Religion

Gambian Assembly Revokes Female Genital Cutting Ban

The New York Times reports: Gambian lawmakers have voted to revoke a ban on female genital cutting by removing legal protections for millions of girls, raising fears that other countries could follow suit. Of the 47 members of the Gambia National Assembly present on Monday, 42 voted in favor of a bill to overturn the ban, sending the decision to …

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POLL: 80% Say Religion’s Role In US Life Is Shrinking

Pew Research reports: A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 80% of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking – a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been in our surveys. Most Americans who say religion’s influence is shrinking are not happy about it. Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say both that religion is losing …

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Pope Francis Denies Plan To Resign In New Memoir

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis says he has no plans to resign and isn’t suffering from any health problems that would require doing so, saying in a new memoir he still has “many projects to bring to fruition.” Francis, 87, made the comments in an autobiography, “Life: My Story Through History,” which is being published Tuesday, the 11th anniversary …

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Notorious NYC “Bling Bishop” Convicted Of Extortion

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: A Brooklyn preacher known for his flashy lifestyle and who boasted of his friendship with New York City’s mayor was found guilty in federal court Monday of wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI. Lamor Miller-Whitehead, 47, was found guilty of five counts after a trial in federal court in Manhattan that …

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Pope Forces Out Polish Bishop For Abuse Coverup

Reuters reports: Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop for negligence in handling cases of sexual abuse committed by some clergy against minors, his representatives in the country said on Saturday. Andrzej Dziuba [photo], a bishop in Lowicz, had not informed law enforcement authorities about the case of a priest from his diocese who abused a 14-year-old …

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Megachurch Pastor: Withholding Sex Is Unbiblical And Will Send Christian Husbands Into The Arms Of A “Ho”

The Christian Post reports: With the approval of her co-pastor husband, Reginald Steele of Kingdom Church in Phoenix, Arizona, Kelley Steele warned Christian women in her congregation to avoid withholding sex from their husbands because it’s unbiblical and they could push their husbands in the arms of “some trick, some ho, some homewrecker that will give him exactly what he …

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Coming Soon: 25th Annual Bring Jesus To Work Week

Via press release from Christian Newswire: The 25th annual Joy At Week Week will be held from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, March 24-31, 2024. According to the event’s founder, Drew Crandall, Joy At Work Week encourages working Christians from all traditions and cultures to take the joy of the Lord into their workplaces, not only during Holy Week, but …

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New Christian Nightclub: No Drinking And No Twerking

The Associated Press reports: The young crowd at a Nashville nightclub was ready to dance under the strobe lights to a throbbing mix of hip-hop, rap and Latin beats. But first they gathered to pray and praise God. The rules were announced on the dance floor by a mic-carrying emcee to more than 200 clubgoers blanketed by thick smoke machine …

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Ghana Approves Prison Terms For Identifying As LGBTQ

The New York Times reports: Ghana’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that imposes jail terms on people who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. or organize gay advocacy groups, measures that Amnesty International called among the harshest on the African continent. The legislation, if signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo [photol, would mean that people convicted of identifying as gay could …

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Study: 50% In Some States Back Christian Nationalism

Religion News Service reports: A new report released Wednesday (Feb. 28) found that roughly 3 in 10 Americans express some sympathy for Christian nationalism, with its greatest popularity concentrated in the Southeast and Upper Midwest. The findings appear in a study from the Public Religion Research Institute, which probed public support for Christian nationalism as part of a broader survey …

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Ohio Megachurch Pastor Literally Kicks Bible From Stage As Part Of Super Bowl Sunday Themed Service [Video]

The Christian Post reports: With play-by-play announcers, color commentary, a referee, and a stage covered in AstroTurf, the Crossroads pulpit resembled Allegiant Stadium more than any church on Sunday morning as Senior Pastor Brian Tome and Pastor Alli Patterson sported football jerseys as they took the stage for the “pregame” coin flip. After Tome wins the flip, the referee asks, …

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Scientology Leader Dodges Sexual Assault Summons

Courthouse News reports: David Miscavige, the second and current head of the Church of Scientology, is a hard man to find. Plaintiffs in two separate cases are trying to serve Miscavige with complaints and summons, but the religious leader has proved elusive. On Thursday, a Superior Court judge agreed to a request by Miscavige’s lawyers to quash a summons — …

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Pope: Africans Are A “Special Case” On Homosexuality

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said in an interview published on Monday that Africans were a “special case” in the opposition of bishops and many other people in the continent to homosexuality. But he said he was confident that, except for Africans, critics of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples would eventually understand it. “Those who protest vehemently belong …

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STUDY: Religious “Nones” Are Now Largest US Group

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American …

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Pastor Accused Of Selling $3.4M In “Valueless” Crypto

The Denver Post reports: Speaking to online followers Aug. 22, 2022, Rev. Eli Regalado had a divine message. “It was last October that the Lord brought this cryptocurrency to me. He said, ‘Take this to my people for a wealth transfer.’ It has been confirmed a hundred times since,” the pastor said, according to a lawsuit filed in Denver this …

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Christian Web Filter Outfit Debuts Anti-Porn Superhero

The Christian Post reports: The CEO of Covenant Eyes, a subscription-based porn accountability software, warned that pornography is demonic and urged churches to do more to address the scourge that he said has become a “civilizational crisis.” Ronald DeHaas, who founded Covenant Eyes in 2000 when he had two teenage sons and saw the gathering storm during the early days …

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Cardinal Escapes Second Abuse Trial Due To Dementia

The Washington Post reports: The effort to try Theodore McCarrick on charges of criminal sex assault ended Wednesday in a Wisconsin courtroom when the former archbishop of Washington was deemed incompetent because of dementia. McCarrick, 93, had been charged with sexual assault in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, in connection with accusations of fondling an 18-year-old family friend at a …

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Pope Francis Calls For “Universal Ban” On Surrogacy

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity. Saying a child is a gift and “never the basis of a commercial contract,” he called for a global …

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AK Pastor Sentenced To 20 Years On Child Sex Charges

Alaska Public Media reports: A former Ketchikan church leader was sentenced to 20 years in prison with 30 more suspended by a local judge last week, in a high-profile case of child sexual abuse. Earlier this year, 72-year-old Dwight “Chris” John was charged with 14 counts of first-degree, second-degree and third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, as well as three …

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Tennessee Pastor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

CBS News reports: Cleveland Police say they got a lead from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of child sexual abuse material online. Their detectives got a search warrant for Richard Sentell’s home. Sentell was arrested on Tuesday for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor with greater than a hundred images. Sentell is the pastor at Cornerstone Church of …

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