Religion News Service

A year after the Junipero Serra statue toppling advocates are urging the Marin County district attorney to drop the felony charges against the five protesters who were arrested after the monument was torn down on Indigenous Peoples Day.

Every pope for the past 50 years — except John Paul I, who died after a month in office — has spoken and written about environmental issues.

On October 12, 1971, a glitzy, over-the-top performance of "Jesus Christ Superstar" opened on Broadway. Fifty years later, the show's impact is difficult to exaggerate. 

Fr. Thomas Reese: Floods of biblical proportions are coming. Plague, famine and war are forecast. But don't blame God. We are bringing the Apocalypse on ourselves.

A number of Catholic groups and Protestant denominations are calling for the United States to establish a Truth and Healing Commission to reckon with the country’s history of boarding schools.

Religious leaders to urge strong climate action at COP26 and commit to encouraging their congregations to care for creation.

Thomas Reese: Let's be honest. We are all cafeteria Catholics. The real question is how we avoid a food fight in the cafeteria. Disagreements should lead to conversations, not shouting.

At 18, Sam still identifies himself as a Catholic. But if it partly defines him, it doesn't limit him. "I regularly practice centering prayer and was involved in a centering prayer group, which wasn’t technically Catholic," he recently told us as we researched Gen Z's attitudes toward faith.

While some Native American groups support expansion of Bears Ears National Monument, others fear it will jeopardize their ability to engage in traditional practices.

Just Catholic: Pope Francis' plan is for ordinary Catholics to have their say. The problem: No one seems to know about it. The bigger problem: U.S. bishops don't seem to care. 

Signs of the Times: What kind of witness would the pope give if he got a third jab? Will he be seen as an elderly person who needs protection or will he be seen as a first-world resident who ignores the needs of those in poorer countries?

Signs of the Times: Pope Francis was at his prophetic best on his recent papal trip. He is standing up for the marginalized who have been bloodied by war, starved by famine and displaced by persecution. 

Though anti-Muslim sentiments grew in the wake of 9/11 — and continue — that concerned phone call from a friend across faith lines exemplifies another legacy of that historic day: the evolution and advancement of interfaith cooperation in the United States.

Bishop John Shelby Spong, a bestselling author and cleric known for his progressive theology and his support of LGBTQ clergy in the Episcopal Church, has died. He was 90.

In another sign Donald Trump is eyeing a run to regain the White House, the former president and his religious advisers announced the launch of a national faith advisory board on Sept. 2, apparently aimed at reinvigorating his conservative Christian base.

Signs of the Times: The U.S. bishops are working on a document on the Eucharist, which could be very helpful if they do it right. The chances are slim. But I have six suggestions on what should the bishops say in their document on the Eucharist.

This October, Pope Francis will inaugurate a three-year preparation process for the 2023 synod, which will focus on reforming the synodal process. The preparation process and the synod have the potential to revolutionize the way decisions are made in the Catholic Church and promote a more decentralized structure of authority.

Kondo describes aspects of her spiritual brand as inspired by Shinto, but the ideal KonMari lifestyle is presented as one in which we adopt and adapt whatever practices "feel right."

Indigenous leaders fear their scattered rural communities will be overlooked by aid agencies in aftermath of hurricane.

The Academy for Jewish Religion California has rented space in several locations during its 21-year existence as a transdenominational seminary that trains rabbis and cantors. For a while it was housed in an office building in downtown Los Angeles, then at Hillel, the Jewish campus organization at the University of California Los Angeles. But beginning Oct. 1, in an arrangement both novel and pathbreaking, the academy will move to Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic school founded by the Jesuit and Marymount orders.