(RNS) — Do congregants want their pastors to voice opinions on political issues or candidates? Data from the State of the Church Initiative, a study my company, Gloo, commissioned from the research company Barna, revealed that most churchgoers say no....
(RNS) — Even as thousands of rabbis affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic sect crowded into a group photograph at their annual conference in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood, the absence of one of their colleagues was palpable. Rabbi Zvi Kogan, an...
(RNS) — As fall shifts into winter in Hardwick, Massachusetts, temperatures are unseasonably high for November, and a 34-acre community built by a homesteading couple nearly four decades ago stands remarkably quiet. “I’m finding it’s okay for me to say,...
(RNS) — In the stormy skies above Oceania, an evil god and his demon minions battle a well-muscled, shape-shifting demi-god, while down below a plucky, bronze young woman rides the waves, cheering her sidekick on to help save her people,...
(RNS) — Bishop T.D. Jakes returned briefly via video to address his Dallas megachurch a week after experiencing a still-undisclosed medical incident that led to surgery. “Many of you don’t realize that you’re looking at a miracle,” he said in...
ANAHEIM, California (AP) — For over two years, Ebonie Vazquez searched to find a mentor of color for her son, Giovanni, now 11 and passionate about playing the violin. She has now found that space at a local church. New...
LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Would you trust an “AI Jesus” with your innermost thoughts and troubles? Researchers and religious leaders on Wednesday released findings from a two-month experiment through art in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where an avatar of...
SUNBURY, Ohio (AP) — For the Young family in rural Sunbury, Ohio, activism begins at home. The conservative Catholic family chooses to live their anti-abortion beliefs through adoption, foster-parenting and raising their children to believe in the sanctity of life....
(RNS) — Elket Rodríguez, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s global migration advocate, has served migrants on the Texas-Mexico border for years. But until earlier this month, he had never been to the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle route many migrants traverse...
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis’ plan to build an eco-village in the historic gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the popes, will be complete for the 2025 Jubilee, allowing pilgrims and tourists to participate in an immersive...
