Christianity

Kamala Harris’ religious roots reflect those of America’s changing faith footprint

July 24, 2024

President Joe Biden made history by withdrawing his candidacy for a second term. The reconfigured Democratic presidential ticket he endorsed, with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top, would be historic in itself, but would also be a map of America’s future.

If nominated by her party in the coming days, as it appears more certain as Democratic leaders coalesce around her, Harris would be the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for president and the...

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New Mexico tribe gets back 'Apache Christ' icon, and a new pastor

July 16, 2024

Apache Catholics at a New Mexico parish told OSV News more questions than answers remain after two pieces of art belonging to the community were suddenly removed from their church, then returned to tribal offices a few days later after public outcry — with no clear explanation from diocesan personnel, the now-former pastor and other individuals apparently connected to the matter.

Parishioners with whom OSV News spoke also said the incident and its handling by the diocese underscore the need for greater pastoral efforts in effective ministry to the church's Indigenous Catholics...

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On Religion: Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla Draws Cheers And Jeers For His Outspoken Faith

June 19, 2024

(ANALYSIS) It’s rare to hear eight seconds of dead silence during an NBA Finals press conference.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked if, because of the “plight” of Black head coaches, it was significant that both teams in the Finals were led by Black men for the first time since 1975. Was this a source of pride for him?

Mazzulla's answer was blunt: “I wonder how many of those have been Christian coaches?”

The son of an Italian father and a Black mother, Mazzulla is...

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Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

April 4, 2024

 

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.

 

Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here’s a look at how several of the world’s major religions have responded...

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New York inmates are suing to watch solar eclipse after state orders prisons locked down

April 2, 2024

NEW YORK -- Inmates in New York are suing the state corrections department over the decision to lock down prisons during next Monday's total solar eclipse.

The suit filed Friday in federal court in upstate New York argues that the April 8 lockdown violates inmates' constitutional rights to practice their faiths by preventing them from taking part in a religiously significant event.

The plaintiffs are six men with varying religious backgrounds who are incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Woodbourne. They include a Baptist, a Muslim, a Seventh-...

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A year after deadly Nashville shooting, Christian school relies on faith — and adopted dogs

April 1, 2024

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nearly a year after a shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville that left three adults and three children dead, the students and their families have formed tight bonds out of their shared suffering. They’ve also adopted a lot of dogs.

Among the adopters is Matthew Sullivan, who now cares for a Rhodesian ridgeback named Hank. He is the chaplain at Covenant School, which endured an all-too-common tragedy on March 27, 2023, when a former student shot through the exterior doors and kept going. Sullivan isn’t allowed to talk about...

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LGBTQ-inclusive church in Cuba welcomes all in a country that once sent gay people to labor camps

April 1, 2024

MATANZAS, Cuba (AP) — Proudly wearing a rainbow-colored clergy stole and a rainbow flag in her clerical collar, the Rev. Elaine Saralegui welcomed all to her LGBTQ+ inclusive church in the Cuban port city of Matanzas.

“We’re all invited. And no one can exclude us,” Saralegui told same-sex couples who held hands sitting on wooden pews in the Metropolitan Community Church where she had recently married her wife.

These words and this kind of gathering would have been unimaginable before in the largest country in the conservative and mostly Christian Caribbean, ...

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Virgin of Charity unites all Cubans — Catholics, Santeria followers, exiled and back on the island

March 18, 2024

Ramon Nieblas fixed his tearful eyes on the small golden statue, a beloved icon of Cuba's patron saint. Whispering, he asked the Virgin of Charity of Cobre for a miracle: Please save his sick son.

"I came to pray for his health," said Nieblas, a Cuban living in Brazil who traveled thousands of miles to the basilica in eastern Cuba, a pilgrimage site nestled in the shadow of the Sierra Maestra mountains.

He sat in Mass, wrapping his arm around 26-year-old Hernando Nieblas, a physician undergoing treatment for leukemia. They were among the thousands who visit the...

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Thousands of churches will likely close down. What happens to all that real estate?

March 15, 2024

(RNS) — If experts were predicting that 100,000 libraries across the United States were likely to close in the next few decades, people would probably sit up and take notice. Certainly, if 100,000 school buildings were going to be empty in small and large communities, someone would be talking about it.

But the possible demise of thousands of churches? Crickets, said the Rev. Mark Elsdon, a Presbyterian minister, author and social entrepreneur who co-founded RootedGood, a nonprofit that works with churches on how to use their space.

Source: https://religionnews....

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