump, Cruz
The 2016 Republican presidential campaign boils with anti-immigrant rhetoric but candidates’ harsh proposals don’t resonate with most Americans, particularly religious believers and young adults.
Christians, Muslims fear backlash from Brussels attacks
The deadly explosions in Brussels Tuesday morning had some American Muslims and Christians awaking with dismay. “I’d like to say I was surprised, but I wasn’t,” said Joe Bradford, founder of the Houston-based nonprofit American Muslims Care. The previous arrests…
Members of Congress accepting religious trips
(RNS) — Over the past four-and-a-half years, private organizations spent nearly $570,000 flying members of Congress and their families around the globe on religion-related trips, putting them up in hotels and feeding them, a study of congressional records shows. An…
Army takes action against Boykin over speeches
(RNS) — The U.S. Army has taken “appropriate action” against an undersecretary who said the war on terrorism was a religious battle. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody told Reuters that the action against Lt. Gen. William G….
IRS denies it told church not to pray for re-election
(RNS) — A Virginia pastor who prayed that God would re-elect President Bush says the Internal Revenue Service threatened him with charges of improper “electioneering,” but the IRS maintains it has made no decision in the case. The controversy erupted…
Can online Communion be a substitute for the real thing?
(RNS) — As online worship becomes more common in some churches, leaders within the United Methodist Church are debating whether the denomination should condone online Communion. About 30 denominational leaders met recently after Central United Methodist Church in Concord, N.C.,…
Reza Aslan defends controversial new book on Jesus
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — For the third time, Jesus is about to change Reza Aslan’s life. As a teenager, Aslan turned to Jesus in an evangelical youth group, where becoming a Christian made him feel like a real American. He…
British government asks church to take over thousands of state schools
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — Leading secularists are calling on nonreligious parents to fight a government effort that would allow the Church of England to run thousands of state schools. The schools, or academies, would be privately funded, quasi-independent and accountable…