News
Study links extremism to local expressions of anti-Muslim prejudice
Sociologists and a statistician examined Internet search data provided by Google. Their findings suggest that "violent extremism results from the failure of ethnic integration."
Episcopal Church allows all priests to perform same-sex marriage rites
Under a new rule, priests will be able to marry same-sex couples despite their diocesan bishops' objection—but no priest is required to preside at any wedding.
Luther Seminary to pilot two-year M.Div.
The M.Div.X program hopes to train innovative church leaders—with no student debt, says seminary president Robin J. Steinke.
Israel’s parliament passes law declaring nation to be Jewish
The law, also making Hebrew the only official language, has garnered criticism in Israel and abroad.
U.S. Muslim candidates running in record numbers
There have been nearly 90 contenders in national, state, or local races—including several who could be the first Muslim woman in Congress.
Daniel Lehmann to be first Jewish president of Graduate Theological Union
The consortium in Berkeley, California, includes research centers and seminaries of multiple faith traditions—but has been previously led by Christians.
CAR priests killed amid faith leaders advocating for an end to the conflict
Firmin Gbagoua was the sixth Catholic priest to be killed. Fighters claim that religion is fueling the conflict—but religious leaders point to economic causes.
Church's Nativity scene protests family detention
Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis has statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph behind a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
In Europe, religious minorities face mounting hostility, harassment
Nationalism and anti-immigrant movements have gained ground.
U.S. travel ban leaves far-flung Syrian family in limbo
Dahouk al-Omar has been hoping to be reunited with a son in Chicago. Now it's uncertain whether that will ever be possible.
Proposed Christian law school reconsiders sexual conduct restrictions after Canadian court ruling
Law societies denied accreditation to the program at Trinity Western University, an evangelical school in British Columbia, citing its community covenant as discriminating against LGBTQ applicants.
Dutch Parliament approves limited ban on burqa, niqab
Only a few hundred women in the Netherlands wear face-covering veils, studies suggest.
King of Jordan wins Templeton Prize for fostering Muslim, interfaith cooperation
The Templeton foundation praised Abdullah II for building on "the power of principled pluralism."
Nigerian interfaith couple perseveres in the city where Boko Haram began
Aisha and Vincent Anibueze, a Muslim and a Christian, have found ways to thrive despite violence in Maiduguri.
Churches rebuke Jeff Sessions on immigration rules
U.S. Catholic bishops called asylum a right-to-life issue that could carry "canonical penalties." And the attorney general's fellow United Methodists brought charges against him with the denomination.
Supreme Court declines to hear appeal from breakaway Anglican group in South Carolina
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has asked the state court to give it control of the 29 church properties in question.
Jordan's young protesters say they learned from Arab Spring mistakes
Women were fully engaged in these protests, as demonstrators rejected past divisions such as between Islamist and secular groups.
Bavarian leader puts crosses in state offices amid anti-immigrant backlash
The national heads of Germany's Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have condemned Markus Söder's cross edict.
Employees quit American Bible Society over new sex and marriage rules
The statement of faith is the latest sign that the organization has shifted away from its ecumenical roots toward a more narrow evangelical identity.
Justices hand down narrow ruling for Christian baker in wedding cake case
The Supreme Court majority opinion focused on how a Colorado commission handled the case—leaving open several larger questions.