Nation

Some religious leaders have stood with police in news conferences to try to dissolve protests that resulted in looting and vandalism, while other clergy have gotten pepper-sprayed  in confrontations with officers in protests nationwide. A rally in L.A. highlighted these divergent approaches.

“No justice, no peace.” It was only a few minutes, though, before a handful in the crowd of Brooklyn protesters mirrored the cadence, but substituted choice curse words of their own. That didn’t last long. “That’s not our movement!” a bystander in the crowd shouted. “Our movement is love. God is love!”

The highest court in the land has given states some leeway in determining when and how to safely reopen places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move lends support to state officials making science-informed decisions that may inhibit church congregants from fully engaging in their faith.

Early Monday evening (June 1), President Trump stood before the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, DC, and held aloft a Bible for cameras. The church appeared to be completely abandoned. It was, in fact, abandoned, but not by choice.

It began with Attorney General Bill Barr standing with his hands casually in his pockets, not wearing a tie, surveying the scene at Lafayette Park across from the White House, where several thousand protesters had gathered for more demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd.

Pastors, including Baptists, who serve as police chaplains in the Twin Cities in Minnesota believe their calling involves ministering to their churches and the local police. These dual roles are highlighted as protests continue after the police killing of George Floyd.

Faith leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are offering aid to demonstrators who have taken to the streets to decry racism and police brutality, working to balance religious calls for justice with an aversion to violence and a desire to prevent the spread of infection during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.

A divided Supreme Court on Friday rejected an emergency appeal by a California church that challenged state limits on attendance at worship services that have been imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberals for the majority.

The relationship between faith and science has faced its share of strain during the coronavirus pandemic — but for some scientists leading the nation's response, the two have worked in concert.

Some Muslim American groups are calling for the dismissal of a newly appointed religious freedom adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development, citing past online posts that disparage Islam on his social media.