Weekly religion news roundup (May 8-14, 2026)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Hannah Estifanos
Soros’ Open Society Foundations commit $30M to groups fighting antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate. The major human rights funder pledged Wednesday to strengthen interfaith partnerships and protect those facing heightened threats in response to the rising levels of hate against both Jewish and Muslim communities, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas war and the current fragile ceasefire. (Associated Press)
Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall. The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico, signaled in a legal filing it intends to fight the Trump administration's fast-moving attempts to seize its land through eminent domain to extend the southern border wall. (National Catholic Reporter)
Kansas last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 1932. A megachurch pastor aims to change that. Rev. Adam Hamilton, co-founder of the largest United Methodist church in the country, explains why he is running for Senate and believes he can win. (Religion News Service)
Pete Hegseth to headline DC faith rally with far-right and Christian nationalist speakers. Lineup to include pastor who called Democratic platform ‘demonic’, Christian author who said he would die in fight to overturn 2020 election and rabbi who has defended torture. (The Guardian)
Christian schools endangered by new Trump rule. The Trump administration has proposed a new rule that could devastate Christian higher education by tying student loans to the earning potential of degree programs. (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.
She was shunned for renouncing Zionism. A decade later, a rabbinical college is honoring her. Hasia R. Diner’s honorary doctorate from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is another sign of the breakdown of the American Jewish consensus over Israel. (Religion News Service)
Franklin Graham to Hold Evangelical Gathering in Authoritarian Belarus. Pastors of the small evangelical community are eager to unite, but religious freedom experts doubt the event will lead to greater freedoms. (Christianity Today)
Black clergy strategize and preach after Voting Rights Act gutting. Though a range of Black leaders has criticized the high court’s decision, their responseswere not monolithic. (The Christian Century)
Georgia elects new patriarch of influential Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christian bishops in Georgia elected a new patriarch, Shio III, on Monday, in what is a pivotal juncture for the South Caucasus country where the Church plays an influential role in social and political life. (Reuters)
Tech is turning increasingly to religion in a quest to create ethical AI. As concerns mount over artificial intelligence and its rapid integration into society, tech companies are increasingly turning to faith leaders for guidance on how to shape the technology — a surprising about-face on Silicon Valley’s longstanding skepticism of organized religion. (Associated Press)
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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