Christians

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Extremists Want Her to Die. Instead, Court Frees Her (Again)

Pakistani Supreme Court upholds acquittal of Christian accused of blasphemy, sentenced to die

(Newser) - Asia Bibi is finally free to leave Pakistan, if she hasn't already. On Tuesday, the country's Supreme Court upheld its own acquittal of Bibi—a Christian mother first arrested a decade ago on blasphemy charges and sentenced to death in 2010 —rejecting a challenge to its earlier... More »

Iraq Gives Christians a Gift

What's left of them, at least

(Newser) - For Iraqi Christians, it's a moment to enjoy: The government has made Christmas a national holiday, CNN reports. "Happy Christmas to our Christian citizens, all Iraqis and to all who are celebrating around the world," the government tweeted . The move marks an apparent respite for Iraqi Christians,... More »

Pakistan Acquits Christian Sentenced to Die for Blasphemy

Massive protests expected after Asia Bibi freed

(Newser) - Authorities in Pakistan are braced for massive protests after the acquittal of a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 for alleged blasphemy against Islam. Asia Bibi was accused of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed in a 2009 argument with farmworkers who refused to drink water... More »

For Americans, This Is the 'Face of God'

Ryan Gosling, is that you?

(Newser) - You can now say you've stared into the face of God, or at least a face Americans believe resembles it. Surprisingly, there's no beard in sight. Instead, faces selected from pairs of photos by more than 500 US Christians tasked with choosing their vision of God combine to... More »

Religion in America Changing in a Big Way

For starters, white Christians no longer make up majority of nation

(Newser) - A major new survey on the religious beliefs of Americans is out, and the Public Religion Research Institute sees a "dramatic transformation" taking place across the country. Two big takeaways from the 2016 survey of 101,000 people: White Christians no longer make up a majority of Americans, with... More »

ACLU: Ala. Christian Forced to Remove Scarf for DMV Pic

Yvonne Allen says she was told only Muslims can wear head scarves

(Newser) - The ACLU filed a lawsuit this week alleging that an Alabama county clerk and her supervisor violated a Christian woman's religious freedom rights under both federal and state constitutions when they required that the woman remove her head scarf for her driver's license photo in spite of repeated... More »

Kerry: ISIS Is Committing Genocide

Says US will support efforts to 'analyze the evidence of atrocities'

(Newser) - John Kerry says the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians, Yazidis, and Shiite groups in Iraq and Syria. The secretary of state announced his findings from the White House on Thursday, citing evidence from a number of sources. "Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by its... More »

Professor Who Said Christian, Muslim God Are the Same Leaves Job

Larycia Hawkins was facing possible termination at hearing

(Newser) - A US professor who was suspended after wearing a headscarf —and saying Muslims and Christians "worship the same God"—is out of a job. Larycia Hawkins, a tenured associate political science professor at Wheaton College in Illinois, parted ways with the evangelical Christian college on Saturday night,... More »

Marine Killed Hours After He Made Poignant NYE Post

Matthew DeRemer, 31, was killed by a drunk driver on New Year's Eve

(Newser) - Marine veteran Matthew DeRemer, 31, who served in Iraq, wrote one final Facebook post before setting out on his motorcycle in Florida on New Year's Eve to ring in 2016. And its message, which has since inspired many shares and likes, turned out to be chillingly poignant: "I... More »

American Couple Helps 149 Iraqi Christians Escape ISIS

They flew 25 refugee families to Slovakia this month

(Newser) - Nearly 150 refugees from Iraq—including many children—got off a private jet in Slovakia on Dec. 10, ready to start a new life far from ISIS attacks, ABC News reports. The 25 families are Christians who fled their homes to escape persecution and violence. They were aided in their... More »

Christian Prof Suspended After Wearing Hijab

She's doing it to show support for Muslims

(Newser) - A tenured Christian professor at Wheaton College in Illinois has been placed on administrative leave after she started wearing a headscarf as a show of solidarity with Muslims, the Chicago Tribune reports. Larycia Hawkins says she plans on keeping the hijab on until Christmas as part of her Advent worship,... More »

Study: Fires Seem to Observe Religion, the Workweek

Australian researchers find weekly pattern to global wildfires

(Newser) - And on the seventh day, the wildfires rested. That’s what Australian researchers discovered after using NASA satellite images to track global fires—both naturally occurring and human-caused—from 2001 to 2013 as part of a new study . They found that there are fewer fires on Sundays—the Christian day... More »

New Facebook Competitor Wants to Be 'Morally Better'

Facegloria hopes to attract Evangelicals across the world

(Newser) - There are no bikini beach photos or swear words on Brazil's new social network—and no "likes," either, but rather "amens"—and that's apparently how Facegloria's roughly 100,000 users want it. While Facebook bans nudity, hate speech, graphic violence, and other questionable... More »

Christian Couple Decides to Divorce If Gays Can Marry

But they'd still be 'husband' and 'wife'

(Newser) - Couples have been known to hold off on tying the knot until gay marriage is legal. A Christian couple in Australia, however, says they will divorce if gay marriage is allowed. "My wife and I just celebrated our 10-year anniversary. But later this year, we may be getting a... More »

Americans Leaving Christianity in Droves

Unaffiliated now number 56M in US behind evangelicals

(Newser) - The nation's Christians are experiencing a steep slide in numbers, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. The survey of 35,000 adults finds the number of those who identify as Christian slid from 78.4% in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014, the New York Times reports.... More »

'Right to Die' Opponent Has Died

Kara Tippetts, 38, urged Brittany Maynard not to take her own life

(Newser) - A Christian writer who fueled the debate over assisted suicide and refused to cut her own life short in the face of terminal cancer died yesterday, according to a post on her blog . Kara Tippetts, 38, a pastor's wife and mother of four in Colorado Springs, Colo., was admitted... More »

ISIS Releases 19 Syrian Christians

Unclear why; all are 50 or older

(Newser) - The Islamic State group released at least 19 Christians today who were among the more than 220 people the militants took captive in northeastern Syria last week, activists and a local leader said. The news provided a modicum of relief to a Christian Assyrian community that has been devastated by... More »

ISIS Now Has Hundreds of Christian Hostages

Activists say at least 220 people rounded up as militants sweep Syria

(Newser) - ISIS militants have rounded up hundreds of Christian hostages after storming through a chain of villages along a strategic river in northeastern Syria over the past three days, activists said today. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights puts the number of abducted Christian Assyrians at 220, many taken from... More »

Obama Tells Christians to Get Off 'High Horse'

Critics rail president's statements about slavery, Crusades at prayer breakfast

(Newser) - It's not terribly surprising that President Obama brought up Jesus Christ during yesterday's National Prayer Breakfast in DC—but for some, it's an outrage how he brought up the son of God. During his speech, Obama recognized the challenges faced by the global community in dealing with... More »

Neil deGrasse Tyson Ignites a Christmas Brouhaha

With a tweet about Isaac Newton

(Newser) - Neil deGrasse Tyson's Christmas musings might not have made it to the cosmos, but the Twitterverse is buzzing with them: As CNN reports, Tyson on Thursday tweeted out birthday greetings to a babe who went on to rock planet Earth. Except not that babe."On this day long... More »

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

AROUND THE WEB