[ad_1] (RNS) — The headlines could have read, “Sacred Jewish text to be posted in Louisiana classrooms; most Jews are opposed.” That headline would have been correct. Yes, Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana has signed a law that mandates the Ten Commandments be posted in every public education classroom in the state — the first […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — For decades, Richard Smallwood has been on stages from Carnegie Hall to churches, at the piano or at the microphone, performing music that features his distinctive genre-bending blend of gospel and classical. Now, as a way to mark both his 75th birthday and Juneteenth, Smallwood is getting the Kennedy Center treatment: The […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — On July 5, 1852, the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester invited Frederick Douglass to give a speech on the 76th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The address became known by its central piercing question, “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?” Never one to sugarcoat his […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — Paul Pressler, who died this month at the age of 94, served for decades as a state judge in Texas, but among Southern Baptists he will be remembered for two other things. First, in tandem with Paige Patterson, he was the architect of the Southern Baptist Convention’s so-called Conservative Resurgence, a movement […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — One of the largest Catholic health care systems in the United States, Ascension, a nonprofit that has previously been accused of behaving like a private equity fund, is now outsourcing staffing of its hospital physicians and other clinicians in Illinois to a private-equity-backed staffing firm.  According to a letter sent in late May […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — I am tempted to depression and despair when faced with the reality of global warming, and I fear that I am not alone. Carbon dioxide levels continue to increase, followed by rising temperatures around the world. Sea levels are rising as ice melts, droughts are spreading and storms are getting stronger, leading to […]

[ad_1] UCCNY Conference is second major U.S. denominational body to address India BINGHAMPTON, N.Y. — At its June 1, 2024 meeting in Binghampton, NY, the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ unanimously passed a resolution condemning violence against religious minorities in India, which include Christian organizations and individuals as well as other religious […]

[ad_1] NEW YORK (RNS) — A holistic wellness retreat in a glass-sided building overlooking the East River began on a recent Saturday with hot tea, an opening keynote and a meditation. After brunch came an afternoon of workshops with themes such as “eat your way to calm,” “somatic healing” and “intuitive artmaking.”  All was about […]

[ad_1] Dear Revealer readers, Revealer Editor, Brett Krutzsch For the past several months, I have been thinking about how I do not know much about my mother’s family history. Because of my unique last name, my father’s family has been easier to trace. But my mom’s family name, Weiss, is more common. To learn a […]

[ad_1] MECCA, Saudi Arabia (RNS) — This year, as millions of Muslims flock to the land where Abraham once offered his greatest sacrifice in the ritual pilgrimage known as Hajj, they carry in their hearts a burden far heavier than their own sins and supplications. Whether a pilgrim has come from Nigeria or Dagestan, Taiwan […]