Weekly religion news roundup (May 30-June 5, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
Trump bans citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. The Trump administration signed a proclamation Wednesday suspending travel to the U.S. for citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. (CNBC)
BJC leader calls Trump’s new travel ban ‘dangerous and discriminatory’. President Donald Trump’s new travel ban against nationals from a dozen countries is “dangerous and discriminatory” and is a significant threat to religious freedom, according to Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. (Baptist News Global)
After years of crisis, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary finds its path. Years of turmoil had left Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a tarnished reputation and a financial crisis. David Dockery, a low-key new leader, helped right the ship. (RNS)
Documentary short film on SBC and women now available free online. An acclaimed documentary on the crisis around women in ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention has become available for free viewing just days before the denomination’s 2025 annual meeting in Dallas. (Baptist News Global)
What do we know about the attack in Colorado. The FBI says an attack in Boulder, Colorado, that injured 12 people was a "targeted act of violence", and they are investigating it as an "act of terrorism". (BBC News)
Walter Brueggemann, influential biblical scholar, dies at 92. His books were influential primarily with clergy, but through their sermons Brueggemann’s concepts have become familiar to many churchgoers. (RNS)
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.
AP PHOTOS: Millions of Muslims embark on the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia has begun. It’s required once in a lifetime by every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it. The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, occurs once a year during the lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar year. (Associated Press)
Irish Catholic Bishops to lead day of prayer and fasting for Gaza on Friday. Calling for prayers, the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference describes Gaza’s situation as “a humanitarian catastrophe.” (Irish Central)
Pope meets with child protection advisory board amid survivor calls for zero tolerance on abuse. Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission on Thursday for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. (Associated Press)
Supreme Court sides with Catholic Charities in case about tax exemptions and religion. The Supreme Court on June 5 said Wisconsin should not have denied a tax exemption to a Catholic Charities chapter, the latest in a series of rulings the justices have decided in favor of faith groups. (USA TODAY)
After a decade of controversy, clergy psychedelic study is published. ‘Johns Hopkins and NYU schools of medicine carried out the study, and that in itself speaks to the powerful presence psychedelics have in popular consciousness,’ said scholar Gary Laderman. (RNS)
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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