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Articles by Peter SMith
Minneapolis shooting reignites debate over gun control and prayer
Thoughts and prayers. The invocation appears like a litany after every mass shooting - and the backlash is just as inevitable. As if the slaughter of children amid screams and shattered stained glass wasn't cause enough for grief, American opinion makers were convulsed once again this week in a debate over the role of prayer in the wake of a mass shooting, this time at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth belongs to an archconservative church network. Here's what to know
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he's proud to be part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, an archconservative network of Christian congregations. Hegseth recently made headlines when he shared a CNN video on social media about CREC, showing its pastors arguing women should not have the right to vote. Pastor Doug Wilson, a CREC co-founder, leads Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, the network's flagship location.
Trump's push for drilling, mining sharpens debate for Alaska Natives about land they view as sacred
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) - Fish camps still dot the banks of the broad Kuskokwim River in southwestern Alaska. Wooden huts and tarped shelters stand beside drying racks draped with bright red strips of salmon, which Alaska Native families have harvested for generations and preserved for the bitter winters ahead. But the once-abundant salmon populations have declined so sharply in recent years that authorities have severely restricted subsistence fishing on Alaska's second-longest river.
Who was Olga, the Alaska Native drawing devotion as Orthodoxy's new saint?
KWETHLUK, Alaska (AP) - "St. Olga of Kwethluk, Matushka of All Alaska," as she is officially known, was canonized on June 19 as the first female Orthodox saint from North America. Orthodoxy - the world's second-largest Christian communion -- gained a foothold in the present-day United States with the 18th and 19th century arrival of Russian Orthodox missionaries to what was then the czarist territory of Alaska.
Southern Baptist delegates at national meeting overwhelmingly call for banning same-sex marriage
DALLAS (AP) - Southern Baptist delegates at their national meeting overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage - including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court's 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide. They also called for legislators to curtail sports betting and to support policies that promote childbearing. The votes Tuesday came at the gathering of more than 10,000 church representatives at the annual meeting of the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Southern Baptists overwhelmingly call for a ban on same-sex marriage
DALLAS (AP) - Southern Baptists overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage - including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court's 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide. They also called for legislators to curtail sports betting and to support policies that promote childbearing. The votes came at the gathering of more than 10,000 church representatives at the annual meeting of the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Whistleblower's death casts pall on Southern Baptist meeting and stalled sex abuse reforms
DALLAS (AP) - More than 10,000 church representatives are gathered in Dallas for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, which began Tuesday morning with praise sessions and optimistic reports about growing numbers of baptisms. But casting a pall over the gathering is the recent death of one of the most high-profile whistleblowers in the Southern Baptists' scandal of sexual abuse.
New pope led Order of St. Augustine dedicated to the poor and service
Cardinal Robert Prevost, the first U.S. pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, previously led a Catholic religious order. Prevost, 69, who chose the name Pope Leo XIV, was formerly the prior general, or leader, of the Order of St. Augustine, which was formed in the 13th century as a community of "mendicant" friars - dedicated to poverty, service and evangelization.
Catholic bishops end refugee aid partnerships with US government, citing funding cuts
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Monday that it is ending a half-century of partnerships with the federal government to serve refugees and migrant children, saying the "heartbreaking" decision follows the Trump administration's abrupt halt to funding. The break will inevitably result in fewer services than what Catholic agencies were able to offer in the past to people in need, the bishops said.
Most immigrants at risk of deportation from US are Christian, report finds
As many as four in five immigrants at risk of deportation from the United States are Christian, according to a new report that calls on their fellow believers to consider the impact of the Trump administration's aggressive deportation policies. The report says about 10 million Christians are vulnerable to deportation and 7 million U.S. citizens who are Christian live in households where someone is at risk of deportation.
Protestant denominations try new ideas as they face declines in members and money
When the Episcopal Church recently announced cuts to its national staff, it was the latest in a long-running cycle among historic U.S. Protestant denominations - declines in members leading to declines in funding and thus in staff. And it wasn't alone. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also announced recent cuts to staff at its headquarters and in its global missions program.
Ukraine supporters focus on hope and resilience as US relations sour and war carries on
The theme of "hope" was chosen long before this year's deterioration of Washington-Kyiv relations, but participants at an international Ukrainian studies conference said that hope is needed more than ever - not only in Ukraine but in the United States itself.
Catholic Vice President JD Vance acknowledges Pope Francis' criticism of US immigration crackdown
Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Pope Francis' criticism of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, without responding to any of its specifics or to the pontiff's apparent criticism of Vance's own deployment of Catholic tradition to justify such policies. Vance, a Catholic convert, spoke Friday at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington.
Trump creates task force to root out ‘anti-Christian bias'
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Trump creates task force to root out ‘anti-Christian bias'
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the US, announcing that he was forming a task force led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the “targeting” of Christians.
Saving Torah scrolls and saying prayers, Los Angeles fires leave congregants without worship spaces
Saving Torah scrolls and saying prayers, Los Angeles fires leave congregants without worship spaces
It was a history-making event: In a chapel at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, 2nd Lt. Khady Ndiaye stood proudly -- wearing a hijab - as she became the first Muslim woman commissioned by the U.S. Army as a chaplain candidate. Presiding over the ceremony in June was Maj. Gen. Bill Green, the Army's chief of chaplains. He said the chaplains serve more than 200 faith groups, "while caring for the entire Army family ...
Southern Baptists pick new leader, will decide whether to formally ban churches with women pastors
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Southern Baptists on Wednesday elected a North Carolina pastor and longtime denominational statesman to be the next president of their convention in a contest between six candidates that went into two run-off votes. Clint Pressley, who is senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, will be the next Southern Baptist Convention president after winning 56% of votes in the final run-off race.
More than 10,000 Southern Baptists gather for meeting that could bar churches with women pastors
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - More than 10,000 voting representatives gathered Tuesday for the opening of the Southern Baptist Convention's two-day annual meeting, where they will vote on whether to ban churches with women pastors and deliberate yet again on how to respond to sexual abuse within churches. Some 10,553 messengers, as delegates are known, are meeting in Indianapolis.
Jesus is their savior, Trump is their candidate. Ex-president's backers say he shares faith, values
As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians. “Trump supports Jesus, and without Jesus, America will fall,” said Kimberly Vaughn of Florence, Kentucky, as she joined other supporters of the former president entering a campaign rally near Dayton, Ohio.
Southern Baptists pick a California seminary president to lead its troubled administrative body
A top Southern Baptist administrative body has selected its first permanent leader in nearly two-and-a-half years, a time when it has navigated a tumult of controversies ranging from a sexual abuse scandal to financial struggles — to its own stumbling efforts to find a new president.
US Jews upset with Trump's latest rhetoric say he doesn't get to tell them how to be Jewish
Since the start of his political career, Donald Trump has played on stereotypes about Jews and politics. He told the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2015 that “you want to control your politicians” and suggested the audience used money to exert control. In the White House, he said Jews who vote for Democrats are “very disloyal to Israel.” Two years ago, the former president hosted two outspoken antisemites for dinner at his Florida residence.
Bible-quoting Alabama chief justice sparks church-state debate in embryo ruling
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, its chief justice had a higher authority in mind. By citing verses from the Bible and Christian theologians in his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker alarmed advocates for church-state separation, while delighting religious conservatives who oppose abortion.
Greece legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join soon?
Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. But there are some signs of change.
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