Lauren Markoe
FBI report shows surge in anti-Muslim attacks, rise in hate crimes
Although Jewish people remain the most frequent victims in America of hate crimes based on religion, the number of incidents against Muslims surged in 2015, according to newly released data from th...
Religious groups rally around issues after election; new Jewish-Muslim partnership forms
On the day after the election, Mervat Aqqad’s seven-year-old son woke up and asked who got elected president.
...Exhibit at Smithsonian captures art of the Qur’an
Islam prohibits the depiction of God or prophets, and some Muslims believe drawing any animate being is also forbidden. Certainly no such images appear in the Qur’an, its central holy book.
...Survey: Americans accept contraception, divide over LGBT rights
When it comes to contraception, a clear majority of Americans say employers should be required to cover it in their health-care plans, even if they have religious objections.
...U.S. religion worth $1.2 trillion, says demographer
Religion is big bucks, contributing $1.2 trillion annually to the U.S. economy, according to the first comprehensive study to tabulate such a figure.
...In Uganda, a new synagogue for remote Jewish community
They are unlike any other group of Jews in the world, and they are growing in what may seem an unlikely place: a remote collection of villages in eastern Uganda.
...Young Swedish Muslim joins fight against anti-Semitism
Siavosh Derakhti, 25, a Swedish Muslim honored in Europe and the United States for his campaign to counter anti-Semitism, explains his motivation by invoking David.
...Church shoppers put strong preaching at the top of their list
Top-notch preaching is what attracts most people looking for a new place to pray.
...Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and teacher of tolerance, is dead at 87
Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, died at age 87.
...Anti-Semitic assaults increase in U.S.
Violent anti-Semitic attacks in the United States rose 50 percent last year to a total of 56, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
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Pauli Murray, first black woman Episcopal priest, honored by Yale
A new residential college under construction at Yale University will be named for Anna Pauline Murray, a co-founder of the National Organization for Women who was the first African-American woman t...
Nation of Islam is now a shadow of the group Muhammad Ali joined
Muhammad Ali, laid to rest in the tradition of his Muslim faith in June, introduced many Americans to Islam.
...South Carolina AME churches keep extending welcome a year after massacre
A few weeks after a young white gunman killed nine people at a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, another young white man walked into a Bible study at another...
United Methodists punt on LGBT inclusion, reject divestment
In an effort to stave off a schism, the United Methodist Church deferred a decision on whether to allow same-sex marriage and accept LGBT clergy.
...Methodists vote to cut ties with group some consider anti-Israel
c. 2016 Religion News Service
...Methodist supporters of Israel-related divestment regroup after setback
c. 2016 Religion News Service
...Ruth Messinger entrusts American Jewish World Service to her deputy, Robert Bank
Ruth Messinger was a politician in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s before she took the helm of a respected but low-profile nonprofit focused on international development: the American Jewish W...