News
Foster care agency allowed to continue Protestants-only policy
The U.S. government recently granted faith-based foster care agencies in South Carolina an exemption to a regulation barring religious discrimination in federally funded foster care programs.
New York Muslim village calls for justice after plot against it is foiled
For more than a decade, Islamberg has been a focus of right-wing conspiracy theories and has found itself the target of anti-Muslim white supremacist attacks as a result.
Despite claims by politicians, Muslim extremism is rare in the U.S.
Last year only 14 Muslim Americans were arrested for alleged involvement with violent extremism—and none of them entered the country illegally.
Muslim slave’s narrative offers new window on Africans in America
A digitized version of Omar ibn Said’s 15-page autobiography is now available through the Library of Congress.
Jerusalem homeowners distressed by Greek Orthodox Church’s land sales
The financially strapped church sold property to private investors in a way that critics see as secretive.
U.S. groups look to Canada to resettle refugees
Canada’s private sponsorship program allows churches, community organizations, and individuals to apply for resettlement for refugees. U.S. partners can help.
Muslim civil rights group sues Maryland over ban related to Israel boycott
Twenty-six states currently have some form of a ban on supporting the the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
Philippine church bombing causes fears of derailed peace process
Dozens were killed or wounded during mass Sunday at a cathedral in the majority Muslim part of the country, where most voters approved expanding an autonomous region to make peace.
A Muslim GOP leader, a Catholic judge, and the American tradition of associations
The right to form associations is part of First Amendment. Yet Americans sometimes view membership in them with suspicion—as some did with Shahid Shafi and Brian Buescher.
Program equips graduates of traditional Muslim schools for engagement with wider world
Madrasa Discourses at Notre Dame covers the scientific and philosophical questions Islamic seminaries often skip.
Rwanda’s Catholic clinics strike a compromise with government on providing access to contraception
The government wanted to increase birth control use. But the Catholic Church runs about a third of the country’s hospitals and clinics. So they struck a deal.
Brazil’s new president begins term with support of conservative Christians
Jair Bolsonaro created a Christian voting bloc through opposition to what he called a liberal moral drift.
Nigerian women’s network builds interfaith bridges
The Women of Faith Peacebuilding Network has reached more than 10,000 Muslim and Christian women across the country.
In a hot real estate market, what happens to old church buildings?
Church leaders, developers, and urban planners face tough questions as they attempt to halt the abandonment and sell-off of centuries-old structures.
Lamin Sanneh, scholar of Christian missions, dies at age 76
Sanneh challenged the idea that Christianity was merely a tool of colonialism.
Challenges continue after war ends, says Syrian priest and peacemaker Alexi Chehadeh
Chehadeh leads the largest local NGO in Syria, serving 2.5 million people a year.
Nancy Pittman becomes president of Phillips Theological Seminary
The search committee chair praised Pittman’s “vision for the future of theological education.”
The Crystal Cathedral is still a cathedral, but soon a Catholic one
Once the symbol of evangelist Robert Schuller’s success, the 128-foot-tall glass building went into foreclosure and the Diocese of Orange bought it.
James Kenneth Echols, first African American Lutheran seminary president, dies at age 67
Richard J. Perry Jr., a professor emeritus at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, called Echols “a giant in the world of theological education.”
Faith-based credit unions offer an alternative to big banks, payday loans
“The purpose of a bank is to make money for the investors,” said a Catholic credit union leader. “The purpose of a credit union is to serve the membership.”