Christianity

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Here's Why Swedes Are Scarfing Down Waffles Today

Mispronunciation led to breakfast item being folded into the Christian Feast of the Annunciation

(Newser) - It's Waffle Day on Monday, at least in certain parts of Scandinavia. The National Day Calendar notes that Norway and Denmark celebrate the scrumptious-sounding celebration, but it's "especially popular" in Sweden, where March 25 also marks the Feast of the Annunciation , or "Our Lady's Day....

Christians, Not-So-Great News Coming
Christians,
Not-So-Great
News Coming
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 24, 2022 4:30 PM CDT

Christians, Not-So-Great News Coming

Pew finds Christianity on track to no longer be America's majority religion within decades

(Newser) - Christianity is currently the majority religion in the United States, but it's not on track to stay that way. CBS News reports on a new study by Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey that examines various scenarios of religious "switching" over the next few decades, and...

For This Megachurch, a 'Swift and Stunning Decline'

In just a few weeks, more than half of Hillsong's US churches shutter

(Newser) - Just two weeks ago, Hillsong Church—the popular Sydney-based megachurch that has counted Justin Bieber, Bono, actor Chris Pratt, and the NBA's Kevin Durant among its devotees —had 16 campuses spread across the US from coast to coast. Now, in a plotline that seems lifted from The Righteous ...

India Cracks Down on Mother Teresa's Charity

Amid rising anti-Christian sentiment, India bars Missionaries of Charity from foreign funding

(Newser) - On Christmas Day in India came a move that some say is the result of rising anti-Christian sentiment. On Saturday, the Hindu-majority nation refused to renew the license that allowed for funding from abroad for Missionaries of Charity, the group founded by Mother Teresa that runs nun-managed shelters and other...

Shipwreck Ring Belonged to One of the First Christians

Ring inscribed with 'Good Shepherd' among Roman-era treasures found off Israel

(Newser) - A gold ring belonging to one of the first Christians is among the treasures pulled from a Roman-era shipwreck off Israel, researchers say. Also discovered in the wreck off the ancient port of Caesarea is a bronze eagle figurine, bells meant to keep evil spirits at bay, various pottery, and...

Christian Group: 'Trump Has Used Christianity'

'Not Our Faith' rolls out 6-figure TV and digital ad campaign

(Newser) - A group of prominent Christians from both sides of the aisle, including a past faith adviser to former President Barack Obama, is forming a political action committee designed to chip away at Christian support for President Trump in the final weeks of the 2020 campaign, the AP reports. Dubbed Not...

Christian Rocker Says He No Longer Believes in God

Hawk Nelson frontman says he was shocked to find how many others feel the same way

(Newser) - The lead singer of award-winning Christian band Hawk Nelson says he's decided to tell the truth: He no longer believes in God, and has had doubts for many years. In a lengthy Instagram post , Jonathan Steingard says he has been "terrified" about making the announcement, but it feels...

Easter Has Been Quarantined
Easter Has Been Quarantined 
Apr 12, 2020 8:33 AM CDT

Easter Has Been Quarantined

Francis plays to nearly empty St. Peter's Basilica as coronavirus keeps most home on joyful holiday

(Newser) - Pope Francis called for solidarity the world over to confront the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic, reports the AP , as Christians celebrated a solitary Easter Sunday, blending the joyful feast day with sorrow over the toll the virus has already taken. Families that normally would attend morning...

AP Has Big Issues With Church Sex-Offender List

Over 900 accused clergy members are missing

(Newser) - Richard J. Poster served time for possessing child pornography, violated his probation by having contact with children, admitted masturbating near a church school, and in 2005 was put on a sex offender registry. And yet the former Catholic priest was only just this month added to a list of clergy...

'Original' Jesus Relic Arrives in Bethlehem

The pope returns it, 1,400 years later

(Newser) - A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus' manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope, the AP reports. Sheathed in an ornate case, the...

Christian Who Wrote Anti-Dating Book: 'I Am Not a Christian'

Joshua Harris getting divorced, apologizing to LGBT community, saying dating actually is OK

(Newser) - More than 20 years ago, he wrote a popular Christian guide to relationships that said dating—including holding hands, kissing, and couples spending time alone together—was bad and a "training ground" for divorce. Now, after pointing out the "flaws" more than a year ago in his I ...

Popular Christian Author Dead at 37
'Voice of Wandering
Evangelicals' Dies at 37 
OBITUARY
May 5, 2019 5:41 AM CDT

'Voice of Wandering Evangelicals' Dies at 37

Popular Christian author Rachel Held Evans dies of complications of infection and brain seizures

(Newser) - Progressive Christian author Rachel Held Evans, who the New York Times says "gave voice to a generation of wandering evangelicals wrestling with their faith," died in Tennessee on Saturday after spending two weeks in a hospital for treatment for an infection and brain seizures. She was 37. Sarah...

With Easter Bloodied, Pope Decries 'Cruel Violence'

Sri Lanka attacks hang heavy over Mass at St. Peter's

(Newser) - Pope Francis denounced the "cruel violence" of the Easter Sunday slaughter of Christians and foreigners in Sri Lanka as he celebrated the most joyful moment on the Christian liturgical calendar by lamenting bloodshed and political violence. Francis skipped his homily during Easter Mass but delivered his traditional "Urbi...

Middle East Leaders Make Christmas a Holiday
Iraq Gives Christians a Gift
Dec 25, 2018 11:42 AM CST

Iraq Gives Christians a Gift

What's left of them, at least

(Newser) - For Iraqi Christians, it's a moment to enjoy: The government has made Christmas a national holiday, CNN reports. "Happy Christmas to our Christian citizens, all Iraqis and to all who are celebrating around the world," the government tweeted . The move marks an apparent respite for Iraqi Christians,...

In China, Burning Bibles Is All the Rage
China Waging War
on Christianity 
Sep 10, 2018 9:30 AM CDT

China Waging War on Christianity

Activists say Beijing is burning Bibles, shutting churches, forcing the faithful to renounce

(Newser) - China's government is ratcheting up a crackdown on Christian congregations, destroying crosses, burning Bibles, shutting churches, and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith, according to pastors and a group that monitors religion in China. The campaign corresponds with a drive to "Sinicize" religion by demanding loyalty...

China Steps Up Crackdown on Christianity

Suppression is worst since 1982

(Newser) - Under President Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country...

Boy Who Didn't Come Back From Heaven Sues Own Publisher

Alex Malarkey says he never saw a dime from book, and that late father made up near-death story

(Newser) - Alex Malarkey calls it "one of the most deceptive books ever," even though it bears his byline and that of his late father. The 20-year-old Ohio man, left paraplegic after a 2004 car crash in which his father, Kevin Malarkey, was driving, co-penned with his dad The Boy ...

'Burial Slab' of Jesus Discovered in Jerusalem

Burial chamber has been concealed by marble cladding since at least 1555 AD

(Newser) - Renovations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem have uncovered what many believe to be the stone bench on which the body of Jesus Christ was laid after his death. USA Today reports that work began in June to renovate or restore certain areas of the church, including...

This Tiny Viking Pendant Could Rewrite History

It suggests Danes became Christians earlier than thought

(Newser) - Denmark's Dennis Fabricius Holm got off work early on March 11 and decided to go for a stroll with his metal detector near the town of Aunslev. "Suddenly I hit upon something," he tells national broadcaster DR , per the Local . "Ever since I turned over the...

One Key to Civilization's Rise? Fear of an Angry God
One Key to Civilization's Rise? Fear of an Angry God
study says
Feb 12, 2016 9:09 AM CST

One Key to Civilization's Rise? Fear of an Angry God

It's why strangers work together, say researchers

(Newser) - The belief in all-seeing and punitive gods may be a huge factor in how modern civilization came to be. So report researchers in the journal Nature after studying nearly 600 individuals from eight communities, including plant cultivators on the South Pacific island of Tanna, wage laborers on Fiji and in...

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