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+26 +8
New Jersey mother says she drowned her children in a bathtub for ‘religious purposes’
Naomi Elkins said she ‘counted to 50 multiple times to ensure she held them underwater for enough time’
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+17 +2
‘You can see it as a revenge fantasy’: The new book arguing that enslaved people co-authored the Bible
God’s Ghostwriters by Candida Moss aims to shine a light on the contributions to Christianity by imprisoned workers
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+31 +5
“If there is a God, then anything is permitted”: On Dostoevsky, freedom, and religious violence
Most people today are spontaneously moral, and the idea of torturing or killing another human being is repulsive to them — in order to make them do it, some “sacred” Cause is needed which makes their concerns about violence seem trivial.
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+42 +6
Inside the anti-LGBTQ effort to put Christianity back in schools
Some Christian pastors and politicians argue that school prayer would prevent children from identifying as transgender. LGBTQ rights advocates are fighting back.
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+37 +8
The Great Dechurching looks at why people are leaving churches
A new book looks at why millions of Americans left church — and what might bring them back.
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+39 +11
Our retreat from Christianity doesn’t mean we’ve lost our sense of morality
Those who moan that we’re losing our religion are quick to demonise the most vulnerable
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+4 +1
The Myth of the Papal Toilet Chair
Legend holds that newly elected popes in the Middle Ages had to present their genitals for inspection to confirm that they were male.
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+23 +5
Catholicism held my family in its sway for decades – but it hid from me a vital truth | Georgina Lawton
A secret at the heart of my life was never addressed. Then meeting a power-mad priest helped me realise this was no way to live, says writer Georgina Lawton
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+2 +1
Pope Francis puts stamp on Church future with new cardinals
Pope Francis on Sunday announced that he would elevate 21 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation.
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+23 +5
Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for religious schools
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board’s recent decision to allow a Catholic archdiocese to operate a public school is both illegal and unconstitutional. I’m not exaggerating — I’m just reading. A charter school “shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations,” Oklahoma law states.
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+15 +4
Revealed: New Orleans archdiocese concealed serial child molester for years
The last four Roman Catholic archbishops of New Orleans went to shocking lengths to conceal a confessed serial child molester who is still living but has never been prosecuted, a Guardian investigation has found.
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+3 +1
Religious US broadcaster Pat Robertson dies at 93
The evangelical Christian ran for president and helped put religion at the heart of Republican politics.
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+25 +6
Hundreds of churches will have to close, says Kirk
The Church of Scotland will have to close hundreds of churches in the coming years, the Kirk's trustees have warned as it stages its annual General Assembly. The gathering of Kirk leaders - including new moderator Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton - begins on Saturday in Edinburgh against a continuing backdrop of falling membership and dwindling income.
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+17 +5
It's Debatable: The merits of requiring Bible reading, Ten Commandments in public schools
In this week's "It's Debatable" segment, Rick Rosen and Charles Moster debate whether Senate Bills requiring posting the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms and permitting time for Bible reading and prayer violate the First Amendment.
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+22 +2
The faithful see both crisis and opportunity as churches close across the country
When Pastor Douglas Theobald steps to the pulpit at Struthers United Methodist Church this Sunday, it will likely be the last religious service in its 112-year history. Over the years, Struthers UMC has weathered the boom and bust cycles of the Youngstown, Ohio, suburb. In the 1960s, when the steel industry was at its height, it was common to see as many as 250 people in the pews on any given Sunday. But Theobald, who started preaching there in 2009, has presided over a congregation in slow decline. Today, services attract only a few dozen, mostly older, congregants.
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+15 +3
The importance of religion in the lives of Americans is shrinking
The importance of religion in the lives of Americans is on the decline. That's according to a new report from the Public Religion Research Institute.
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+32 +4
IRS whistleblower to break his silence on LDS Church finances, will speak on ‘60 Minutes’
This Sunday’s edition of “60 Minutes” will lead off with a report about the finances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will feature an on-camera interview with a former senior portfolio manager from the faith’s investment wing who turned whistleblower.
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+3 +1
Minneapolis becomes first major US city to allow Muslim call to prayer at all times
Minneapolis officials have approved loudspeaker broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all times – making it the first major American city to do so. The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday unanimously agreed to amend the city’s noise ordinance, allowing the “adhan” — Arabic for “announcement”–to sound five times a day, year-round.
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+15 +3
Church child sex abuse allegations from more than 600 victims detailed in new report
Alleged church sexual abuse of more than 600 children under the Baltimore Catholic Church detailed in new report from Maryland Attorney General.
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+14 +2
How institutions like the Catholic Church can weaponize bankruptcy
Across the United States, various institutions that have faced sexual abuse allegations ranging from the Boy Scouts of America to USA Gymnastics have filed for bankruptcy. Could the Archdiocese of Baltimore follow?
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