Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by 36 United Methodist Churches
A North Carolina Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by 36 United Methodist churches demanding to sever their ties to the denomination.
For United Methodists’ Top Court, 2024 Is the New 2020
The United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, ruled again on the question of leaving the denomination in a decision released last week as the church goes through a slow-moving split over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.
Pope Francis at 10 Years: A Reformer’s Learning Curve
Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.
In North Idaho, Religious and Secular Activists Work to Fight Christian Nationalism
Devotees of far-right politics have flocked to this part of Idaho and the surrounding states for decades, and for as long they have met resistance — including from faith leaders.
Presuming to Hate What God Hates
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy challenges the presumptions of anyone claiming they hate what God hates. Such a statement, he argues, is a product of bad religion.
Debate Over Allowing Missouri Campus Groups to Limit Membership Focuses on Discrimination
A Missouri bill that would allow religious and other "belief-based" organizations to refuse membership to certain students raised concerns Wednesday evening that it could open the door to discrimination on college campuses, especially against LGBTQ students.
Trailblazing Episcopal Priest Pauli Murray To Be Featured on US Quarters
The first Black woman to be ordained in the Episcopal Church, who was also a trailblazing lawyer, civil rights activist, and writer, will be honored on the U.S. quarter next year. Pauli Murray has been chosen as one of five honorees for the American Women
Pope, Anglican, Presbyterian Leaders Denounce Anti-Gay Laws
Pope Francis was backed by the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister in calling for gays to be welcomed by their churches as he again decried laws that criminalize homosexuality as unjust.
Clergy Protest Legislation Targeting Transgender Children in Missouri
Jewish and Christian clergy have taken an active role in protesting what one advocacy group has called the “most dangerous” session of the Missouri Legislature for the LGBTQ community it has seen in years. All told, Missouri lawmakers have introduced 27 anti-LGBTQ bills — more
‘Not a Real Schism’: Four Years Later, UMC Exodus Less a Gush, More a Trickle
Nearly four years ago, the United Methodist Church approved an exit plan for churches wishing to break away from the global denomination over differing beliefs about sexuality, setting in motion what many believed would be a modern-day schism. Since then, a new analysis has found,