PHILADELPHIA -- Candlelight flickered across Maham Rizvi’s face as she adorned a chestnut-brown coffee table with different mementos: "A River Dies of Thirst," the collection of writings by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish; "Moon and Sun," a poetry book by the Sufi Muslim poet Rumi; a bowl of colorful Turkish soft candies surrounded by ...Read more

ST. JOHN, Ind. — Frank Schilling stood at the highest point at the Shrine of Christ’s Passion in St. John on Good Friday overlooking the prayer trail where the Stations of the Cross were being led by the Most Rev. Bishop Robert J. McClory.

Schilling was trying to count the sea of people who packed the winding prayer trail almost from the ...Read more

NEW YORK — It was a very Good Friday for Mayor Eric Adams, who was baptized with inmates at the Rikers Island jail in what he said was a recommitment to the city and to his faith.

“This is Resurrection Sunday coming up,” Adams told the New York Daily News just two days before Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar. “We should...Read more

ST. JOHN, Ind. — Frank Schilling stood at the highest point at the Shrine of Christ’s Passion in St. John on Good Friday overlooking the prayer trail where the Stations of the Cross were being led by the Most Rev. Bishop Robert J. McClory.

Schilling was trying to count the sea of people who packed the winding prayer trail almost from the ...Read more

The nation's largest Muslim civil rights organization is demanding action and an apology from the city of San Bruno, California, after Muslim constituents were not allowed to break fast or pray inside San Bruno City Hall while attending a City Council meeting.

The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — Some Clovis parents say a Christian group is trying to indoctrinate their children during lunchtime, lured to pray and talk about Jesus Christ by being offered free pizza.

Three parents with children attending Reyburn Intermediate and Clovis East High schools said their children were offered free pizza to go to the lecture ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Survivors of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be able to testify about their torment during two hearings in April and May, a judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner granted a request by the committee representing survivors in the bankruptcy case to allow victims to speak for two hours ...Read more

BALTIMORE — If survivors of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church in Baltimore have the opportunity to testify at two hearings in bankruptcy court about their torment, Archbishop William Lori will be there to listen.

Lori, leader of America’s oldest archdiocese, “will personally attend on both occasions to hear directly from the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Survivors of sexual abuse committed by clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore may have an opportunity to describe their suffering in bankruptcy court, and say they struck an agreement with the church to have Archbishop William Lori there to hear them.

The committee assigned to represent all survivors of clergy abuse in the diocese...Read more

YITZHAR, West Bank — Carrying planks of plywood, a group of Israeli settlers pushed past soldiers guarding the barrier surrounding the Gaza Strip and quickly got to work. Within minutes, the young men had erected two small buildings — outposts, they said, of a future Jewish settlement in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

Their movement had...Read more

BALTIMORE — The committee representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s bankruptcy case is seeking to give victims an opportunity to tell their stories in court.

In a legal brief filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, attorneys for the group of survivors representing all of the diocese’s ...Read more

A ministry group leader is accused of using religion to groom and normalize the sexual abuse of a blind college student, a Texas lawsuit says.

Daniel Savala has a history of sexual abuse accusations dating back to the 1990s and has registered as a sex offender since 2013, according to the lawsuit filed this week.

Savala is currently in a ...Read more

Ukrainian top diplomat pushed back on Pope Francis’ call for his country to show “the courage of the white flag” and enter negotiations with Russia, a remark that fueled outrage among Ukrainians and condemnation from some foreign allies.

“Our flag is a yellow and blue one,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday on X, formerly ...Read more

BALTIMORE — A clap of thunder sounded across Baltimore on a rainy Saturday morning in 2020. The lockdown associated with the early days of the COVID pandemic was in place and the city seemed eerily quiet until the fire sirens began to wail.

During that early spring squall, a bolt of lightning struck an East Baltimore church. Soon the steeple ...Read more

MIAMI — At New Generation Missionary Baptist Church in Opa-locka, a new class has gained popularity with younger congregants — and it’s not your typical Bible study or Sunday school.

Since last year, the church has been teaching classes about African American history using a program created by leaders from Faith in Florida, a coalition of...Read more

The Alabama Constitution provides that "no religion shall be established by law" and that "the civil rights, privileges, and capacities of any citizen shall not be in any manner affected by his religious principles." Those prohibitions were forcefully reinforced in a 1998 Religious Freedom Amendment. Like similar provisions of the First ...Read more

ATLANTA — A bill that would expand religious rights passed the Georgia Senate on Thursday over objections that it could lead to discrimination against gay people.

The Senate voted along party lines, 33-19, to approve the religious rights legislation, which would limit the government’s ability to enforce laws that conflict with religious ...Read more

Americans have grown less religious over the past couple of decades, and attendance at religious services is down across the country. Of course, some parts of the country are a lot less religious than others. New survey data shows Seattle is one of those places.

A clear majority of adults in the Seattle area — around 64% — never attend ...Read more