Weekly religion news roundup (August 8-14, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
Madonna urges pope to visit Gaza ‘before it’s too late.’ The US queen of pop shared her plea on social media, saying the pontiff was “the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.” The Like a Prayer singer added: “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children.” (BBC News)
Washington bishop, interfaith leaders oppose Trump militarization of DC: ‘Fear is not a strategy.’ Washington Bishop Mariann Budde and Washington National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith on Aug. 13 joined a group of Christian and Jewish leaders from the nation’s capital to issue a statement opposing the Trump administration’s temporary federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement, saying, “fear is not a strategy.” (Episcopal News Service)
Ayahuasca and toad poison seized as police raid spiritual retreats in Spain. Police in eastern Spain have arrested three people and seized 11 litres of ayahuasca, 117 San Pedro cactus plants and several bottles of toad poison after raiding two rural properties that were used to host lucrative spiritual retreats promising “astral journeys.” (The Guardian)
80 Years Later: Remembering Nagasaki As Holy Ground. The bomb was dropped into a centuries-long history of Christian faith, struggle and survival. (Religion Unplugged)
Prominent Muslim, interfaith leader named new president of Houston's Rothko Chapel. Abdullah Antepli, a globe-trotting interfaith champion and prominent Muslim leader, has been chosen as the new president of the Rothko Chapel, the Houston ecumenical sanctuary. (RNS)
Kim Davis is back – challenging same-sex marriage nationwide. In a petition for writ of certiorari, she claims First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes her from personal liability for denying marriage licenses to couples based on her own personal religious beliefs. At the same time, she claims the court’s 2015 decision was “egregiously wrong” and should be reconsidered. (Baptist News Global)
Each Friday in The Christian Citizen, we publish a Religion News Roundup with summaries of religion news stories and links for those who want to read more.
DC historic Black church sues Proud Boys chapter over use of trademark the church now controls. The historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in D.C., which now controls the “Proud Boys” trademark, has sued a New York chapter of the white nationalist group for using its name and familiar black and yellow wreath logo in online recruiting and merchandise sales. (WTOP News)
Qatar sentences the country’s Baha’i leader to 5 years for social media posts. The leader of the small Baha’i community in Qatar was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for social media posts that allegedly “cast doubt on the foundations of the Islamic religion,” according to court documents obtained by an international Baha’i organization monitoring the case. (Associated Press)
Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Cambodia gather to praise ceasefire with Thailand and mourn the dead. They marched from the country’s main religious school near the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh, to a nearby temple, where they were joined by nuns and laymen and women. (RNS)
Canadian ecumenical group rolls out guidelines to address spiritual harm done to Indigenous peoples. A document aiming to heal the legacy of spiritual harm churches committed against Indigenous peoples, written by an ecumenical working group and presented to Sacred Circle Aug. 8, makes a set of “calls to healing” to churches – including implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Episcopal News Service)
Pete Hegseth belongs to an archconservative church network. What to know about CREC. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he’s proud to be part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, an archconservative network of Christian congregations. Hegseth recently made headlines when he shared a CNN video on social media about CREC, showing its pastors arguing women should not have the right to vote. (NBC Washington)
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela is senior writer at American Baptist Home Mission Societies and assistant editor of The Christian Citizen.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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