MIAMI (AP) — Christian voters and faith leaders have long been in the frontlines of providing assistance to migrants — but when it comes to support for immigration policies, from border security to legalization options for migrants already in the U.S., priorities diverge broadly.

Both President Joe Biden and GOP challenger Donald Trump ...

Read more about Many Christian voters in US see immigration as a crisis. How to address it is where they differ.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stood together at the annual National Prayer Breakfast — an opportunity, in the words of one introductory speaker, to “put our political differences aside.”

Such differences are vast between Johnson, a staunchly conservative Republican, and Jeffries, a hero to liberal Democrats. But at the prayer breakfast earlier this month, they collegially took turns reading Scripture — evoking how their shared Christianity confronts evil.

It was a fleeting moment of unity for...

Read more about How Hakeem Jeffries’ Black Baptist upbringing and deep-rooted faith shapes his House leadership

More has become known about the Alabama chief justice's ties to a far-right Christian Nationalist movement that played a major role in the Jan. 6 riot. The movement aims to assert Christian supremacy.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/26/1234005086/a-look-at-the-christian-nationalist-beliefs-of-alabamas-supreme-court-chief-just Read more about A look at the Christian Nationalist beliefs of Alabama's Supreme Court chief justice

Claire McManmon did not become a Catholic school educator for a massive paycheck, but she also hoped she wouldn't have to scramble to cover rent. 

So when the 28-year-old's sister and brother-in-law encouraged her to move from the Midwest to San Jose, California, she was hesitant. The average monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the notoriously pricey Silicon Valley is more than $2,400. 

"That would be hard to budget for any teacher, much less a Catholic school teacher," McManmon told NCR. 

Source: https://www.ncronline.org/news/...

Read more about Parishes turn former convents into affordable housing for teachers

After leaving the Pentecostal Church, reporter Jess Alvarenga has been searching for a new spiritual home. They takes us on their journey to find spirituality that includes the dining room dungeon of a dominatrix, Buddhist monks taking magic mushrooms and the pulpit of a Pentecostal church.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/01/1198004949/zz-codeswitch-bonusdraft

Read more about A former church girl's search for a new spiritual home

ROME – A Spanish nun who has participated in recent meetings of Pope Francis’s top advisory body has said that while women’s priestly ordination is currently off the table, the pontiff is supportive of the female diaconate.

Speaking to the news agency Europa Press, Spanish nun and theologian Linda Pocher said, “There is no reflection on the priestly ordination of women in the Catholic Church,” but the pope “is very much in favor of the female diaconate.”

Source: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2024/02/nun-who-advises-the-pope-says-he-wants-female-deacons

Read more about Nun who advises the Pope says he wants female deacons

 

Friar Paolo Benanti is shaping how to control artificial intelligence in Rome and the Vatican.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/meet-the-vatican-ai-mentor-diplomacy-friar-paolo-benanti-pope-francis/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=c98fc4a511-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_14_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c98fc4a511-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Read more about Meet the Vatican’s AI mentor

 

Two of the state’s largest church groups are teaming up in a rare effort they say is motivated by this year’s stakes and new voting restrictions in Georgia.

 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/11/us/politics/georgia-black-churches-voting.html?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=c98fc4a511-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_14_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c98fc4a511-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Read more about Black Churches in Georgia Unite to Mobilize Voters in a Key Battleground

Amidst the glitz and glamour of the Super Bowl spectacle, some unlikely contenders took center stage with messages of faith. As millions tuned in for touchdowns and halftime shows, they were also met with moments of spiritual reflection, as religious commercials made a surprising appearance during the biggest night in American sports.

Source:

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2024/02/12/super-bowl-commercials-religious-jesus-ad-he-gets-us/72567664007/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=c98fc4a511-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_14_03_13&utm_medium=email...

Read more about These are the religious commercials that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl

When Black Americans leave religion, they rarely leave it altogether. But even as they retain elements of Christian culture, what other communities are they embracing beyond the church?

Source: https://religionnews.com/2024/02/12/for-black-nones-who-leave-religion-whats-next/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=c98fc4a511-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_02_14_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c98fc4a511-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Read more about For Black ‘nones’ who leave religion, what’s next?

For the first time since their church burned in a fire on Easter Sunday, some of those who attended Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, came together Wednesday night to pray.

Only this time, they congregated at a different house of worship: A nearby mosque.

The churchgoers were welcomed at the Islamic Society of Boston in Cambridge.

"This is the first time that our church, since the building...

Read more about ‘We Will Find Ease With Them': Mosque Opens Doors to Parishioners of Cambridge Church After Fire

 

The Chinese government banned religion during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s. And although Christianity and other religions bounced back in the 1980s and ’90s as restrictions were lifted, the size of China’s Christian population now appears to have leveled off, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available survey data collected by academic organizations in China.

 

No survey assessed the Chinese religious landscape in the years immediately following the Cultural Revolution, but government figures suggest...

Read more about China’s Christian population appears to have stopped growing after rising rapidly in the 1980s and ’90s

A church in Ohio, whose pastor was criminally charged for allowing unhoused people to sleep at the church, has filed a federal lawsuit on the grounds of religious discrimination.

Dad's Place is located in Bryan, Ohio, about an hour outside of Toledo. Last year, the church began to offer temporary housing for people living on the street. The city ordered the church to stop, citing zoning and safety concerns. But the pastor, Chris Avell, refused.

Now, he faces 18 zoning code violations which are punishable by fines, up to six months in prison, or both.

...

Read more about An Ohio church is suing a city over not being allowed to house homeless people

 

Eighteen U.S. bishops have signed a letter calling for the United States to cut military spending and instead invest in ending poverty. 

"The growing gap between the rich and the poor is compounded by a growing gap between our nation's spending on weapons and preparations for war and our commitment to end poverty," the statement said.

 

Source: https://www.ncronline.org/news/18-...

Read more about 18 Catholic bishops join letter calling for US to cut military spending

Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. Articles and op-eds in newspapers remind readers of that fact every year, lamenting that the Jewish Festival of Lights has almost become an imitation of the Christian holiday.

These pieces exist for a reason. Hanukkah is a minor festival in the Jewish liturgical year, whose major holidays come in the fall...

Read more about Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically − but the same is true of Christmas