Nation

Religious bias was behind 21 percent of single-bias crimes in the U.S. in 2016, according to the FBI's 2016 Hate Crime Statistics released on Nov. 13.

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — A man dressed in black tactical-style gear and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday, killing 26 people and wounding about 20 in what the governor called the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history. The dead ranged in age from 5 to 72 years old.

Efficient and effective integration of healthcare with other rehabilitative initiatives is essential to reducing recidivism, according a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts released on Oct. 18.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (USA Today Network) — Religious leaders across Tennessee denounced white supremacy ahead of White Lives Matter protests in Murfreesboro and Shelbyville.

Scores of clergy have signed their names to statements opposing the white nationalist groups’ values. Planning community prayer vigils celebrating diversity and advocating for unity ahead of Saturday’s (Oct. 28) protest, they have sent a strong message that hate is not a religious value.

HOUSTON (BP) -- Mike Brooks is a plumber in Utah -- and a busy one at that. But he felt God calling him to help in Houston with Hurricane Harvey disaster relief efforts.

U.S. support for stricter regulations on firearm sales now stands at 60 percent (a 5-point increase from 2016), according to Gallup survey data released on Oct. 16.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man who'd been living in a Philadelphia church for nearly a year to avoid deportation to Mexico has walked free.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (BP) -- Amid Northern California wildfires that have killed at least 13 people and burned more than 1,500 buildings since Oct. 8, Southern Baptist churches have begun ministering and California Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief crews are poised for relief work.

(RNS) — A mass shooting is a test for any religious institution, and a massacre like the one that left 58 dead and hundreds injured in Las Vegas, even more so.

Hope Church, a growing multi-ethnic congregation that attracts 3,000 people each weekend, says it’s up to the challenge.

A majority (79.4 percent) of the 689,800 current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients were born in Mexico, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data.