Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Hannah Estifanos
Can religion help Democrats win the 2026 US midterm elections? Republicans have long appealed to Christian conservatives. But is there an opening for Democrats to rally religious voters in right-leaning states? (Al Jazeera)
Hispanic evangelicals are turning on Trump. But will they vote for Democrats? In the absence of strong outreach from the Democratic Party, it’s an open question whether Hispanic evangelicals defecting from Trump will hold their nose to vote for Democrats or Republicans — or whether they’ll sit the race out altogether. (Religion News Service)
Renewed debate on churches as polling places. With an increase in political activism in churches and a rise in the number of clergy running for office, the use of churches as polling places has come under renewed scrutiny. Schools, libraries, fire stations and government buildings also are common polling places across the U.S. (Baptist News Global)
Holy Land Church leaders condemn settler attack on Christian village, European diplomats. Christian leaders in the Holy Land condemned the latest attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians and European diplomats during an annual olive harvest. (National Catholic Reporter)
Pope Leo says he will gradually resume duties after cancer surgery. Pope Leo XIV thanked thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for their prayers while he was hospitalized, and said he plans to gradually return to his usual duties. (NPR News)
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.
Landslides, fires, El Niño: Big Sur’s spiritual centers ‘living with precariousness.’ For those who visit, work and live at the remote spiritual centers, ruggedness goes hand in hand with sacredness. But as climate change amplifies the region’s volatility, some — like the monks of New Camaldoli Hermitage — are weighing the costs. (Religion News Service)
Australian coroner moved to tears by the death of a child denied insulin on religious grounds. An Australian coroner was moved to tears Thursday after hearing evidence from the older sister of an 8-year-old girl who died after her insulin was withheld by her parents on religious grounds. (Associated Press)
How an Orthodox Jewish scholar found an unexpected home among the Amish. Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar conducted the first comparative study of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel and old-order Amish communities. She now considers some of the women she’s lived with her extended family. (Associated Press)
Videos, texts show South Florida pastor’s role in Haiti president’s killing, feds say. This week, as federal prosecutors in Miami continued making their case against Christian Emmanuel Sanon, the Haitian-American pastor and South Florida resident accused of conspiring to kidnap or kill Haiti president Jovenel Moïse, they suggested to jurors that the video had served as a guide for the operation that culminated in Moïse's July 7, 2021, assassination. (Yahoo News)
Kenyan starvation cult leader convicted of deaths of nearly 200 children. Starvation cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 others were found guilty of murder by a Kenyan court on Monday over the deaths of 190 children and an adult in one of the world's worst cult-related tragedies in recent history. (Reuters)
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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