As Seminaries Shuttered, Union Grew. For Serene Jones, Controversy Was the Price of Survival.
Union Theological Seminary, under Rev. Serene Jones since 2008, has renovated its historic Manhattan campus, expanded interreligious programs, and enrolled 128 new students for fall 2025—the largest class in three decades. While most mainline Protestant seminaries are shrinking or closing, Union’s enrollment rose from 102 the prior year, highlighting its unique growth. Jones’s tenure featured controversial decisions, including a $150 million air‑rights sale, a divestment from companies profiting from the Gaza war, and outspoken support for student activism. She will step down in July, leaving a financially stable, increasingly interfaith institution.
Christian Nationalism Isn’t a MAGA Aberration. Historian Matthew Sutton Says It’s the Whole American Story.
Historian Matthew Avery Sutton’s new book, Chosen Land, offers a 500‑year survey of Christianity’s role in shaping America, released ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Sutton argues that Christian nationalism is not a recent MAGA aberration but a persistent thread...
Spiritually Burned Out? Tish Harrison Warren and some Ancient Monks Have Advice.
Tish Harrison Warren, an Anglican priest and former New York Times columnist, released her fifth book, “What Grows in Weary Lands,” on May 12, 2024, describing her own spiritual burnout despite a thriving career and family. She credits a social‑media detox—prompted...
Israeli Drone Strikes Near Beirut Kill 4 and Southern Airstrikes Kill at Least 13
Israeli drones struck three vehicles south of Beirut on Saturday, killing four civilians, while a series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13, including a 12‑year‑old girl. The attacks came after a cease‑fire between Israel and Hezbollah took...
In Underground Breastmilk Donation Networks, Motherhood Transcends Politics and Theology
Georgia state senator and Episcopal priest Kim Sue Jackson spent nine months driving across the state to collect breastmilk from mothers she met on Facebook groups. The informal sharing, often framed as a religious blessing, grew during the 2022 formula...
After She Complained of Gender Bias, a PCA Church Fired Her. A Judge Ruled It Retaliation.
A Chicago-area Presbyterian Church in America congregation was ordered to pay $93,000 after an Illinois Human Rights Commission judge ruled that the church retaliated against former operations director Emily Hyland for filing a gender‑bias complaint. The judge found the firing...
‘Jesus Said to Draw Them in’: Idaho Christians Push Back on Transgender Bathroom Law
Idaho's Republican‑led legislature approved a law that bars transgender individuals from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, mandating use of facilities matching their sex assigned at birth. The measure, effective in July, applies to government buildings and many...
MLK Was Teen Agnostic Who Rediscovered Faith on a Tobacco Farm, New Book Reveals
Lerone Martin’s new biography, "Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr.," releases May 5 and uncovers little‑known chapters of the civil‑rights leader’s youth. It details King’s 1944 summer as a shade‑tobacco farmhand in Connecticut, his brief agnostic phase after...
Jesuit Artist’s Exhibition ‘Twilight of the Idols’ Finds New Home at the Church of St. Francis Xavier After Sudden Sheen...
The Church of St. Francis Xavier and Xavier High School rescued Nicholas Leeper, SJ’s exhibition “Twilight of the Idols” after the Sheen Center canceled it over reception concerns. The show runs May 9‑29 in the parish’s Mary Chapel, featuring 14 paintings...
Why Judy Blume Matters
Mark Oppenheimer’s new biography spotlights Judy Blume as a pivotal Jewish voice in American literature. Blume’s 1970 novel *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret* broke ground by addressing puberty, interfaith identity, and spiritual questioning. Her unapologetically honest portrayals of...
In ‘Conversion Therapy Dropout,’ a Survivor Exposes the Discredited Practice
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 8‑1 ruling upheld Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, preserving a key legal barrier against the practice. Survivor Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez released a memoir, "Conversion Therapy Dropout," detailing his eight‑year experience with Exodus International and ongoing evangelical pressures....
Colorblindness Won’t Fix Inequality
The Supreme Court’s latest ruling on voting‑rights law flips the burden of proof for race‑based gerrymandering, demanding plaintiffs show explicit racist intent rather than discriminatory impact. The shift jeopardizes the enforcement mechanisms of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and could...
Muslim Women Are Suing Jails and Police over Hijab Removal at Booking. And Winning.
Muslim women across the United States are suing jails and police for forcing them to remove their hijabs during booking, arguing the practice violates religious freedom and privacy. In the last two months at least five lawsuits have been filed...
The Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act. Black Churches Know Exactly What to Do.
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 29 nullified the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act, raising the proof burden for challenges to racially biased district maps. Within hours, Florida’s Legislature approved a new congressional map that heavily favors Republicans,...
In New Memoir, Former Buddhist Nun Talks the Pursuit of Enlightenment
Former Baptist from Oklahoma, Paldrom Catharine Collins, spent five years as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in a New York monastery before leaving at age 40. Now in her mid‑70s and working as an addiction counselor, she is releasing the memoir...