Posts in North America
Hannibal-LaGrange Lawsuit Settled After Education Department Revises Rule

Hannibal-LaGrange University settled its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education after new federal guidance reversed a rule it said violated religious freedom. The challenged regulation had blocked Pell Grants for incarcerated students, costing the university $700,000 and threatening Baptist governance structures nationwide.

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Deportations, Faith And The 2026 Midterms: Will Trump’s Crackdown Move Religious Voters?

(ANALYSIS) President Trump’s deportation drive is reshaping the 2026 battle for Congress, but celebrity protests and mass demonstrations show little evidence of moving voters. The real test may come in churches, especially among Catholics, whose leaders condemn mass deportations and whose increasingly fluid voting patterns could decide close races.

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Meet The US’s Oldest Catholic Priest — And He’s Loved Every Minute Of It

He doesn’t look a day over 104. James C. Turro turned 104 years old on Jan. 26 — and now is believed to hold the title of oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Newark — and likely the oldest Catholic cleric in all the United States. Over the decades, he’s become a beloved figure.

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Olympian Paul Schommer Finds Faith And Focus In The Contrasts Of Biathlon

Olympic biathlete Paul Schommer embraces a sport defined by extremes — grueling endurance followed by total stillness. As he prepares for his final Olympics in Milan, Schommer reflects on faith, redemption and perseverance, seeing parallels between biathlon’s challenges and life, where growth comes through adversity, focus, and grace beyond results.

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CBN Announces Layoffs Amid Shifting Media And Fundraising Landscape

The Christian Broadcasting Network is cutting 8.4% of its U.S. workforce as part of a strategic realignment, affecting dozens of employees. The Virginia Beach–based ministry cited a changing media and fundraising landscape while emphasizing continued global growth, digital expansion, and increasing international audience reach.

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Religion As Cultural Identity: What It Means For Jews, Catholics And Others

(ANALYSIS) When we’re asked, “Are you religious?” There are a number of different ways someone might justify an affirmative answer. It could be that they attend a house of worship regularly or pray frequently. It could be that they hold specific beliefs about Jesus Christ or Muhammad. Those would be behavior and belief measures of religion. But there’s a third dimension that often gets overlooked: Belonging.

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Crossroads Podcast: Are All ‘Activist’ Journalists Created Equal?

For Don Lemon, here’s the bottom line: He says he was a journalist “on the front lines,” embedded with protestors whose actions were the subject of his reporting. In addition to the coffee and donuts, the lifestream suggests that he took part in discussions of which church to invade and the details of what to do during the protests.

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Robert Kraft’s New Antisemitism Super Bowl Ad Already Feels Dated

A new ad from Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate will beam to millions, part of his years-long, multimillion dollar initiative to combat the Oldest Hatred. The campaign has given us two previous Super Bowl spots: One in which MLK’s speechwriter Clarence B. Jones urged us to speak against silence and, last year, as a counterpoint, one where Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady yelled at each other.

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On LA’s Skid Row, Portraits Of The Unhoused Are Turned Into Sacred Art

A California artist walks the streets of Los Angeles, drawing portraits of and talking with unhoused people, producing moving art, and life-changing conversations about self-worth, dignity and resilience. Before his first semester at Biola University, Leith, a practicing Christian, prayed, asking whether he should do art or missions. The response was clear.

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Scandal-Plagued Truett McConnell University Taps Larry Lyon As President

Larry Lyon, a Southern Baptist educator who oversees the business side of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, will become the next Truett McConnell University president, the school said Monday.  The appointment comes a little more than four months after Truett McConnell University (TMU) trustees fired longtime president Emir Caner.  

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Patriots vs. Seahawks: 3 Faith Storylines To Follow During Super Bowl LX

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the focus is fixed on the New England Patriot and Seattle Seahawks. Beyond the game, the Super Bowl is a cultural touchpoint. Watched by millions, it remains the most-viewed event on American TV. While commercials and the halftime show are all big draws, faith once again plays a part in the biggest football game of the year.

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Enslaved To Ordained: ‘Father Gus’ Belongs At The Center Of Black History Month

Born enslaved, rejected by U.S. seminaries and ordained in Rome, Augustus Tolton became the first publicly recognized Black Catholic priest in America. His life exposes the Church’s history of racial exclusion while offering a powerful example of perseverance, faith, and legacy — one now recognized in his path toward sainthood.

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‘Unmistakable Spiritual Impression’: Buddhist Monks Walk For Peace

(OPINION) What we are witnessing is not politics or social protest. Not public policy or propaganda. It is virtue made visible. Peace practiced rather than pronounced. Compassion offered without condition or agenda. Perhaps we need to wait and see what fruit this pilgrimage bears. Perhaps God is at work here, walking slowly among us.

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Reformed Presbyterians Excommunicate ‘White Supremacist Minister’

Delegates from 17 congregations of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America heard five hours of argument in a church outside of Pittsburgh on Jan. 24. They determined Samuel Ketcham, a self-described “race realist” who says white supremacy is a historical fact, is guilty of “serious sin … and to the profession of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.”

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Pastor Searches For Missing Congregant, Then Learns He Was Taken By ICE Officers

On Jan. 22, pastor Carlos Nzolameso received a call from a member of his congregation who was searching for a roommate. Evaristo Kalonji had not shown up to work. Several congregants also reached out to Nzolameso, concerned that Kalonji, an asylum seeker from Angola, was missing. Nzolameso, who leads Maine’s Rehoboth Christian Church, said Kalonji, is like a son. 

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John L. Allen Jr., Catholic Journalism’s Balancing Act, Leaves A Lasting Void

Allen was a journalist who was a Catholic and an active Catholic who was a real journalist, and he fought to balance that equation in his daily reporting. His death on Jan. 22, after a long battle with cancer, left a strategic hole in Catholic life.

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Why Ideology, Not Faith, Drives The Culture War

(ANALYSIS) Beyond the debate over who is polarized in the U.S., there’s an adjacent, and perhaps more critical, discussion I want to tackle today: What drives polarized views? There is ample reason to think that religiosity impacts views on topics like abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identity.

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Amid Stunning Landscapes, A Monk, Zen Priest And Muslim Leader Feel At Home

(ESSAY) Flee the clamor of urban life, and take a drive through this beautiful desert and wilderness area. Meet three faith leaders who found the solitude and peace they were looking for — and who ultimately made this stunning landscape their home. Across New Mexico, religious communities locate themselves in remote areas in order to gain solitude and silence.

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Court Filing Shows Worshippers ‘Terrorized’ During Anti-ICE Protest

An affidavit describes how protesters disrupted a Jan. 18 service at Minneapolis’ Cities Church, frightening worshippers, blocking parents from children, and forcing families to flee. Federal agents say organizers targeted the church over alleged ICE ties, leading to arrests and civil rights conspiracy charges under an 1871 federal law statute.

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