Posts in News
Data Shows White Evangelicals And Catholics More Likely to Get Vaccine Than 'Nones' and General Public

(ANALYSIS) White Christians were significantly more likely to get the vaccine than the general public between January and April. In the latest survey results, nearly 60% of White Catholics had been vaccinated and just about half of White evangelicals said the same. It was the religious “nones” that were lagging far behind, with only 31% indicating that they had received one dose.

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The family who famously recaptured art from Nazis selling collection of Bibles

On Friday, April 23, Christie’s in New York will auction the late Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg’s unparalleled collection of 17 illuminated medieval Bible manuscripts and more than 200 books from before 1501. Alexandre played a leading role in recapturing his family’s looted artwork from the Nazis and later retired in Manhattan where he built his Bible collection with Elaine.

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Sikhs in America: Community long misunderstood mourns deaths in Indianapolis mass shooting

(ANALYSIS) Four members of Indianapolis’ Sikh community were killed at the FedEx facility shooting. The community mourns, and some are calling for an investigation of bias as the shooter’s motive.

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Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty Amid Prayers for Peace and Justice

Ministers in Minneapolis and across the country have been praying and calling for peace regardless of what verdict is handed down in the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd. Nightly protests have rocked Minneapolis again after the police shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, on April 11 in a suburb of the city.

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Christian College Files Suit Challenging Biden Administration on Gender Identity

Christian school College of the Ozarks has filed a federal suit against the Biden Administration for a directive made in the Department of Housing and Urban Development on gender identity. The school claims the change forces religious schools to violate their beliefs.

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The National Park Discovered By A Minister Who Collected Fossils And Taught Evolution

A humble Congregationalist minister, with a Bible in one hand and a geologist’s pick in another, was at the center of discovering one of the richest troves of fossils in the world. He is Thomas Condon, the only clergyman with a national park visitor center named after him and a man who understood early on how religion and science could fit together.

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India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears

(ANALYSIS) Massive crowds are expected to gather at India’s northern city of Haridwar throughout April 2021 for the religious festival of Kumbh Mela, despite the country’s grappling with a COVID-19 surge. The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years and is the world’s largest religious festival, with a total 100 million pilgrims expected over several weeks.

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Faith in Numbers: Trump Held Steady Among Believers But Lost Nonreligious Vote

ANALYSIS — For all the predictions and talk of a slump in support among evangelicals, it appears Donald Trump’s election loss was not at the hands of religious voters. There was very little notable change in the vote choice of religious groups between 2016 and 2020 – in fact, for most faiths, support for Trump ticked up slightly. Instead, it was among those who do not identify with any religion that Trump saw a noticeable drop.

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How Ramadan got its name: 6 questions answered

Ramadan, which spans the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a full month of religious fasting. The associate professor of religious studies and director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University answers six questions about its importance.

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The Catholic Church's Disappearing Art Form: Heraldry

Heraldic achievements — a personal ecclesiastical coat of arms — have historically been one of the most important possessions of high-ranking Catholic clergymen and contain layers of meaning. But today they are an increasingly ignored art form inside and outside the Church. Will the Church abandon heraldry traditions going back centuries or will more bishops resurrect the practice?

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Exclusive: Kabul Wants Allegedly Stolen Prayer Book From Museum Of The Bible

An Afghan official told Religion Unplugged that the country plans to repatriate various ancient artifacts they believe were looted from their national museum in the nineties during civil war, including a medieval Hebrew prayer book now in the Museum of the Bible’s possession in Washington, D.C. The 1200-year-old prayer book is the world’s oldest Hebrew manuscript after the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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Botham Jean Act would clarify the Texas ‘Castle Doctrine’

Ministers from Churches of Christ on Monday joined Texas lawmakers and the family of Botham Jean at the Texas State Capitol in Austin to promote the Botham Jean Act — a bill proposed to ensure systemic accountability for Texans in their own home in response to Botham Jean’s murder in 2018.

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'Jesus the Essential Worker' And Other New Sacred Music Inspired By COVID

The pandemic has prompted composers to create new sacred music of all kinds — hymns, liturgical music, prayers, praise music and more. These are not limited to one religion, but have cropped up in Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant circles.

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Black Churches Focus on Hope Amid COVID-19, Violence and George Floyd Trial

For many churches, especially historically Black congregations, the normal traditions of Easter— massive church services, family dinners and music programs about faith— took a back seat to the George Floyd trial and news reports about COVID-19 vaccinations. April 4 is also the anniversary of pastor and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in 1968.

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This ancient monastery may be where the tree for Jesus' cross was felled

The Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem is believed to mark the spot where the tree was felled to make the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Several legends theorize about its founding, linked to Abraham’s nephew Lot; the mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor who sojourned in the Holy Land in 326; and Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, said to have founded the monastery at the behest of a Georgian prince.

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Seattle Pacific University President Leaving Amid LGBTQ Challenges

Seattle Pacific University President Daniel J. Martin will resign April 5 to take a new leadership role at the foundation of a national healthcare system. The school has been facing challenges from LGBTQ activists.

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A Cloud Of Mystery Remains Over Whistleblower Complaint Against LDS Church

In response to reporting by ReligionUnplugged.com and The Washington Post in 2019, a prominent former LDS Church member filed a federal lawsuit last week against the LDS Church seeking to regain more than $5 million in tithing he gave the church. The 2019 reports exposed that the LDS Church had amassed a $100 billion secret investment firm and used member tithes without their knowledge. The IRS has not confirmed whether it is investigating the church.

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