A nearly century-old cross and a Nativity display in Los Angeles’ historic El Pueblo district can remain in place after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s decision not to order their removal. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday declined to reverse a district court ruling that rejected atheist plaintiff Jack Gerritsen’s request to remove the displays from Olvera Street.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has launched a humanitarian effort to bring at least 500 Nigerians home from South Africa. The first 100 returnees arrived at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Sept. 24 after flying from Johannesburg.
Younger Protestant churchgoers in the United States are more likely than older attendees to say cultural change can make some biblical truths “obsolete,” according to a new Lifeway Research survey. Overall, 28% agreed “that as culture changes, some biblical truths become obsolete,” up from 24% in 2019. Another 34% said they “accept some truths from the Bible, but others do not fit what they believe,” compared with 30% six years earlier.
Religious freedom advocates told a gathering in Texas that armed conflict and state surveillance are undermining the methods Christians have used to defend persecuted believers. They said a divided global church is poorly placed to respond.
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) marked its 180th anniversary with online gatherings. Founded in London in 1846, the WEA represents more than 650 million evangelicals through nine regional alliances spanning 160 countries. Hundreds of participants from more than 20 countries joined two Zoom events on Sept. 23, scheduled at different times to accommodate multiple time zones.
A public forum titled “Seeking the Essence of the Church” was held on the 25th at Queens Central United Methodist ...
Chinese authorities have detained multiple pastors and church workers from Beijing Jiaquan Church, an independent house church that has operated in the capital for more than two decades. ChinaAid founder and President Bob Fu said his organization is “urgently concerned for the safety, health and legal rights of every Jiaquan pastor and church co-worker who has been taken away.”
A planned church in East Java Province in Indonesia is facing renewed opposition from Muslim residents who argue that an address discrepancy in permit documents should halt construction. Residents in the Dukuh Kukun area of Babat Jerawat Urban Village, Pakal District, Surabaya, say the address listed on the official permit does not match the church site in the CitraLand housing complex.
National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School may continue pursuing plans to become the nation’s first religious charter school while its legal challenge to an Oklahoma law moves forward, a federal judge ruled. According to Baptist Press, the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation is challenging provisions of the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act that bar religious organizations from operating publicly funded charter schools because of their religious character.
Former President Joe Biden received an award from Planned Parenthood of Delaware on Thursday and used his remarks to defend his abortion-rights record while encouraging supporters to continue their efforts. Biden spoke at Planned Parenthood of Delaware’s 22nd Annual Chocolate & Champagne Gala in Claymont, where former first lady Jill Biden presented him with the Sonia Schorr Sloan Service Award.
A bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators called on President Donald Trump to raise China’s persecution of Christian pastors and other religious minorities during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week. Led by Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., the lawmakers thanked Trump for diplomatic pressure they said helped secure the July 3 release of Beijing Zion Church founder Ezra Jin after 266 days in detention.
A Christian pastor who has spent years building relationships with Muslims and a historian who has studied Islamic history and doctrine debated whether Islam’s theological and political teachings allow the religion to coexist with Western society. Roberts said he once feared things like Sharia, or Islamic law, but realized the U.S. Constitution wouldn’t allow it.
A Christian teacher with 28 years of experience has filed a discrimination claim against a school in northeast England after being dismissed following a pro-life response to a student’s question about abortion. Anita Meston, 63, is suing Biddick Academy, a state-funded secondary school in Washington, Sunderland, according to ADF International, which is supporting her case.
A Christian pastor is facing a criminal charge after refusing to leave a sidewalk outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington while protesting China’s treatment of religious minorities. The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, leader of the Christian Defense Coalition, said in a Sept. 28 Facebook post that he was “arrested by the United States Secret Service for peacefully praying on a public sidewalk in front of the Chinese Embassy.”
Christian leaders are divided over plans to livestream the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hasan, who served as an Army psychiatrist, represented himself during his 2013 military trial, acknowledged carrying out the attack and was sentenced to death.
A Maryland appeals court has rejected a challenge brought by 37 churches against the United Methodist Church’s Baltimore-Washington Conference over property and financial requirements connected to leaving the denomination. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Maryland unanimously ruled in 'The Methodist Church of Cape St. Claire et al. v. The Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., et al.'