Weekly religion news roundup (May 9-15, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
What Oct. 7 and its fallout cost a high school in Philadelphia. Protests over the removal of a Black Muslim teacher from her classroom pitted pro-Israel parents, students and teachers against their pro-Palestinian counterparts. (RNS)
54 people killed in overnight airstrikes on southern Gaza city, hospital says. Multiple airstrikes hit Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday, killing more than 50 people in a second consecutive night of heavy bombing, while another airstrike in the north of the Palestinian territory left more than a dozen people dead, authorities said. (Associated Press)
Shane Claiborne, four other faith activists arrested while protesting GOP budget bill. 'Stir the conscience of our nation. Let justice rise up on these very steps, let truth trouble the chambers of the Capitol,' Shane Claiborne said as he prayed. (RNS)
American Baptist Churches Metro Chicago unanimously votes to become a sanctuary region. On May 3, during its annual meeting, the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago (ABCMC) became the first region within the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) to unanimously pass a resolution declaring itself a sanctuary region. The resolution was authored by Rev. Shakespeare Osorio, associate regional minister for Latino churches, and Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, co-associate regional minister for white and multicultural churches. (Good Faith Media)
Pope meets with head of Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, who invites him to Kyiv. Pope Leo XIV met Thursday at the Vatican with the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, in one of his first audiences as pontiff that reaffirmed his appeal for a peaceful, negotiated end to Russia’s war. (Associated Press)
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.
Evangelical leaders petition Trump to let Afghan Christians stay in the US. Top evangelical leaders are among the 15 signatories of a letter urging President Trump against deporting Afghan Christians, who face potential arrest, torture and death in their homeland under Taliban rule. (Religion Unplugged)
On 80th anniversary of VE Day, Europeans have concerns about the future. Time stood still in the UK May 8 as residents of “this scepter’d isle” paused on the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day to remember the shared sacrifice of those who fought and died, those who survived wounded in mind and body and those who persevered on the home front during World War II. (Baptist News Global)
For this Atlanta church, being on mission means a real estate deal. Before there were megachurches, Wieuca Road Baptist Church stood on a prestigious corner of Atlanta as one of the most prominent tall-steeple Baptist churches in the American South. Now the church is preparing for one of the largest real estate deals in American church history and hoping the infusion of cash will help it reset its ministry in a “live, work and pray” community. (Baptist News Global)
Just plane wrong: Trump’s Qatari jet gift sparks rare Jewish MAGA backlash. For President Donald Trump’s MAGA Jewish base, the plane may be a bridge too far. Three influential Jewish voices in the MAGA movement — figures typically known for their unwavering loyalty to the GOP standard-bearer — are aghast over Trump’s decision to accept a $400 million aircraft from the government of Qatar. (Religion Unplugged)
Greta Gerwig’s Aslan and the coming faith-based ‘gender culture war’. The internet broke with the announcement that the highly anticipated Greta Gerwig-directed Netflix adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” was eyeing Meryl Streep for the role of Aslan. Many Christians were up in arms. Aslan is, in the beloved C.S. Lewis book series, a representation of God, particularly in relation to Jesus. Gender-swapping his character not only smacks of unfaithfulness to the source material but also, in this case, sacrilege. (Religion Unplugged)
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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