Religion
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Haitian immigrants revived a church. Now the pews are empty.
ELIZABETH, N.J. — On a Sunday in March, the Rev. Canon Andy Moore looked out at the empty back-left pews at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, which had once been filled with Haitian immigrants. “We pray in a very special way for our Haitians who aren’t here at this service, stricken by fear,” he said, before breaking the Communion wafers. …
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Hare Krishnas celebrate a 50-year milestone with a parade of chariots in Manhattan
(RNS) — New Yorkers expecting to see Knicks celebrations and visitors in town for the World Cup were surprised Saturday (June 13) to encounter a series of colorful chariots adorned with jewel-toned balloons, surrounded by thousands of singing and chanting worshippers. More than 25,000 devotees of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) attended the parade, according to organizers. Worshippers…
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Defense Department rejiggers list of recognized religions after backlash, narrows it to 30
(RNS) — After eliminating about 180 faith groups from its list of recognized religions, the Department of Defense moved quickly to revise the list once again on Monday (June 8) in response to criticism from various religious groups. The most updated list dropped the word “Christian” from 19 categories after pressure from two Utah senators and others who objected to…
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Kate Bowler on unexpected joy, even in the midst of pain
(RNS) — Kate Bowler spent the past decade bashing the American cult of positivity and the pursuit of optimal happiness. Her experience battling stage 4 colon cancer in her 30s taught her the fallacy of such thinking. Where her earlier books pondered mortality and grief, Bowler’s latest book is, of all things, about joy. Perhaps ironically, Bowler has found that…
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AI has a bias toward Catholicism, researchers say
(RNS) — Most popular artificial intelligence models are biased toward Catholicism and against a number of other religious traditions when asked about converting to a faith, according to new research assembled by a group of religious colleges. The findings were unveiled on Tuesday (May 26) alongside a speech by Elder Gerrit W. Gong, one of the 12 apostles in The…
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A Pope, an AI founder and the most important document of our moment
(RNS) — On May 25, Pope Leo XIV will publish his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”) that will focus on addressing artificial intelligence and human dignity. It was signed on May 15, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum,” confirming its place in the tradition of Catholic social teaching as a response to massive cultural change wrought…
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Spiritually burned out? Tish Harrison Warren and some ancient monks have advice.
(RNS) — Tish Harrison Warren had everything going for her. A job as a priest at a church she loved. A family she adored. Good friends. And a dream gig writing about faith for The New York Times. And yet, she, like millions of Americans, was exhausted. And God had gone silent. “I would sit to pray, but it felt…
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MLK was teen agnostic who rediscovered faith on a tobacco farm, new book reveals
(RNS) — Child orator. Farmhand. Agnostic. Only one of those titles would be commonly guessed to describe the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But a new 420-page book by scholar Lerone Martin reveals those and other little-known pieces of King’s history. In “Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr.” — which will be released Tuesday (May 5) —…
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Dallas pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts recovering, ‘almost paralyzed’ in accident
(RNS) — Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts, co-leader of the Dallas megachurch founded by her father, Bishop T.D. Jakes, is recovering after suffering a neck fracture that she said almost paralyzed her in mid-April. Jakes Roberts, 37, a popular conference speaker, author and co-senior pastor with her husband at The Potter’s House church, posted on social media that she was injured…
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Pope Francis’ legacy in time, one year after his death
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis will likely be remembered for his gestures: his lone walk under the rain in St. Peter’s Square to pray during the pandemic, his embrace of migrants, his unscripted phone calls and off-the-cuff remarks. But behind the images, the pontificate of Jorge Bergoglio was built on something quieter — “starting processes” as he would say,…
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