Religion

(Andrew Medichini | AP) Pope Francis seen in a wheelchair at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Religion News Service columnist Thomas Reese predicts that, despite the many rumors, Francis will not resign as pontiff.

Commentary: Why nonsense stories about Pope Francis resigning keep popping up

By Thomas Reese | Religion News Service | June 23, 2022, 3:48 p.m.

(Rachel Rydalch | The Salt Lake Tribune) A woman prays at Catholic Mass on Ash Wednesday at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in West Jordan in March. A new poll shows belief in God continues to fall among Americans.

Americans’ belief in God keeps dropping

By Yonat Shimron | Religion News Service | June 21, 2022, 10:49 p.m.

(Jae C. Hong | AP) Pastor Bart Barber, newly elected leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, speaks during the faith's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022.

Texas pastor elected president of nation’s largest Protestant faith in wake of sex abuse probe

By Adelle M. Banks | Religion News Service | June 15, 2022, 10:02 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess.

Jana Riess: As Enneagram’s popularity soars, having an experienced guide is critical

By Jana Riess | Religion News Service | June 3, 2022, 5:19 p.m.

(Jae C. Hong | AP) Two Texas Troopers light a candle at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, after a mass shooting.

Commentary: If you love the Bible and God, then love children. Live children.

By Jeffrey Salkin | Religion News Service | May 26, 2022, 12:00 p.m.

(The New York Times) U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, and former U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Commentary: If Nancy Pelosi is denied Communion, why not William Barr?

By John Gehring | Religion News Service | May 25, 2022, 12:00 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) About 2,500 protesters gather at the Utah Capitol for a “Bans Off Our Beehive” rally in support of abortion rights on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Religion News Service columnist Jeffrey Salkin argues that theological ideas should not be turned into public policy.

Commentary: Should religion influence abortion policy?

By Jeffrey Salkin | Religion News Service | May 24, 2022, 12:00 p.m.

(Richard Drew | The Associated Press)Former Vice President Al Gore, shown in 2019, is urging Black interfaith leaders and environmental activists to seek solutions to the “twin crises of climate and racial justice.”

Al Gore says climate crisis is like ‘a nature hike right through the Book of Revelation’

By Adelle M. Banks | Religion News Service | May 19, 2022, 8:26 p.m.

(Lynne Sladky | AP) In this Nov. 24, 2020, photo, Kyla Harris, 10, writes a tribute to her grandmother Patsy Gilreath Moore, who died at age 79 of COVID-19, at a symbolic cemetery created to remember and honor lives lost to COVID-19 in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami. A new novel, “The Maiden of All Our Desire," examines the plague during the 1300s for clues to the world's cultural moment.

Jana Riess: A new novel explores a post-pandemic religious world — in the 14th century

By Jana Riess | Religion News Service | May 11, 2022, 8:32 p.m.

(Jose Luis Magana | AP) The U.S. Supreme Court is seen early Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. A new poll shows members of most religious groups support, to some extent, abortion rights.

Where various religious followers stand on abortion may surprise you

By Yonat Shimron | Religion News Service | May 6, 2022, 8:42 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Hundreds of anti-abortion activists rally at Pro-Life Utah's March for Life at the Utah Capitol in January 2022.

Commentary: After winning on abortion, it’s time for Catholic bishops to switch parties

By Thomas Reese | Religion News Service | May 5, 2022, 12:49 p.m.

(Rahmat Gul | AP) Taliban fighters display their flag as they patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom accuses the Taliban-led regime of routinely violating religious freedoms of minority faiths.

Afghanistan among the ‘worst of the worst’ in violating religious freedom, says U.S. panel

By Peter Smith | The Associated Press | April 25, 2022, 10:28 p.m.

(Sebastian Scheiner | AP)An Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays as others participate in the Cohanim priestly caste blessing during the Jewish holiday of Passover at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Old Jerusalem on Sunday, April 12, 2020.

Commentary: Hey, New York Times, leave my God alone

By Jeffrey Salkin | Religion News Service | April 19, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) In this Sunday, April 12, 2020, file photo, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, right, delivers his homily over mostly empty pews at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York due to coronavirus concerns. During the 1990s, statistics show, large amounts of young people left religion.

Commentary: How America’s young people lost their religion

By Ryan Burge | Religion News Service | April 14, 2022, 11:28 p.m.

(Lynne Sladky | AP) Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, in Miami. Harper won the 2021 National League MVP award.

Commentary: Baseball, like religion, can teach us something about enchantment

By Jacob Lupfer | Religion News Service | April 7, 2022, 2:31 p.m.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Members of the Assembly of First Nations perform in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Pope Francis has welcomed First Nations delegations to the Vatican. They are seeking an apology for the Catholic Church's role in running Canada's notorious residential schools for Indigenous children.

Pope makes historic apology to Indigenous for Canada abuses

By Nicole Winfield | Associated Press | April 1, 2022, 2:59 p.m.

(Chris Pizzello | AP) Presenter Chris Rock, left, reacts after being hit on stage by Will Smith while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Commentary: Will Smith could have, should have, ‘used his words’

By Jeffrey Salkin | Religion News Service | March 29, 2022, 10:25 p.m.

(Jacquelyn Martin | AP) Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson listens during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, March 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson thanks God publicly but keeps faith history private

By Adelle M. Banks | Religion News Service | March 22, 2022, 12:12 a.m.

(Lynne Sladky | The AP)Supporters of President Donald Trump turn and yell toward the news media during a rally for evangelical supporters in January 2020 in Miami.

Jana Riess: Evangelicalism isn’t dying, and Catholics are going Republican

By Jana Riess | Religion News Service | March 9, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

(Lynsey Addario | The New York Times) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine during a news conference in Kyiv, March 3, 2022.

Commentary: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — our Jewish superhero

By Jeffrey Salkin | Religion News Service | March 3, 2022, 9:37 p.m.