Religion

By Kelsey Vlamis Maria Felix was on a mission trip, working alongside other Christians, when she first heard Donald Trump’s name. It was 2015, and she said the group of teens was joking about him, baffled at the idea that he was casting himself as a Christian in his campaign for the US presidency. Five …

By Denise Hruby and Loveday Morris Peering out a window at Vienna’s main synagogue compound on Monday evening, Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister watched as a gunman opened fire on customers in the bars and restaurants of the city’s main nightlife district. The shots rang out — dozens of volleys, perhaps hundreds, he isn’t sure — sending …

By Michelle Boorstein Two members of President Trump’s evangelical advisory group are locked in a nasty legal dispute involving allegations of a multimillion-dollar Holocaust fundraising scam. Mike Evans, a Texas author and Christian Zionist activist, this summer filed a federal lawsuit against Jentezen Franklin, a Georgia megachurch pastor who has been featured at Trump campaign events. The two men …

By Yelena Dzhanova On the campaign trail Saturday night, Sen. Lindsey Graham said women are welcome anywhere in the country — provided that they’re anti-abortion. The Republican senator took the stage at a campaign event in Conway, South Carolina, his home state, and praised Amy Coney Barrett, the newly appointed Supreme Court justice. “You know what I …

By Maggie Severns, Brandon Ambrosino, and Michael Stratford When Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki strolled around the Lynchburg, Va., campus of Liberty University, the evangelical school which Falwell led as president, they would play a secret game called “Would you rather.” The middle-aged couple would point to students, men and women, and imagine …

By Matt Barnum The law is clear: In order to be eligible for federal charter grants, charter schools must not be “affiliated with a sectarian school or religious institution.” But Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said earlier this week that she will no longer enforce this prohibition. Religious organizations should feel free to apply for federal money to open charter …

By Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli Pope Francis indeed has a mask. It’s unadorned and white, just a shade paler than his papal cassock. But he almost never wears it. He goes maskless in public appearances. He goes maskless when hosting visitors. His aversion is deep enough that even guests seem to take the cue: …

By Zalman Rothschild The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide a case this term that, once again, pits religious freedom against the rights of the LGBTQ community. Earlier this month, Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurrence written on behalf of himself and Justice Samuel Alito, attacked Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that established a constitutional right …

By Juwan J. Holmes The next landmark case for LGBTQ rights before the Supreme Court of the United States will be heard the day after Election Day. The Court in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia will rule on the question of whether religious foster care agencies have a First Amendment right to refuse to work with LGBTQ …

By David K. Li Former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. filed a state lawsuit Wednesday against the evangelical school founded by his father, claiming he was wrongly ousted from his leadership post. Falwell had led the school for 13 years before he resigned under pressure in late August amid a series of embarrassing scandals. In a complaint …

By Bill Chappell A man used a knife to attack people at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice, France, Thursday, killing three people, authorities say. Several more were injured. Police have arrested a suspect, according to Mayor Christian Estrosi. Two people were killed inside the church, and another died outside it, according to local media …

By Hemant Mehta In one Oklahoma school district, administrators are not even subtle about forcing Christianity on children. The American Humanist Association just filed a federal lawsuit against the Maryetta Public Schools (and several administrators) over a constitutional violation, and the details are just mind-blowing. You won’t believe how long this district has been able to get …