Religion

Members of the Church of England General Synod pray ahead of a vote that ultimately approved blessings for same-sex couples in London on Thursday.

Church of England OKs blessings for same-sex couples, but it still won't marry them

2:14pm February 09, 2023

by Bill Chappell

Same-sex couples still can't marry in the church, but clergy can now choose to confer blessings on a civil marriage or partnership. The decision came after a vigorous debate.

A Black church in Louisiana aims to educate people on how to be healthy

9:54am February 07, 2023

by Shalina Chatlani

A new study looks at whether placing health care workers in churches can help eliminate health disparities that disproportionately affect Black communities in the South.

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A screenshot of one of the 'He Gets Us' campaign advertisements, this one on Reddit.

The 'He Gets Us' commercials promote Jesus. Who's behind them and what is the goal?

4:54pm February 06, 2023

by Manuela López Restrepo

Jesus Christ is now the center of a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign funded by the founder of Hobby Lobby and others.

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Pope Francis arrives to celebrate mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. Francis is in South Sudan on the second leg of a six-day trip that started in Congo, hoping to bring comfort and encouragement to two countries that have been riven by poverty, conflicts and what he calls a "colonialist mentality" that has exploited Africa for centuries.

The Pope has called for peace in South Sudan in the final part of his Africa tour

6:46am February 05, 2023

by The Associated Press

Pope Francis celebrated Mass before tens of thousands of people, to close out an unusual mission by Christian religious leaders to nudge forward the South Sudan's recovery from civil war.

The 'He Gets Us' campaign promotes Jesus. But who's behind it — and what's the goal?

6:13pm February 03, 2023

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Religion News Service's Bob Smietana about the "He Gets Us" campaign, which is spending millions to promote Jesus while its funding and overall goal remain unclear.

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Majid Khan, a 42-year-old Pakistani man, was released from the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday. Pictured here in 2022, he was sent to Belize after suing for unlawful imprisonment.

A Guantánamo inmate was released to Belize after suing for wrongful imprisonment

12:06pm February 03, 2023

by Sacha Pfeiffer

A 42-year-old Pakistani man who spent nearly half his life in U.S. custody has been released from Guantánamo and resettled in Belize after suing the Biden administration for unlawful imprisonment.

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A portrait of Pope Francis in South Sudan.

Pope Francis arrives in South Sudan in hopes he can revive the peace process

11:55am February 03, 2023

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

While there is excitement, the trip comes with a sense of urgency. Despite a peace deal, violence along political and ethnic lines has continued and millions are in the grip of famine.

President Biden speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 3, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Congress takes reins of prayer breakfast from secretive Christian evangelical group

5:20pm February 02, 2023

by Domenico Montanaro

Lawmakers have taken more control of the National Prayer Breakfast from the group that ran it for seven decades after concerns rose over influence peddling and attendees, including a Russian spy.

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Scandals have led Congress to become more involved in bipartisan political breakfast

5:59pm February 01, 2023

by Domenico Montanaro

For decades, a secretive Christian evangelical group ran the Prayer Breakfast, but controversy and scandal in recent years has led Congress to assert more control of the event.

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A million people celebrated a papal mass in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on the second day of Pope Francis' visit to the conflict-torn country.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass with million faithful in Democratic Republic of Congo

3:46pm February 01, 2023

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

A rapturous reception as Pope Francis celebrates Mass with a million worshipers in the capital Kinshasa.

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