The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Moe Yaqub performs Nov. 11 at the Acme Comedy club in Minneapolis, Minn.

Muslim stand-up comics open up about faith

December 14, 2019, 6:00am Churches & Religion

Did you hear the one about the Muslim who walked into a comedy club? It’s no joke. These comedians are talking openly about their Islamic faith in stand-up routines that mine previously untapped material while shattering stereotypes about an often misunderstood religion. Read story

Hannah Jenkins, a senior at Bartow High School's Medical and Fire Academy, has collected nearly 200 stuffed animals at the school to comfort children enduring a traumatic situation.

Christian teen collects toys to comfort children

December 7, 2019, 6:05am Churches & Religion

Bartow High School senior Hannah Jenkins and her friends opened up a few black garbage bags this week and poured a massive collection of stuffed animals and baby dolls onto tables in one of her Medical and Fire Academy classrooms. Read story

Christian clergymen, carry a wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. A tiny wooden relic believed to have been part of Jesus' manger has returned to its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope.

Relic thought to be from Jesus’ manger arrives in Bethlehem

November 30, 2019, 5:39pm Churches & Religion

A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus’ manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope. Read story

Pope Francis delivers the speech at the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Nagasaki, Japan.

Pope denounces ‘evil’ of nuclear weapons as he fulfills Japan dream

November 23, 2019, 7:56pm Churches & Religion

Pope Francis denounced the “evil” of nuclear weapons on Saturday as he began a three-day visit to Japan and fulfilled a dream to be a missionary in a land with a rich but bloody Christian past. Read story

Theologian Ted Peters talks about "Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, & Transhumanism: Can Technology Enhance the Image of God?" to a crowd of parishioners Sept. 29 at Queen Anne Lutheran Church in Seattle.

Faith groups reckon with artificial intelligence

November 23, 2019, 6:00am Churches & Religion

On a recent Sunday at the Queen Anne Lutheran Church basement, parishioners sat transfixed as the Rev. Dr. Ted Peters discussed an unusual topic for an afternoon assembly: “Can technology enhance the image of God?” Read story

Priests, religious seminarians and Catechists touch the hands of Pope Francis as he leaves after meeting them at Saint Peter's Parish on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. Pope Francis urged more efforts to combat the "humiliation" of women and children forced into prostitution as he began a busy visit Thursday to Thailand, where human trafficking and poverty help fuel the sex tourism industry.

Pope urges Thais young and old to practice faith with joy

November 22, 2019, 9:29am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis ministered to Thailand’s tiny Catholic community Friday, urging Thais young and old to practice their faith with joy and with “a Thai face and flesh” in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country. Read story

This October 1968 family photo shows Katie Bowman as a child, right, in her room in Waterloo, Iowa. Bowman's parents welcomed into their religious home three priests who molested her, she said, starting when she was around 4, a few months after this photo was made.

AP: Catholic boards hailed as sex-abuse fix often fail

November 22, 2019, 6:05am Churches & Religion

Facing thousands of clergy sex-abuse cases, U.S. Catholic leaders addressed their greatest crisis in the modern era with a promised reform: Mandatory review boards. Read story

In this photo released by Wat Ratchabophit Sathit Maha Simaram Temple, Pope Francis, left, visits the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand Somdet Phra Sangkharat Sakonlamahasangkhaparrinayok at the temple in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019.

Pope in Thailand calls for action to protect women, children

November 21, 2019, 4:30pm Churches & Religion

Pope Francis called Thursday for women and children to be protected from exploitation, abuse and enslavement as he began a busy two days of meetings in Thailand, where human trafficking and forced prostitution help fuel the sexual tourism industry. Read story

Fae Jackson, left, and Penny Hammac first hatched the idea of building a labyrinth on the grounds of the Southridge Community of Christ church near the Clark County Fairgrounds. "It's a beautiful, peaceful experience," said Hammac. "It's a form of prayer or meditation, except you get to move.

Ridgefield church’s labyrinth open to all who are on a path to peace

November 16, 2019, 6:05am Churches & Religion

Fae Jackson’s heart was set on walking the world-famous, 800-year-old stone labyrinth at Chartes Cathedral in France, but then life took an unexpected turn. When she arrived on All Saints Day, the labyrinth was closed to prayerful pedestrian traffic. She was welcome to marvel at it, but not to follow… Read story

In this Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga. Nearly four decades after he left office and despite a body that's failing after 95 years, the nation's oldest-ever ex-president still teaches Sunday school roughly twice monthly at the church.

Carter draws devotees to church

November 16, 2019, 6:00am Churches & Religion

The pilgrims arrive early and from all over, gathering hours before daybreak in an old pecan grove that surrounds a country church. They come, they say, for a dose of simple decency and devotion wrapped up in a Bible lesson. Read story