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New dating apps — and ‘in person’ mixers — target religious and political niches
Dating today can be a bit like ordering at Chipotle. The universe of dating apps makes it easier than ever to custom-order a partner of your choosing — their height, their food preferences, their religion.
Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion puts spotlight on athletes observing Ramadan
NBA star Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion to Islam has brought new attention to the relationship between Muslim athletes and Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar, when Muslims abstain from food and drink during the day.
New website hopes to make sermons vital part of life
Every week, millions of Americans go to houses of worship to hear a message from a spiritual leader. Most of those congregations are small. And few sermons ever make their way beyond the four walls of a given congregation.
Documentary details past and present of AME Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has released a short film online about its history that includes an interview with the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the pastor killed in a June 2015 racial attack on his historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., church, in which he talks about the historically Black denomination’s significance.
Fewer Americans turning to prayer to relieve stress
Americans are feeling stressed not only during the holidays but year-round. The American Psychological Association’s newest “Stress in America” survey of 3,440 adults shows the public’s overall stress level remains the same as 2016, with an average level of 4.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most stress.
Catholic bishops call for the root causes of racism to be addressed
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops kicked off a gathering in St. Louis of approximately 250 of the nation’s bishops by referring to Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed black teenager was killed last August by a white police officer.
Poor People’s Campaign, lawmakers unveil sweeping resolution to tackle poverty
Lawmakers and leaders of the faith-based Poor People’s Campaign unveiled a sweeping new resolution on May 20 designed to eradicate poverty in the United States, with activists touting it as a broad-based legislative framework that hopes to do for poverty what the Green New Deal proposes to do for environmental issues.
Churches fight predatory payday lending with political pressure, small loans
Anyra Cano Valencia was having dinner with her husband, Carlos, and their family when an urgent knock came at their door. The Valencias, pastors at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth, Texas, opened the door to a desperate, overwhelmed congregant.
Religion bullying focus of U.S. education website
Dapinder Ahluwalia’s 14-year-old son starts high school next month. Like many parents, she’ll spend the last days of summer ensuring he has the right school supplies and a copy of his class schedule.
Nativity scene shows Holy Family separated in cages
The Nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church is striking. Mannequins of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are separated in individual cages topped with barbed wire. A baby Jesus is wrapped in what resembles a Mylar blanket, similar to the sheets migrants have been given in holding cells.
As Ramadan nears, prisons urged to accommodate faith needs during pandemic
A coalition of 20 faith groups is pressing prison officials across the country to accommodate all prisoners’ religious needs during the outbreak of the coronavirus, particularly with Ramadan beginning this week.
Excavation of graves begins at site of Colonial Black church
Archaeologists in Virginia began excavating three suspected graves at the original site of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches on July 18, 2022, commencing a month's long effort to learn who was buried there and how they lived.
Most Americans pray for healing
The vast majority of Americans have prayed for the healing of others, and more than one in four have practiced the laying on of hands, a Baylor University expert reports.
Court documents show pastor targeted by government for officiating at immigrant weddings
New documents unearthed in an ongoing federal lawsuit indicate the U.S. government surveilled and investigated a New York pastor and immigrant rights activist over allegations that she committed marriage fraud by officiating immigrant weddings along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, others encourage U.S. to rebuild refugee resettlement
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota thanked Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service during an online event June 17, in the name of “all the refugees you have settled and the millions around the world who have benefited from your work.”
Mother Emanuel’s pastor in Charleston reassigned
After an unusually short time on the job, church officials have reassigned the pastor of the Charleston, S.C., church where a gunman killed nine people during Bible study a year ago.
Chicago churches join growing movement of congregations paying off medical debt
This Thanksgiving, 5,888 families in Cook County, Ill., will receive a card with the names of several congregations belonging to different Protestant Christian denominations throughout the city of Chicago and these words: “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We want you to know that all your debts have been forgiven.”
Black Jesus version of Michelangelo’s Pieta divides Catholics on race and politics
An interpretation of Michel- angelo’s iconic Pietà featuring a Black Jesus has unexpectedly caused a debate about Black Lives Matter, the sanctity of art and the evangelization of Africa after the Pontifical Academy of Life, an official Vatican think tank, tweeted out a photo of the reimagined statue on Sept. 12.
New Air Force rules allow turbans, hijabs and beards
Muslim and Sikh advocacy groups are welcoming new guidelines issued by the U.S. Air Force allowing personnel to request a waiver to wear religious apparel, including turbans and hijabs, and to have unshorn hair or beards for religious reasons.
Muslim superhero who fought Nazis in comic books making a comeback
In 1944, the world met Kismet, an Algerian superhero who fought against fascists in southern France while wearing a yellow fez. He punched Nazis, foiled Hitler’s plans and came to the aid of civilians in need.
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