Posts by Micah Danney
U.S. Christian support for Israel recalibrates after Netanyahu’s ouster

Solidarity with Israel among evangelical Christians has evolved for the last decade while one man reigned over the Holy Land. After his stinging defeat, Christian leaders are trying to heal the fractures it created.

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On Birmingham church bombing anniversary, a call for a unified movement for justice

The struggle for a just and equal society isn’t only about Black people and racism, said Rev. William Barber at the 16th Street Baptist Church 57 years after the Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four young girls. He called for communities of faith to unify around shared values and concern for the vulnerable, and to reject the divisiveness that leads to violence.

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U.S. Muslims host protest against anti-black racism

Peaceful Muslim protesters in New York City prayed together and decried anti-black racism in the Muslim community, calling it an issue that requires the attention of all faithful Muslims and saying it must be addressed before racism outside the community can be dismantled.

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Church van plays gospel music to calm police and protesters in Brooklyn

Tension between protesters demanding justice for George Floyd’s death and New York police officers fizzled out for a time when a church van playing gospel music strategically inserted itself into the mix. The crisis response team is led by Jamaican immigrants with a passion for Jesus and a history of social justice and community outreach.

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Templeton Prize awarded to Francis Collins, pandemic response leader

The geneticist and physician is a leading voice in the conversation about faith and science, and has been a steady voice urging religious communities to have faith in science. His agency is hard at work in the global race to find treatments for COVID-19.

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Anti-Semitic incidents hit an all-time high last year, ADL report says

There were more incidents of anti-Semitism in the U.S. in 2019 than in any year since the Anti-Defamation League started tracking them in 1979, according to a report released this week by the group.

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New research says religion can prevent COVID-19 'deaths of despair'

Two separate studies were published recently about how lower mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to more premature death. While one study estimates 75,000 Americans are at risk of dying by suicide, another finds that regular religious services attendance lessens the likelihood of a fatal mental health illness.

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Two secular New Yorkers visited the Samaritan’s Purse field hospital: One volunteered, the other was arrested

A neighbor of the field hospital and an area activist had sharply different reactions to Franklin Graham’s organization setting up an emergency medical facility in Central Park.

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In a pandemic, a Buddhist chaplain’s zen practice becomes purpose

Jamie Kimmel’s training and prior experience as a hospice chaplain couldn’t have prepared him for the ways this crisis is changing how he works. He’s rationing personal protective equipment and relying on reduced public transportation for his commute. At his hospital, he comforts COVID-19 patients by phone as they grapple with existential questions and the possibility of death, all while separated from loved ones.

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As climate change worsens, pastoral counselors talk hope

With the future obscured by unprecedented uncertainty — or the certainty that things will get much worse — what approach is best for counseling from a faith perspective?

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More Jews are learning to fight anti-Semitism — with their hands

A self-defense school in New York City is busy training Jewish groups from area synagogues and schools as anti-Semitic violence has increased. Local officials and religious leaders are urging more Jews to take more precautions and responsibility for their security.

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Religious conservatives split over Trump's Prayer Breakfast remarks

Trump’s most ardent supporters defended his statements as understandable. Others in his party are saying the comments undermined the core purpose of the annual event.

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YouTube star Christina Randall talks jailhouse religion

A prison ministry’s visit catalyzed a young woman’s personal transformation that took her from inmate to social media influencer. Her connection with her audience grew out of her connection to God and faith.

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The Bronx high school students marching for 'the born and the unborn'

A group of high school students from the Bronx represented a version of pro-life philosophy that takes the term beyond abortion and leftward on the political spectrum.

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Frank Schaeffer is angry about abortion and evangelicals, and he's getting louder

The pro-life movement’s “traitorous prince’” is frustrated by his progressive comrades and fed up with his former cohorts on the religious right.

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