Weekly religion news roundup (July 11-17, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
UN finds rising child malnutrition in Gaza, where officials say Israeli strikes kill 93 people. Hunger has been rising among Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians since Israel broke a ceasefire in March to resume the war and banned all food and other supplies from entering Gaza. (RNS)
Israeli strike hits Gaza church, killing 2 and wounding priest who was close to Pope Francis. An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the situation in the war-ravaged territory. (Associated Press)
United Church of Christ synod denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism.' The resolution also denounces the 'weaponization of the constitution' and urges UCC churches to divest from private incarceration companies that are participating in the White House crackdown on immigrants. (RNS)
Florida pastor arrested and deported by ICE. A Florida congregation is reeling after its pastor was arrested by federal immigration agents and deported to Guatemala. (Baptist News Global)
Thousands of Haitians mark annual pilgrimage far from a sacred waterfall surrounded by gangs. The massive crowd that would gather once a year at a revered waterfall in central Haiti where the faithful would splash in its sacred waters and rub their bodies with aromatic leaves was not there on Wednesday. (Associated Press)
Brazil’s environment minister fights fellow evangelicals on Amazon protection. Attacks from the religious right on Marina Silva, a Pentecostal and longtime environmentalist, expose the rifts within Brazil’s evangelical movement as the Amazon’s future hangs in the balance. (RNS)
Supernatural beliefs vary across different groups in the U.S. A survey conducted by researchers at West Virginia University posed dozens of questions to 2,000 Americans over age 18 on a wide range of beliefs in supernatural phenomena – everything from belief in the devil to belief in the magical power of crystals. Younger Americans are more likely to express belief in witchcraft and luck, as our new research shows. (UPI)
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.
Trump 2.0: Hymn sings, prayer meetings and ‘biblical’ deportations. Pentecostal pastors laying hands on the president in the Oval Office. Prayers to open cabinet meetings. Hymn sings in the Roosevelt Room. Cross necklaces as faith-forward fashion statements. A prayer meeting at the Pentagon. (Baptist News Global)
Kendi’s latest project is to teach kids about Malcolm X. In his latest project, Ibram X. Kendi is on a mission to help the next generation know and understand the work of Malcolm X. (Baptist News Global)
Influential evangelical preacher John MacArthur dies at 86. He led Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley for more than five decades. The church traded lawsuits with Los Angeles County during the coronavirus pandemic over whether COVID-19 mandates violated constitutional rights to religious freedom. (Associated Press)
Monks behaving badly: the sex scandal rocking Thailand’s Buddhist clergy. Stories of monks behaving badly are not uncommon in Thailand, but the scale of a recent scandal has sparked questions about wealth and privilege. (The Guardian)
Zohran Mamdani’s last name reflects centuries of intercontinental trade, migration and cultural exchange. When Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, political observers noted his progressive platform and legislative record. But understanding the Democratic candidate’s background requires examining the rich cultural tapestry woven into his very surname: Mamdani. (The Conversation US)
Judge orders immigration officials not to deport hospital chaplain – at least for now. Ayman Soliman, who worked for several years as a Muslim chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and volunteer imam at Clifton Mosque, won a small court victory July 16 that prevents immigration officials from deporting him or moving him outside the state. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
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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