Tag Archives: religion

The Christian Post reports: Pastor Rudolph Brooks Jr., founder and senior pastor of the Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries in Washington, D.C., is now facing up to 20 years in prison after he was arrested for fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, which he then splurged on personal expenses, including 39 cars. A release from …

The Associated Press reports: Crowds from Protestant and Catholic communities hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and each other overnight in Belfast, as a week of street violence escalated. Police and politicians tried Thursday to calm the volatile situation in Northern Ireland, where Britain’s exit from the European Union has unsettled an uneasy political balance. The focus of …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis urged countries in his Easter message on Sunday to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world’s poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic “scandalous”. “The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nonetheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts …

The Washington Post reports: President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday a rise in coronavirus cases and asked faith leaders to urge their communities to get vaccinated and to not be too “cavalier” when it comes to social distancing and traveling. “They’re going to listen to your words, more than they are me, as president of the United States,” Biden told the …

Gallup reports: Americans’ membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup’s eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999. U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and …

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports: While Tammy McCoy was outside taking a break, according to the complaint, assistant general manager Kerri Ann Show said she was Christian and then asked McCoy, “what religion are you?” McCoy, who was surprised by the question but answered because Show was her supervisor, responded, “I’m Pagan,” the lawsuit said. “Show made a face and immediately …

The Christian Post reports: The marrying of religion and politics among conservatives to create the well-known and powerful religious right that forms a voting bloc for the Republican Party has led some Americans to abandon their ties to the Christian faith and join the ranks of secularists, scholars argue in a new book. The researchers present evidence suggesting that many …

From Crabapple First Baptist Church: We are thankful for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that offers forgiveness and new life to all who truly repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ alone for salvation. We are thankful for the grace and mercy of the Lord that gives us strength to endure in times of …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former priest and two professional dominatrices accused of performing sex acts on the altar of a Catholic church in Pearl River were charged by the north shore District Attorney’s Office Thursday with one count of institutional vandalism, a felony. Travis John Clark, 37, who was pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, and …

The Washington Post reports: Robert Aaron Long’s longtime church condemned him in a lengthy statement on Friday morning, saying the 21-year-old suspect in the shootings at three Georgia spas had committed an “extreme and wicked act.” “These unthinkable and egregious murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel,” the statement from Crabapple First Baptist Church …

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports: The longtime treasurer of a Mt. Pleasant Township church was arrested this week after admitting to state troopers he stole at least $150,000 from church coffers and spent a large portion of the money on a pornographic website, according to court records. Glenn E. Yothers, 56, of Unity, is charged with theft by deception and theft …

Religion News Service reports: Jeremiah Johnson, the self-described prophet who faced backlash from fellow evangelical Christians after publicly apologizing for prophesying former President Donald Trump would be reelected president, is ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries. The announcement comes “after much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord,” Johnson said Monday (March 8) on his Facebook page. It also comes after …

The Christian Post reports: White evangelicals are the least likely faith group in the United States to get vaccinated for COVID-19, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. Additional data sent to The Christian Post from a Pew survey conducted in February of 10,121 U.S. adults found that 54% of white evangelicals “definitely or probably” plan on …

Reuters reports: Former pope Benedict has chided conservative Roman Catholics who have not accepted his decision to resign as “fanatical”, telling them that there is only one pope and it is Francis. Benedict, now 93, in 2013 became the first pope in more than 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life, saying he no longer had the strength …

The Associated Press reports: The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee voted Tuesday to oust four of its churches, two over policies deemed to be too inclusive of LGBTQ people and two more for employing pastors convicted of sex offenses. The actions were announced at a meeting marked by warnings from two top leaders that the SBC, the largest Protestant denomination …

The Associated Press reports: Divisions over race, politics, gender and LGBTQ issues are roiling America’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, ahead of a meeting of its executive committee next week. On the agenda are two items reflecting those divisions: A recommendation that a church in Kennesaw, Georgia, be ousted from the SBC because it accepted LGBTQ people into …

Via press release from Christian Newswire: New research suggests that even as churches and other religious gatherings have been closed during lockdown, there’s been a big increase in people turning to prayer and other forms of spirituality. The free ChatPray app is being launched today in response to those needs. The app has been specifically designed as an intuitive way …

From the head of the US Conference Of Catholic Bishops: I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers …

The Christian Post reports: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries confirmed on Wednesday that its late founder “did indeed engage in sexual misconduct.” Massage therapists at day spas co-owned by Zacharias, an influential apologist who died in May after a battle with cancer, alleged that he would come in regularly for back pain treatment. Three women who spoke with Stephen Baughman, an …

The Catholic Review reports: Two top Vatican officials — Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello — have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Italian media reported, and a Vatican source confirmed. Cardinal Krajewski, the 57-year-old papal almoner, was tested at the Vatican health clinic early Dec. 21 and was hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with the initial signs of …