Religion News

House Speaker Mike Johnson was once the dean of a Christian law school. It never opened its doors

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before House Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to public office, he was the dean of a small Baptist law school that didn't exist.

Oct 31, 2023 10:29 PM Read more >

Largest Christian university in US faces record fine after federal probe into alleged deception

WASHINGTON (AP) — The country’s largest Christian university is being fined $37.7 million by the federal government amid accusations that it misled students about the cost of its graduate programs.

Oct 31, 2023 4:35 PM Read more >

On a US tour, Ukrainian faith leaders plead for continued support against the Russian invasion

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like other Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy in a delegation of Ukrainian interfaith leaders visiting the United States this week, Bishop Ivan Rusyn has a succinct message: “Please, hear our cry.

Oct 31, 2023 9:53 AM Read more >

Spain's bishops apologize for sex abuses but dispute the estimated number of victims in report

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Catholic bishops on Monday apologized again for sex abuses committed by church members following a report by Spain’s Ombudsman that accused the church of widespread negligence.

Oct 31, 2023 7:23 AM Read more >

Two pastors worry for their congregants’ safety. Are more guns the answer or the problem?

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Inside the columned church on the corner, the rich tones of the organ have wrapped congregants in their embrace. The time has come for the Rev. Jimmie Hardaway Jr. to preach the lessons embodied by the Prince of Peace.

Oct 31, 2023 6:04 AM Read more >

Israel pushes deeper into Gaza and frees Hamas captive; Netanyahu rejects calls for cease-fire

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday, advancing in tanks and other armored vehicles on the territory’s main city and freeing a soldier held captive by Hamas militants.

Oct 30, 2023 11:06 PM Read more >

Illinois man pleads not guilty to hate crime and murder charges in attack on Muslim mother and son

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A man accused of murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in an attack on a Palestinian American woman and her young son pleaded not guilty Monday following his indictmen t by an Illinois grand jury.

Oct 30, 2023 1:03 PM Read more >

Suspect detained in an explosion that killed 3 people at a Jehovah's Witness gathering in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — A former Jehovah's Witness has been detained on suspicion of setting off an explosive device that killed three people and wounded 50 others at a denomination gathering in southern India, authorities said Monday.

Oct 30, 2023 12:32 AM Read more >

Anchorage's oldest building, a Russian Orthodox church, gets new life in restoration project

EKLUTNA, Alaska (AP) — The Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of Alaska's biggest city is packed with treasures for the Christian faithful: religious icons gifted by Romanov czars, panels of oil paintings and jewel-studded incense burners.

Oct 28, 2023 11:48 PM Read more >

In Benin, Voodoo's birthplace, believers bemoan steady shrinkage of forests they revere as sacred

PORTO-NOVO, Benin (AP) — For many people in Benin, the forests empowered them before they were born, or in the first months of their lives. Barren women performed Voodoo rituals by sacred trees to get pregnant.

Oct 28, 2023 11:40 PM Read more >