Weekly religion news roundup (May 22-28, 2026)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Hannah Estifanos
Netanyahu’s coalition alliances with religious parties put his reelection at risk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained in power for the most of the past 17 years due in part to a tight alliance with ultra-Orthodox religious parties. But that alliance is tearing apart his governing coalition and proving to be another major liability for the long-serving Israeli leader as the country heads to elections later this year. (Associated Press)
Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice. The sacred holiday coincides with Hajj, drawing over 1.7 million pilgrims seeking spiritual fulfilment in Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)
The five main takeaways from Pope Leo’s encyclical on AI. Starting from the centrality of the human person, Pope Leo XIV offers a series of reflections to help guide the world through the challenges and risks posed by AI. (Religion News Service)
Cut Off from the World, Iran’s Christians Worry, Suffer, and Pray. They want the regime to fall, but Iranian believers have differing views on their country’s war. (Christianity Today)
Virginia church steps in to support Black student group at Mizzou. Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., announced Sunday it will financially support the Legion of Black Collegians after the University of Missouri ended designated funding for several affinity organizations amid federal scrutiny of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. (Baptist News Global)
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.
After protests outside synagogues, New York makes it a crime to block entry to a house of worship. Blocking someone from entering a house of worship, or acting in a way that makes worshippers entering the building fear for their safety, is now a crime in New York under a law approved after a series of raucous demonstrations outside synagogues. (Associated Press)
‘Naturally scared’: India’s Muslims denied public spaces for Eid prayers. Mosques are asking worshippers to pray in shifts, as authorities issue threats against congregations. (Al Jazeera)
As seminaries shuttered, Union grew. For Serene Jones, controversy was the price of survival. Jones is stepping down as president of Union Theological Seminary after 18 years. Her tenure has been defined by difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions that helped stabilize the institution even as mainline Protestantism declines. (Religion News Service)
Peru's Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession. After years of allegations of land dispossession by a now-dissolved Catholic group, the highest ecclesiastical authorities in the Andean country on Saturday held a symbolic reparation ceremony for the Indigenous people whose land was taken away. (National Catholic Reporter)
Eli Lilly sues church leaders for alleged $200 million ‘sham’ drug program. A group of leaders in the Church of God in Christ have been accused in a lawsuit of defrauding a major pharmaceutical company out of more than $200 million in rebates for diabetes drugs. (The Christian Century)
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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