World

IZMIR, Turkey (RNS) — As Turkish prosecutors prepare for the high-profile trial of American pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism-related charges, their case points directly to his small evangelical church and the internal strife stemming from his outreach to Syrian refugees.

Authorities of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, an unrecognized entity in eastern Ukraine, have regularly halted worship meetings by a range of religious communities, seized religious literature and fined religious leaders.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (RNS) — A Turkish judge ruled on Wednesday (July 25) that Andrew Brunson, an American Presbyterian pastor and missionary facing terrorism charges, be moved from prison to house arrest.

For many in Turkey, it has little to do with his faith or his work as a missionary, and everything to do with how Washington addresses the concerns of Ankara.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback opened a summit at the State Department this week by urging leaders from a range of faiths to work together to help the persecuted across the globe.

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) – Eritrean Christians and human rights advocates are cheering the release of 35 Christian prisoners as a new peace pact between Eritrea and Ethiopia takes hold this month. But hundreds remain imprisoned in Eritrea under harsh conditions stemming from a war in which members of Christian sects were targeted for mass incarceration.

WHEATON, Ill. — Hundreds of churches in Russia are preparing to end an innovative World Cup 2018 outreach on a high note this week, despite opposition from authorities.

Nationalistic tendencies contributed to a noticeable increase in government restriction on religious freedom in 2016, according to a Pew Research Center report released on June 21.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Egypt's first World Cup in 28 years has captivated the soccer-crazy nation, with intense focus on the squad and the broader game.

Yet it wasn't an entirely unifying experience. For the country's Christians, about 10 percent of the population, the composition of the team and the way the squad was perceived highlighted what they believe is a problem with the sport in Egypt.

A court in the southern city of Karshi, Uzbekistan, has punished four members of a Baptist congregation for meeting for worship without state permission. 

During his trial, the judge admonished: "Do your prayers at home. It is against the law of our state to meet for worship without state registration."

NABI SALEH, West Bank (RNS) — Nabi Saleh is the last place one might expect to find a group of evangelical Christians, a demographic known in Israel–Palestine for its enthusiastic support for Israel. But on this hot spring day, two busloads of evangelicals, mostly American, sit sweating in a semicircle among the scraggly olive trees.