The Christian owner of one of the largest toy store chains in the U.K. has decided to keep all of its 149 branches closed on Christmas Eve this year so the staff can spend time with their families.
Leaders of the Catholic Church in Australia have rejected a key recommendation of a landmark inquiry into child sexual abuse that the Vatican change the Church's policy to make celibacy voluntary for priests.
Four Iranian converts to Christianity were arrested last week after Iranian security forces raided six houses that were being used as home churches in the city of Karaj, about an hour drive from Tehran.
Prosecutors in the U.K. have decided to drop charges against a Nigerian pastor who was accused of using "threatening and abusive language" in London earlier this year for preaching a sermon that linked terrorism to Islam.
Archaeologists have found the Biblical city of Corinth which was thought to be destroyed by a massive earthquake in the sixth or early seventh century A.D.
Social media giant Facebook has banned a photo of this year's Vatican nativity scene, citing its policy that prohibits "sexually suggestive or provocative" images.
Egypt's Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar has ordered the security level to be raised to maximum alert in preparation for Coptic Christmas which will begin later this month and continue until Jan. 7.
The Vatican has issued new rules banning the sales of relics of future saints, including hair strands, hands, teeth and other body parts that are often sold for high prices at online auctions.
A Hindu nationalist group has reportedly warned Christians schools in Aligarh, in India's Uttar Pradesh state, against celebrating Christmas where Hindu students are in the majority.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack at a Christian church in the Pakistani city of Quetta, where at least nine people were killed and more than 50 were injured.
Hindu activists have reportedly beaten up eight priests outside a police station in India's Madhya Pradesh state while they were trying to assist Christians who were detained for allegedly trying to convert non-Christians.
Director Alejandro Monteverde, best known for “Sound of Freedom,” is bringing the Nativity to the big screen this Christmas season with “Zero A.D.: The Birth of Christ,” a biblical epic highlighting the courage and faith behind the birth of Jesus. Distributed by Angel Studios, the drama-thriller opens in theaters Dec. 11 and depicts Mary and Joseph’s struggle to protect the newborn Messiah amid political turmoil.
The Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast has chosen the Rev. Paul Donison as its next bishop, ending months of uncertainty following an inconclusive election in May. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) announced Wednesday that the Texas-based diocese elected Donison on Nov. 7.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice-elect Maggie Ellis has announced plans to overturn a rule protecting judges who decline to officiate same-sex weddings because of their religious beliefs.
A law that came into effect this year gives the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) increased powers to restrict religious practice even as several Christians remain imprisoned for carrying out their ministries, according to an advocacy group’s new report. In the past year freedom of religion in China has deteriorated with the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress coming into effect on July1.
Several pastors affiliated with the Calvary Chapel movement have publicly criticized Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa’s affirmation of women serving as pastors, following an announcement by Char Brodersen at the church that once served as the movement’s flagship congregation. The Calvary Chapel Association (CCA), through its Heartland Regional Team, reaffirmed its opposition to appointing women as pastors or elders.