Weekly religion news roundup (January 23-29, 2026)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Hannah Estifanos
Faith groups speak out against Minneapolis murders. The condemnations by humanitarian and civil rights organizations have grown ever louder since news of the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minnesota went viral. (Baptist News Global)
Lives on hold for two years: Hope, fear stuck behind Gaza’s Rafah crossing. Among those Palestinians seeking an exit from a Gaza destroyed by Israel: severely ill children, a mother trying to reunite family with her husband, and a student with overseas academic aspirations. (Al Jazeera)
Khartoum Anglican cathedral comes to life, three years after war forced its closure. As government-aligned troops return to Sudan’s capital, its Anglican cathedral begins its recovery from years of civil war. (Religion News Service)
World pauses to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Holocaust survivors, politicians and regular people commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, gathering at somber events across Europe and beyond to reflect on Nazi Germany’s killing of millions of people. (Associated Press)
How Mormon women fought a Republican-led redistricting initiative in Utah – and won. A 9,000-member group’s legal win could flip a congressional seat to Democrats in the midterms. (The Guardian)
Each week 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.
Ilhan Omar sprayed with liquid at Minneapolis town hall. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked by a man who sprayed a liquid while lunging at her before being detained at a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday. (Politico)
An ‘Underground Railroad’ to Rescue Abducted Ukrainian Kids. “By abducting children and forcing them to abandon their language, faith, and identity, the Kremlin is attempting to erase an entire people,” said Mykola Kuleba, an evangelical and founder of Save Ukraine, a Kyiv-based organization that has rescued 1,124 children. (Christianity Today)
Faith leaders criticize Trump administration’s removal of Philadelphia slavery exhibit. Religious leaders are among those objecting to the National Park Service’s removal of a historic exhibit about slavery located steps away from Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and that featured African Methodist Episcopal Church founder Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the first Black priest in the Episcopal Church. (Religion News Service)
Why Josh Shapiro’s memoir could complicate a presidential run. From the Tree of Life massacre to his 2024 vetting, the Pennsylvania governor frames his public life through moments tied to Jewish identity. (The Forward)
Utah mom who believed in ‘end of times’ is arrested over taking kids to Croatia. A Utah woman who said the end times were near and who is accused of taking her four young children overseas in violation of a custody order has been arrested in Croatia, authorities said Tuesday. (ABC News)
Hannah Estifanos is the copyeditor 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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