Religion News

In the US, Hmong 'new year' recalls ancestral spirits while teaching traditions to new generations

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father’s ring-shaped shaman bells.

Nov 25, 2023 8:43 AM Read more >

N.B. professor fired for allegedly making 'sexually oriented statements' to students

MONCTON, N.B. — A small, faith-based university in New Brunswick has fired one of its professors after an independent investigation found he allegedly made inappropriate or sexually oriented statements to students in 2020 and 2021.

Nov 23, 2023 2:02 PM Read more >

Suspended Alabama priest married the 18-year-old he fled to Italy with, records show

MOBILE, Ala.

Nov 22, 2023 5:18 PM Read more >

Pope meets relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza and sets off firestorm over words

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met separately Wednesday with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war and set off a firestorm by using words that Vatican diplomats usually avoid: “terrorism” and, according to th

Nov 22, 2023 4:56 PM Read more >

New AP analysis of last month's deadly Gaza hospital explosion rules out widely cited video

___ Editor's note: The Associated Press is publishing an updated visual analysis of the Oct. 17 explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital.

Nov 22, 2023 12:34 PM Read more >

Closing arguments in Vatican trial seek to expose problems in the city state's legal system

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Lawyers for a once-powerful cardinal accused Vatican prosecutors of being “prisoner to their completely shattered theory” on Wednesday in the latest round of closing arguments of a trial that has raised fundamental questions about

Nov 22, 2023 11:45 AM Read more >

Maryland hate crime commission member suspended for anti-Israel social media posts

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland's attorney general suspended a member of the state’s new commission aimed at addressing hate crimes this week after she posted on social media criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza.

Nov 22, 2023 10:18 AM Read more >

Timekeepers no more, rank-and-file Jehovah's Witnesses say goodbye to tracking proselytizing hours

Jehovah's Witnesses are well-known for proselytizing door-to-door and handing out their literature on city streets.

Nov 22, 2023 5:13 AM Read more >

China is expanding its crackdown on mosques to regions outside Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch says

The Chinese government has expanded its campaign of closing mosques to regions other than Xinjiang, where for years it has been blamed for persecuting Muslim minorities, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.

Nov 22, 2023 3:42 AM Read more >

How a massive all-granite, hand-carved Hindu temple ended up on Hawaii's lush Kauai Island

KAPAA, Hawaii (AP) — It is the only all-granite, hand-carved Hindu temple in the West built without power tools or electricity, and it's nestled on one of the smaller islands in Hawaii surrounded by lush gardens and forests.

Nov 21, 2023 5:50 PM Read more >