November 11, 2022 By Yonat Shimron (RNS) — A decennial study of U.S. religious life shows what many demographers and others have long known: Participation in congregational services has not kept up with overall population growth. However, religious groups drawing large numbers of immigrants have seen steady growth. The U.S. Religion Census, conducted every 10 years by
September 28, 2022 By Yonat Shimron (RNS) — “The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” William Faulkner once famously quipped. The Mississippi writer had it right — at least when it comes to the Civil War, anyway. A war that split America as it was fought continues to do so in its memory.
September 13, 2022 By Bob Smietana (RNS) — America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population —
August 15, 2022 By Richa Karmarkar (RNS) — Wearing a patterned button-down and his signature blond braids, RJ Hill stood out from the other clergy in the virtual meeting earlier this year discussing HIV and AIDS outreach in Staten Island. He spoke deliberately, aiming for clarity and confidence, attributes he later said are critical to
March 22, 2022 By Alejandra Molina (RNS) — A survey of nonreligious people reveals that women are more likely than others to encounter stigma and discrimination in nearly every area of their lives — social media, education, employment, the military and within their families — because of their beliefs. The report, “Nonreligious Women in America,” released Tuesday (March
March 15, 2022 By Yonat Shimron DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — The congregation at Holy Cross Catholic Church is an anomaly in one sense: a historically Black congregation led by the Rev. Pius Wekesa, one of just 250 or so Black priests in the United States. Many Black Catholics, a minority within a minority, rarely see
December 6, 2021 By Carol Kuruvilla (RNS) — On Sunday (Dec. 5), Pope Francis, visiting the Greek island of Lesbos, made an emotional pitch for European states to be more welcoming to foreign migrants. The pontiff called on Europeans to stop ignoring their suffering, insisting that Jesus “is present in the stranger, in the refugee, in those
People wander and find their seats as they wait for the SBC annual meeting at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, to begin on June 15, 2021. RNS photo by Kit Doyle By Ryan Burge (RNS) — The Southern Baptist Convention is gathering in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it
Musicians perform during a service at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of Good Shepherd Church April 16, 2021 By Yonat Shimron (RNS) — Pastor Talbot Davis routinely knocks on doors in the neighborhoods around his Good Shepherd Church, offering to pray a blessing over a new home or a new homeowner.
A study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion strongly associated queer identity with a decision to attend church less frequently or stop going altogether.
