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Adelle M. Banks

Adelle M. Banks is a national reporter for Religion News Service.

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Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of Billy Graham, tapped for religious freedom ambassador

President Donald Trump has nominated Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter and daughter of evangelists Billy and Franklin Graham, respectively, to serve as the next US ambassador at large for inte...
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At NBCUSA denominational meeting, church leaders and AOC urge voter turnout

The leader of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., a historically Black denomination, said gerrymandering threatened to “destroy” the power of voters, in a plea for turnout in the midterm elec...
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Wendell Berry, writer and farmer, was extolled by many as a modern-day prophet

The Baltimore meeting hall was packed in 2013 when, at the annual American Academy of Religion conference, Wendell Berry received the Martin E....
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March on Washington renews focus on voting rights

Thousands of people gathered before the Lincoln Memorial on the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington for a program on August 28 bookended by prayers and focused on voting rights.<...
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How Christianity shaped Dolly Parton's music and spirit

Dolly Parton, the country music icon who sang and spoke frequently of her Christian faith, died at age 80 on Tuesday, her family ...
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After cuts, Trump administration gives $2B to Christian groups for global aid

The Trump administration ...
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Ahead of midterms, faith leaders seek fair access to the voting booth

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Defense Department rejiggers list of recognized religions after backlash, narrows it to 30

After eliminating about 180 faith groups from its list of recognized religions, ...
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Black clergy strategize and preach after Voting Rights Act gutting

On the first Sunday after the Supreme Court decided to hollow out the Voting Rights Act, Richelle Lewis-Castine offered some clear advice to her congregation in Patterson, Louisiana....
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Jesse Jackson dies at 84

Jesse Jackson Sr., a longtime civil rights activist who twice vied for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s, died February 17 at age 84....

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Women ministers resist misogyny with mentors, training, resilience, study finds

With a total of six decades of ministry between them, Liz Ríos and Liz Mosbo VerHage were not surprised to learn that the vast majority of women ministers have faced misogyny....
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Around DC, congregations aid those who've lost the 'good government job'

On most mornings, Zenobia Bingham sets her alarm for 6:55 a.m. so she can join the prayer call at Washington’s Shiloh Baptist Church, where she has attended for 53 years....
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Federal judge approves partial settlement for lost AME Church retirement funds

A district court judge granted final approval August 18 to a partial settlement for clergy and staffers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church after a substantial percentage of funds from their ...
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Church membership may be declining, but many churchgoers are double-dosing

After Becky Hope left the evangelical church she had been attending in Portland, Oregon, four years ago, she began watching online services at an ecumenical church in New York City—just for a littl...
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AME clergy, staff await possible return of some lost retirement funds

Jimmy Thorn was counting on a retirement spent enjoying time with and providing support for the next generations of his family....
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Black church leader says Target boycott won't ease until DEI programs return

A collective Lenten fast from making purchases at Target has been lengthened into a “full-out boycott,” Jamal Bryant, pastor of an Atlanta-area megachurch and one of the leaders of the campaign, an...

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