Religion

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has issued guidance to U.S. hospital and long-term care facility administrators, reminding them of their facility’s obligation not to discriminate on the basis of religion. The warning... Read More

ELY, Nev. (AP) — White attackers turned a lush, high desert oasis in eastern Nevada, with its bubbling springs and a rare stand of Rocky Mountain junipers, into killing fields. They massacred hundreds of Native people there in the 1800s... Read More

HANAPEPE, Hawaii (AP) — On a warm summer afternoon, Tina Taniguchi was on her hands and knees scraping dirt off an oblong depression in the ground. Thick brown hair peeked out from her coconut leaf hat. Splotches of mud stuck... Read More

WASHINGTON — A backlash against the antisemitism that erupted since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel showed itself during a congressional hearing and a demonstration in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. During a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee hearing, lawmakers... Read More

A Maryland law that waives the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse takes effect next week, creating potential legal liabilities for the Catholic Archdioceses of Washington and Baltimore. For the Washington archdiocese — which includes the Maryland suburbs —... Read More

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time. Francis’ comments were... Read More

Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America. Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. More than astrology, reincarnation, and the belief that physical things can have spiritual energies. In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday used the case of a Christian mailman who didn't want to work Sundays to solidify protections for workers who ask for religious accommodations. In a unanimous decision the justices made clear that workers who... Read More

OAK FLAT, Ariz. (AP) — Azee Romero climbed barefoot on the wrinkled trunk of the massive Emory oak tree at the center of the Oak Flat Campground. The 5-year-old in his black dinosaur t-shirt with hair tied under a backwards... Read More

WASHINGTON — The importance of religion and regular church attendance to most Americans continues to decline according to a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute, “Religion and Congregations in a Time of Social and Political Upheaval.” “Churches are... Read More

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Virginia. (AP) — On Navy ships docked at this vast base, hundreds of sailors in below-deck mazes of windowless passageways perform intense, often monotonous manual labor. It's necessary work before a ship deploys, but hard to adjust... Read More

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — The FBI said Thursday that it had received credible information about a “broad” threat to synagogues in New Jersey, a warning that prompted some municipalities to send extra police officers to guard houses of worship. The... Read More

NEW YORK — Like a lot of subjects, the conversation around faith and community is a lot harder today than it was in the not-so-distant past. In the bygone, pre-internet age, when local papers thrived, there was no question that... Read More

TEANECK, N.J. — A congressional hearing Monday started by discussing antisemitism in New Jersey but evolved into an examination of what can be done about domestic extremism. The Jewish public advocacy group Anti-Defamation League reported 370 antisemitic incidents in New... Read More

Dolores Mejia thought the Chicago Bears could use a Hail Mary. In fact, she said the prayer several times as she watched the 1986 Super Bowl, pairing the intercession to the Holy Mother with two other rosary staples — the... Read More

Across the ideological spectrum, there were predictions of dramatic consequences when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a public high school football coach’s right to pray on the field after games. Yet three months after the decision —... Read More

PUTNAM, Conn. (AP) — Even as numerous Republican-governed states push for sweeping bans on abortion, there is a coinciding surge of concern in some Democratic-led states that options for reproductive health care are dwindling due to expansion of Catholic hospital... Read More

WASHINGTON — The International Religious Freedom Summit 2022 came to a close in Washington on Thursday, but not before putting a spotlight on the global religious freedom movement and highlighting examples of religious persecution around the world. The summit purports... Read More

WASHINGTON —  A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a high school football coach who claimed the public school district that employed him violated his free speech and free exercise rights by barring him from praying on the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a longstanding education policy in Maine that made K-12 schools with religious instruction ineligible for taxpayer-backed tuition aid. Writing for the majority in the 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts held... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed to favor a high school coach who claimed a constitutional right to pray on the 50-yard line after football games during oral arguments Monday. His school district administrators in Bremerton, Washington, disagreed.... Read More

BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston has admonished a satanic temple for adopting legal ploys that she said are distracting from its otherwise “meaningful legal challenge” aimed at it being allowed to lead the prayer that begins every Boston... Read More

The Biden administration announced vaccine mandates that will affect employers with over 100 employees, and now religious exemption requests are pouring in from those who claim that a sincerely held belief keeps them from receiving a vaccine.  “The minute after... Read More

An estimated 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out of the required COVID-19 vaccination. In Washington state, thousands of state workers are seeking similar exemptions. And in Arkansas, a hospital has been... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission held this week that Pray.com, a free mobile application and website, won’t violate federal election laws if it invites members of Congress to produce five-minute statements on matters of faith. Pray.com, a for-profit corporation,... Read More

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (AP) — If you're Christian in Bluefield — and most everyone is, in this small city tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains — you have your choice. You can follow Pastor Doyle Bradford of Father's House International Church,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday called for a confrontation of the “political extremism” that inspired the U.S. Capitol riot and appealed for collective strength during such turbulent times in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, a Washington... Read More

Members of two Virginia churches are trying again in a lawsuit filed on Friday to challenge the governor’s restrictions intended to control the spread of coronavirus. The lawsuit says the restrictions Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced in mid-November “discourage the... Read More

CHICAGO — Scott Sheridan didn’t expect his 23 years of teaching at Illinois Wesleyan University to end like this. Though fewer students are pursuing degrees in his areas of study these days, many still participate. This semester, more than 50... Read More