Weekly religion news roundup (September 25-October 1, 2026)
Photograph by Utsav Srestha via Unsplash
Hannah Estifanos
DOJ asks appeals court to allow churches to endorse political candidates. Department of Justice lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court decision that kept an IRS ban on nonprofits endorsing candidates in place—the latest development in a decades-long battle over whether pastors and houses of worship should be allowed to endorse political candidates. (The Christian Century)
A surprising number of Americans use AI for spiritual reasons. Here’s what they told us. Artificial intelligence is becoming a tool not only for work and research but also for exploring questions of faith and spirituality, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll. (NPR News)
Far-right settlers divert West Bank spring water as Israel backs heritage site takeovers. For the 2.8 million Palestinians who live in the territory, those springs and the stone reservoirs they fill are increasingly out of reach as Israeli settlers — encouraged by a hard-line government facing reelection — have stepped up efforts both to seize the springs and other heritage sites. (Religion News Service)
Ethiopians celebrate Meskel holiday with pomp, despite recent fighting in Tigray. Millions of Christians in Ethiopia gathered to celebrate Meskel, a religious holiday that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman empress Helena in the 4th century, even as fighting continued in the troubled northern region of Tigray. (Associated Press)
Pope Leo warns: Invoking God to justify war is to ‘profane’ his name. On his final day in France, Pope Leo XIV urged European leaders to uphold multilateralism and international law and reject the ‘illusion’ of rearmament. (Religion News Service)
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.
Federal judge allows religious charter school in Oklahoma — for now. A federal judge cleared the way for the nation’s first religious charter school to open in Oklahoma, bucking an earlier U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the idea. (Baptist News Global)
US judge rules Wisconsin mosque leader Salah Sarsour can be deported. Sarsour’s lawyers say the decision threatens free speech protections and plan to fight the ruling. (Al Jazeera)
Flood-battered Nepal kicks off festival season with weeklong Indra Jatra as more rain is predicted. The weeklong Indra Jatra festival is the first of a string of celebrations in the predominantly Hindu nation. Dasain, the main festival, is coming up in October, while Tihar — or Diwali, the Festival of Lights — is due in November. (Associated Press)
Evangelicals Urge Trump Administration to Release Frozen Global Health Funds. With more than $1 billion of funding withheld, leaders including Amy Grant and a Trump adviser sent a letter to White House officials. (Christianity Today)
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity. Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore. (The Guardian)
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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