Mark A. Kellner

Near-unanimous House votes to sanction China for organ harvesting, two GOP members dissent

The House voted 413-2 Monday in favor of a measure to sanction China's trade in human organs.

March 27, 2023

Republicans, religious freedom advocates oppose rollback of faith-based student group protections

A dozen House Republicans led by North Carolina's Virginia Foxx on Friday blasted a Biden administration proposal the lawmakers said would gut protections for faith-based student groups.

March 27, 2023

Southern Baptist pastor cites 170 women in leadership roles in violation of doctrine

A Southern Baptist pastor spearheading a drive to ban women from serving as church leaders has released a report noting 170 women in pastoral jobs in violation of the denomination's men-only doctrine.

March 27, 2023

Inside the contentious fight to outlaw evangelical Christianity in Israel

Israel's parliament, called the Knesset, was considering a bill that would outlaw attempts to persuade people to consider changing their faith, including online outreach, mail and any other means. Convicted proselytizers would face up to two years in prison.

March 24, 2023

Anti-Defamation League tracked historic levels of antisemitic incidents in United States in 2022

The ADL said the numbers were the most since it began tracking incidents in 1979. The league's announcement noted "an upward trendline of hate and vitriol" toward American Jews the past five years.

March 23, 2023

Netanyahu blocks anti-proselytizing bill after evangelical Christians, others protest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shut down efforts to outlaw evangelism in the land where Christianity was born 2,000 years ago, following outrage and criticism by evangelical Christians around the world.

March 23, 2023

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to share faith at Liberty University convocation April 14

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will share his faith at a student convocation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on April 14, the evangelical Christian school announced Wednesday.

March 22, 2023

Nicaragua’s campaign against Catholic Church draws rebuke

A leading congressional voice on human rights said he hopes a hearing highlighting abuses by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's regime will push the Biden administration and Congress to take even tougher measures against the leader.

March 22, 2023

Religious charities’ conscience protections obliterated under new Biden proposal, critics say

The Biden administration is hailing new rules aimed at protecting the religious liberty of clients of faith-based charities, but critics say the proposed changes would obliterate protections for religious charities that receive federal funds.

March 22, 2023

Texas VA clinic removes ‘Remember Our Veterans’ metal cross after watchdog complains

The Department of Veterans Affairs quickly removed a metal cross incorporating emblems of the military branches from public display in its Austin, Texas, VA Clinic roughly 90 minutes after a watchdog group raised a complaint.

March 20, 2023

Former school president Falwell sues Liberty for $8.6 million pension payment

Jerry Falwell Jr., the disgraced former president of Liberty University, has sued his former employer seeking nearly $8.5 million in retirement benefits he said the school improperly denied him.

March 19, 2023

Maryland, West Virginia Methodist congregations sue denomination over departure payments

Thirty-eight United Methodist Church congregations in Maryland and West Virginia have sued the Baltimore-Washington Conference and its leader, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, claiming the regional body is extorting a "financial ransom" of half their church property value as they seek to leave the denomination.

March 19, 2023

Jews popular in U.S. despite increase in antisemitic attacks

Judaism is the most favorably viewed religion in the United States, according to a new Pew Research Center study, despite a rise in antisemitic incidents across the country.

March 15, 2023

Jewish parents, schools sue California over funding for disabled students

Three Jewish couples and two Orthodox Jewish schools have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that California discriminates against religious children with disabilities and their schools.

March 15, 2023

Supreme Court to review 1977 decision on religious accommodation

Larry Hardison's name was chiseled into American legal history 46 years ago, when the Supreme Court ruled against him in a landmark religious accommodation case.

March 14, 2023

Pope Francis says married priests possible, calls celibacy a ‘temporary prescription’

Pope Francis has called celibacy for priests a "temporary prescription," signaling a potential end to a centuries-old requirement of the Roman Catholic Church that the clergy should not marry.

March 13, 2023

Lay Catholics campaign to deny Communion for pro-abortion politicians

A group of lay U.S. Roman Catholics has launched a mass-mailing campaign to persuade clergy to deny Communion for pro-abortion politicians.

March 8, 2023

New York family agency to pay Christian adoption group $250K to settle lawsuit

New York state's Office of Children and Family Services will pay $250,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by New Hope Family Services after a court ruled that the agency is not subject to closure because it only places children with married, heterosexual couples.

March 7, 2023

Christianity scores most favorably in religion poll, with Scientology and Satanism at bottom

Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism are each positively viewed by Americans, survey results reveal, but individual denominations within Christianity fare less well in public opinion, the YouGov survey showed.

March 6, 2023

British pro-life advocate again arrested for ‘thoughtcrime’ of silent prayer near abortion clinic

Police in Birmingham, England, have again arrested a woman praying silently outside a closed abortion clinic, a little more than two weeks after an acquittal on the same charges, her attorneys said Monday.

March 6, 2023