Faith & Culture

(RNS) — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has released a more than 1,300-page grand jury report detailing allegations of widespread sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by Catholic priests in the state, naming hundreds of clerics accused of misconduct over 70 years and accusing church officials of a “systemic” cover-up.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (RNS) — The Thursday evening service at Manna Church packs a punch that more than rivals large Sunday morning services elsewhere.

This dynamic megachurch is similar to many others across the country, except for this: 70 percent of church members are military families based at Fort Bragg, the nation’s largest military installation. And despite a rapid turnover of members, due to deployments, retirements and transfers to other bases, the evangelical church has not only held steady, but grown.

SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (RNS) — The Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church began Thursday (Aug. 9) morning by addressing the elephant in the room: Its opening speaker was not the event’s accustomed headliner for 26 years, church founder Bill Hybels.

CHICAGO (RNS) — The lead pastor and entire elder board of Willow Creek Community Church have announced they will resign to give the church a “fresh start” following new allegations of sexual harassment against founder and former pastor Bill Hybels.

The first half of August is a difficult time for many Japanese people, especially for those middle-aged or above. The great suffering caused by Japan’s warring activities from 1931 to 1945, in what the Japanese refer to as the Fifteen- Year War, has since the end of that war motivated many Japanese people to be strong advocates of world peace.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Teens who report high-frequency digital media use are twice as likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports. Christian mental health practitioners say excessive screen time can damage the soul as well.

(RNS) — Fewer adults are attending religious services in the United States, but not necessarily because they don’t believe.

Many cite practical or personal reasons for skipping weekly services, according to new Pew Research Center data released Wednesday (Aug. 1).

Parishioners place significant trust in their pastors when it comes to addressing poverty, according to a Barna Group report released on July 31.

(RNS) — Nearly half of the estimated 14 million American youth going to camp this summer will be attending Christian camps to escape from home, play games with new friends, unplug from technology and seek God in nature.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Amid the #MeToo movement, conferences and seminaries have heightened their focus on training pastors to prevent and report sexual abuse.

But associational leader Sean McMahon worries those training efforts are leaving out a sizable group of pastors: small church and bivocational leaders.