Weekly religion news roundup (September 19-25, 2025)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Anna Piela
Black clergy grapple with Charlie Kirk's rhetoric and his treatment as a hero. From the pulpits of Black churches, pastors used their sermons to denounce Kirk's beliefs that some said conflict with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. (NBC News)
For High Holidays, rabbis brace for complex discussions on Gaza war and US politics. High Holidays sermons, said Cleveland Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, put Jewish teachings in perspective and show ‘how they might operate in a world that is trembling.’ (Religion News Service)
14 more Texas districts sued over Ten Commandments. An additional 14 Texas public school systems are being sued to stop them from installing classroom Ten Commandments displays mandated by the state. (Baptist News Global)
‘We are on the side of God,’ Stephen Miller says. Enemies of the MAGA movement “have nothing,” Stephen Miller said at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service Sunday morning. But conservatives, on the other hand, “are on the side of God.” (Baptist News Global)
Charlie Kirk murder sparks resurgence in Christianity with busloads of new worshippers arriving at one church and 'Jesus' trending on Google. The assassination of Charlie Kirk appears to have sparked a renewed interest in Christianity among young people - a demographic that has been turning more secular for decades. (Daily Mail)
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.
‘We have arrived’: Mammoth deity statues announce Hindus’ rising status in the West. At least five towering statues of Hindu gods have been built across Canada and the US in the past decade. (Religion News Service)
Nigerian Christians afraid to gather as attacks by Islamist herders mount. The country now sees an average of 30 Christians killed every day, making Nigeria the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. (Religion News Service)
EU Parliament deeply concerned about Russia’s interference through Orthodox clergy in EU neighbourhood. “Russia is instrumentalizing the clergy of some Orthodox Churches in the EU to destabilize countries which are candidates to EU membership, especially on the eve of elections,” said two experts invited by the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield at the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday 21 September. (The European Times)
Sister Jean, longtime Loyola Chicago chaplain and March Madness icon, retires at 106. Longtime chaplain for Loyola Chicago’s men’s basketball team, Sister Jean, has retired at 106 because of health concerns. The school’s student newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix, announced her retirement earlier this month. (Associated Press)
A doomsday prediction about the Rapture is spreading on TikTok. The Rapture is near — at least according to an apocalyptic prophecy by one South African man who says it will fall on Sept. 23 or 24. (Associated Press)
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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