Southern Baptists oust Saddleback Church over woman pastor
February 22, 2023 GMTThe Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday ousted its second-largest congregation — Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren — for having a woman pastor.
Tribe asks to take over former boarding school in Kansas
January 4, 2023 GMTFAIRWAY, Kan. (AP) — The Shawnee Tribe is asking to take over ownership of a historical site in Kansas that might contain unmarked graves of Native American students.
The tribe released an architectural survey Tuesday that found the three buildings remaining at the Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway, Kansas, need millions of dollars in repairs, The Kansas City Star reported.
Dig at UK housing site yields major 7th century treasures
December 6, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — A 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace found on the site of a new housing development marks the grave of a powerful woman who may have been an early Christian religious leader in Britain, archaeologists said Tuesday.
Christian monastery possibly pre-dating Islam found in UAE
November 4, 2022 GMTSINIYAH ISLAND, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An ancient Christian monastery possibly dating as far back as the years before Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula has been discovered on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, officials announced Thursday.
India to deport 3 Swedish Christians for proselytizing
October 27, 2022 GMTGUWAHATI, India (AP) — Indian police are deporting three Swedish citizens who violated their visas by trying to convert people to Christianity in India’s remote northeast region, officials said Thursday.
New Saddleback pastor sees women clergy in church’s future
October 24, 2022 GMTLAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — On a recent Sunday morning, in the sanctuary of Saddleback Church, Lead Pastor Andy Wood opened with a shout-out to the congregation’s newest female teaching pastor – his wife Stacie Wood.
Michael Flynn: From government insider to holy warrior
September 7, 2022 GMTBATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) — The crowd swayed on its feet, arms pumping, the beat of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” thumping in their chests. The people under the revival tent hooted as Michael Flynn strode across the stage, bopping and laughing, singing the refrain into his microphone and encouraging the audience to sing along to the transgressive rock anthem.
US rabbi reviving Jewish roots in her family’s Italian town
July 20, 2022 GMTSERRASTRETTA, Italy (AP) — From a rustic, tiny synagogue she fashioned from her family’s ancestral home in this mountain village, an American rabbi is keeping a promise made to her Italian-born father: reconnect people in this southern region of Calabria to their Jewish roots, links nearly severed five centuries ago when the Inquisition forced Jews to convert to Christianity.
Cyprus eyes rebound from loss of Russian, Ukrainian tourists
June 12, 2022 GMTKYKKOS MONASTERY, Cyprus (AP) — Archimandrite Agathonikos bows before the silver-covered icon of the Virgin Mary to offer prayers for an end to the war between “peoples of the same religion” in Ukraine.
A second JD Vance book falls through, publisher says
May 5, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A second book by “Hillbilly Elegy” author and U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance that had been under contract with Harper has been called off, the publisher told The Associated Press Thursday.
AP PHOTOS: Greeks celebrate Easter without restrictions
April 25, 2022 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — For the first time in three years, Greeks were able to celebrate Orthodox Easter without the restrictions made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond the obvious religious messages, in Greece, Easter signifies a return to the countryside, often to people's ancestral homes, and a mass exodus from big cities.
Pope makes Easter plea for Ukraine peace, cites nuclear risk
April 17, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the “senseless” war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare.
Holy days converging in April spark interfaith celebrations
April 17, 2022 GMTIt’s a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaism’s Passover, Christianity’s Easter and Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Baha’is, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April.
Kyiv shrines, memorials with powerful symbolic value at risk
March 3, 2022 GMTKyiv, bracing for a potentially catastrophic Russian attack, is the spiritual heart of Ukraine.
Israeli authority backs down from Mount of Olives park plan
February 21, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it was backing down from a contentious plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park following vociferous outcry from major churches.
Hungary: Bolsonaro and Orban stress shared migration views
February 17, 2022 GMTBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The populist leaders of Brazil and Hungary emphasized their shared conservative approach to issues like migration, Christianity and family values during a visit to Hungary's capital on Thursday by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
With COVID rules eased, Barcelona embraces festival’s return
February 15, 2022 GMTBARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Crowds gathered in Barcelona's historic downtown to watch in awe and snap cellphone photos as teams of people in colorful garb formed human towers rising into the air like the spires on the nearby medieval cathedral.
Pope to soon declare 37th doctor of the church: St. Irenaeus
January 20, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — A 2nd-century saint known as a bridge between eastern and western Christianity took another step Thursday toward being declared a doctor of the church, one of the highest honors in the Catholic Church.
Rome church condemns swastika-draped casket at funeral
January 11, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — The Catholic Church in Rome on Tuesday strongly condemned as “offensive and unacceptable” a funeral procession outside a local church in which the casket was draped in a Nazi flag and mourners gave the fascist salute.
Pope: New meeting with Russian Orthodox patriarch possible
December 6, 2021 GMTABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Monday there were plans for a possible second meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, after their historic 2016 encounter in Cuba became a landmark in mending relations severed by the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity.
Protesting Orthodox priest heckles Pope on Greece visit
December 4, 2021 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — Pope Francis was heckled by an elderly Greek Orthodox priest on Saturday as he arrived for a meeting with the head of the country’s Orthodox Church, evidence of the lingering distrust between some Orthodox and Catholics 1,200 years after Christianity was cleaved in half.
Biden says pope has brought him comfort after son’s death
October 31, 2021 GMTROME (AP) — President Joe Biden reflected on his relationship with Pope Francis on Sunday as he neared the end of his visit to Rome, saying the pontiff has brought him “great solace” since the death of his son Beau more than six years ago.
California to replace toppled statue with memorial to tribes
September 25, 2021 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — More than a year after protesters toppled a statue of a Spanish missionary on the grounds of the California Capitol, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday to replace it with a memorial for the state's Native Americans.
Canadian Catholic bishops apologize for residential schools
September 24, 2021 GMTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Catholic bishops in Canada apologized Friday “unequivocally” to Indigenous peoples for the suffering endured in residential schools, just as Pope Francis prepares to meet with Indigenous leaders at the Vatican later this fall.
Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
February 24, 2021 GMTNasser Banyameen speaks about his hometown of Qaraqosh in the historical heartland of Iraqi Christianity with nostalgia...
Christianity on display at Capitol riot sparks new debate
January 28, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this month’s Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism.
Ministry roiled by late founder’s sexual misconduct scandal
January 4, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — A posthumous sexual misconduct scandal involving the man who founded, in his own name, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has placed the global Christian organization in a wrenching predicament...
Each year, 1,000 Pakistani girls forcibly converted to Islam
December 28, 2020 GMTKARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Neha loved the hymns that filled her church with music. But she lost the chance to sing them last year when, at the age of 14, she was forcibly converted from Christianity to Islam and married to a 45-year-old man with children twice her age...
After turbulent 2020, faith in America faces more big issues
December 18, 2020 GMTFor many religious denominations in the United States, there were two shared preoccupations in 2020 beyond the usual matters of faith: How to cope with the coronavirus pandemic and how to respond to tumultuous political events.
Guard chaplains reflect on Floyd protests, lessons learned
November 27, 2020 GMTST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Reflecting on a polarized nation in the throes of a bitterly fought election, Stephanie Christoffels started the communal prayer at a fall training of her fellow Minnesota National Guard chaplains by reminding them of Christianity’s two greatest commandments: to love God and neighbor...
Black skeptics uplift their community through social justice
October 15, 2020 GMTLOS ANGELES (RNS) — Darrin Johnson would like nothing better than to rid the Black community of organized religion...
Orthodox church petitions UN over Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia
September 29, 2020 GMTANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States said Tuesday it is petitioning United Nations experts to coerce Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity's cultural heritage following the Turkish government's conversion of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque...
Jerry Falwell Jr. will leave behind a very different legacy from his influential father
August 26, 2020 GMT(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...
The long history of how Jesus came to resemble a white European
July 28, 2020 GMT(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...
‘GOD TV’ spat exposes tensions between Israel, evangelicals
May 18, 2020 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — An evangelical broadcaster who boasted of miraculously securing a TV license in Israel now risks being taken off the air over suspicions of trying to convert Jews to Christianity...
Romania: Orthodox Church blasts posters of doctors as saints
April 29, 2020 GMTBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s Orthodox Church on Wednesday criticized a billboard campaign showing doctors dealing with the coronavirus epidemic as saints with halos shaped like the virus...
Pope dreams of post-virus world where inequalities abolished
April 19, 2020 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis is urging the faithful to use the coronavirus pandemic's “time of trial” to prepare for a future where inequalities are abolished and the poorest are no longer left behind...
Drive-in churches an option for faithful who want closeness
April 7, 2020 GMTBALDWIN, Wisc. (AP) — As the morning sun melts the last traces of snow in the surrounding farmland, the faithful, gathered to celebrate Christianity’s holiest week, cheerfully honk out their hallelujahs and peace greetings...
Despite ltaly’s coronavirus lockdown, Pope Francis visits two Rome churches to pray for an end to the pandemic
March 15, 2020 GMTROME (AP) — Despite ltaly's coronavirus lockdown, Pope Francis visits two Rome churches to pray for an end to the pandemic.
Mom in New Mexico Christian sect sentenced in son’s death
March 12, 2020 GMTGRANTS, N.M. (AP) — The mother of a teen whose death prompted a raid of a paramilitary Christian sect in New Mexico has been sentenced to prison...
Rio Carnival schools make plea for end of religious abuse
February 24, 2020 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — As the Grande Rio Samba school rolled its Carnival float onto Rio de Janeiro's parade grounds, people aboard unfurled a massive fan-shaped banner reading “RESPECT MY AXÉ” to the roaring crowd...
Minnesota priest apologizes for calling Muslims a ‘threat’
January 30, 2020 GMTLONSDALE, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota Roman Catholic priest apologized Wednesday for saying in a sermon that Islam was “the greatest threat in the world” to the United States and Christianity...
Evangelical tussling over anti-Trump editorial escalates
December 23, 2019 GMTAs the political clamor caused by a top Christian magazine’s call to remove President Donald Trump from office continues to reverberate, more than 100 conservative evangelicals closed ranks further around Trump on Sunday...
Pope denounces ‘rigidity’ as he warns of Christian decline
December 21, 2019 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis warned Saturday that "rigidity" in living out the Christian faith is creating a "minefield" of hatred and misunderstanding in a world where Christianity is increasingly irrelevant...
Trump blasts Christian magazine that called for his removal
December 20, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blasted a prominent Christian magazine on Friday, a day after it published NEW YORK (AP) — A major evangelical Christian magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham on Thursday published an editorial calling for President Donald Trump’s removal from office...Evangelical magazine Christianity Today: Trump must go
December 20, 2019 GMT
How long is the sermon? Study ranks Christian churches
December 16, 2019 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — How long should a sermon be?
Pope visits Jesuit Japan community that could have been his
November 26, 2019 GMTTOKYO (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his visit to Japan in a very personal way Tuesday, spending the morning with his Jesuit confreres in the community that would have been his own had his dream to be a missionary come true...
Pope urges Thais young and old to practice faith with joy
November 22, 2019 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Pope Francis ministered to Thailand’s tiny Catholic community Friday, urging Thais young and old to practice their faith with joy and with “a Thai face and flesh” in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country...
Rich in dramatic Catholic history, Nagasaki awaits the pope
November 20, 2019 GMTNAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — It’s fitting that Pope Francis will start his first official visit to Japan in Nagasaki, the city where Christianity first took hold in the country and where nearly 500 years later it remains steeped in blood-soaked symbolism, both religious and political...
Kanye West talks about serving God during visit with Osteen
November 17, 2019 GMTHOUSTON (AP) — Rapper Kanye West told parishioners at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch on Sunday that his recent spiritual awakening has made him realize he’s no longer in the service to fame and money but “in service to God...
Wisconsin Assembly votes to recognize tree, Bible week
November 12, 2019 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who lead the Wisconsin Assembly voted Tuesday to call the state Capitol evergreen a Christmas tree and formally recognize National Bible Week, moves they said were necessary to ensure Christianity isn't marginalized as the holidays approach...
Christians, Muslims, Jews unite against assisted suicide
October 28, 2019 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Leaders from three of the world's major religions have joined forces against assisted suicide and euthanasia, in a declaration issued at the Vatican.
The declaration, backed by leaders of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, states that no health care provider should be "coerced or pressured" into providing assisted suicide or any form of euthanasia...
Share of Americans with no religious affiliation growing
October 18, 2019 GMTThe portion of Americans with no religious affiliation is rising significantly, in tandem with a sharp drop in the percentage that identifies as Christians, according to (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...On Yom Kippur, remembering Mosul’s rich and diverse past
October 7, 2019 GMT
2 Pulse survivors host rally against gay ‘lifestyle’
September 15, 2019 GMTORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre hosted a Florida rally for people who say they have left behind homosexuality for Christianity...
California campus removes bell marking Catholic missions
June 21, 2019 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — A university in Northern California removed a bell marking the 18th century Catholic missions that Native Americans say glorifies racism.
The University of California, Santa Cruz invited community members to the campus to witness the removal Friday of the El Camino Real Bell...
Pope urges Romanians to work together to confront challenges
May 31, 2019 GMTBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Pope Francis opened a three-day pilgrimage to Romania on Friday by delivering a new appeal for unity, 20 years after St. John Paul II made the first-ever papal visit to a majority Orthodox country...
Pope tends to Orthodox ties, Catholic minorities in Balkans
May 4, 2019 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, who opened 2019 with trips to the Muslim world, is shifting gears to tend to Orthodox relations, with a delicate visit starting Sunday to the Balkan nations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia...
AP PHOTOS: A week since deadly Sri Lanka bombings
April 27, 2019 GMTSome were celebrating one of the holiest days in Christianity. Some were working at Colombo hotels...
Christians’ ethnic inclusion in Sri Lanka keeps fragile calm
April 26, 2019 GMTCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — During the bad years, when rebels mostly from the ethnic minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese government forces were slaughtering each other in a horrific civil war, Gnanamani found solace in something many of her fellow Tamils didn't have: Christianity — and especially its long inclusion of both the Tamil and Sinhalese ethnic groups...
Pope tells Moroccans “we are brothers and sisters”
March 31, 2019 GMTRABAT, Morocco (AP) — Pope Francis sought Sunday to encourage greater fraternity between Christians and Muslims in Morocco, telling his flock that showing the country's Muslim majority they are part of the same human family will help stamp out extremism...
Christians in N. Korea tell of struggle to practice faith
February 2, 2019 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Christianity is virtually outlawed in North Korea, where dictator Kim Jong Un is the subject of a personality cult that treats him like a god...
Ukrainian Orthodox Church breaks away from Russian influence
January 5, 2019 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — An independent Ukrainian Orthodox church was created at a signing ceremony in Turkey on Saturday, formalizing a split with the Russian church it had been tied to since 1686...
Vatican official urges Iraq’s Christians to forgive, rebuild
December 28, 2018 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican secretary of state urged Iraqi Christians who have endured years of Islamic extremist persecution to forgive, reconcile and rebuild their broken communities as he celebrated Mass Friday in Iraq's largest Christian town...
Romney: Jeffress wrong man to give Jerusalem embassy prayer
May 14, 2018 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Senate candidate Mitt Romney of Utah says a prominent Baptist minister shouldn't be giving the prayer that opens the U...
‘Hope and dignity:’ Pope calls for peace in Easter message
April 1, 2018 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — On Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict, "beginning with the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria" and extending to Israel, where 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border two days before Easter Sunday...
Palestinian Christians slam Pence’s pro-Israel faith
January 22, 2018 GMTBETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian Christians say U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's brand of evangelical Christianity, with its fervent embrace of modern-day Israel as fulfilment of biblical prophecy, lacks their faith's compassion and justice, including for those who have endured half a century of Israeli occupation...
Bertram to speak about Christianity at Florence event
January 20, 2018 GMTFLORENCE, S.C. – Jim Bertram will speak from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 11 at an educational program on Christianity that will be presented by the Florence branch of Interfaith Partners of South Carolina.
How Christian culture was changed by Southern California’s megachurches
January 12, 2018 GMTCalifornia has more megachurches than any other state: There are over 200 Protestant, theologically conservative churches with at least 2,000 weekly attenders.
In my multiple research projects conducted over the last 25 years, I have seen that California megachurches have played a significant role in how millions of people — Christian or not — understand Christianity.
Maranatha ranked on list of Christian universities
January 10, 2018 GMTMaranatha Baptist University was recently ranked fourth in a list of the top 30 conservative Christian colleges and universities of 2017-18.
The ranking is based on church affiliation, view of Biblical legitimacy and whether any coursework in Christianity was required for graduation.
When Americans tried – and failed – to reunite Christianity
November 8, 2017 GMT(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...
She’s an African American rabbi with Southern Baptist roots
November 7, 2017 GMTBy Staff
Tiferet Berenbaum, 34, one of the few female African American rabbis in the United States, arrived in July at Temple Har Zion in Mount Holly after a lifelong spiritual journey from her parents’ Southern Baptist roots.
In Brazil, religious gang leaders say they’re waging a holy war
November 3, 2017 GMT(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts...
Pope decries ‘vile’ attack on Syrians in Easter address
April 16, 2017 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — On Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis lamented the horrors generated by war and hatred, delivering an Easter Sunday message that also decried the "latest vile" attack on civilians in Syria.
Letters for Saturday, April 15, 2017
April 15, 2017 GMTJews and the crucifixion of Jesus
A Jewish neighbor once lamented to me about Jews being called “Christ-killers.” I found out that many Christians over the centuries have been anti-Semitic against Jews.
George B. Reed Jr.: God is neither dead nor sleeping
April 6, 2017 GMTFrom reading some of my recent columns someone might get the idea that I believe Christianity and religion in general might be on their way out. Although there is some evidence to that effect in the U.S.
Perspectives: The truth about Lent, the season for introspection
March 17, 2017 GMTHere it is the middle of March and, in the practice of the Christian Church, the middle of Lent.
Lent has a long tradition in Christianity, and there are many things associated with it. Unfortunately, Lent has gotten something of a “bum rap” through the years with many general cultural associations being about repression and guilt.