The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Letters inscribed on pottery unearthed at the site of a fort in Arad, Israel, were dated to about 600 B.C., shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem. A team determined that this hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions was written by at least six authors. Although the inscriptions are not from the Bible, their discovery suggests there was widespread literacy in ancient Judah at the time that would support the composition of biblical works.

Handwriting study may alter when biblical texts were written

April 16, 2016, 10:00am Churches & Religion

Israeli mathematicians and archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest that key biblical texts might have been composed earlier than what some scholars think. Read story

Pope Francis holds an audience April 9 in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

LGBT faith circles let down by ‘Joy of Love’

April 16, 2016, 5:47am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis' document on marriage and family was described as a "game changer" by Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, but some prominent in LGBT faith circles say they are disappointed though not surprised by the Catholic Church's stance. Read story

History repeats self for Vancouver author

April 15, 2016, 10:00am Churches & Religion

The way that history repeats itself brings Diana DeLuca serious angst — and deep personal comfort. Read story

Pope Francis
To visit Greek island Saturday

Pope, patriarch to highlight refugees’ plight during visit

April 15, 2016, 5:51am Churches & Religion

Just as Europe starts sending would-be migrants back to Turkey, the leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches are heading to a Greek island to voice solidarity with those who have streamed in fleeing war, poverty and persecution. Read story

Inslee visits Sikh temple that was vandalized

April 14, 2016, 9:40am Churches & Religion

In a show of solidarity with Sikhs in the Inland Northwest, Gov. Jay Inslee traveled to visit a Spokane-area temple that was vandalized in early March. Read story

Rimany Samoeum, 4, gets checked in with his family at a Winter Hospitality Overflow shelter at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Vancouver in November. This season, 41 percent of the shelter occupants were children.

WHO shelters do their part for homeless in winter

April 10, 2016, 6:00am Churches & Religion

Between November and the end of March, 478 homeless people were sheltered through the Winter Hospitality Overflow program. The two host churches, St. Andrew Lutheran in Orchards and St. Paul Lutheran in downtown Vancouver, provided a combined 9,423 bed nights for those without a stable place to sleep. Read story

A farm in Sharon, Vt. was bought by the NewVistas Foundation of Utah, which is planning a large-scale development based on the writings of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith, who was born in Sharon. The foundation bought about 900 acres in four towns near Smith's birthplace and plans to buy more.

Mormon utopia in Vermont stirs worry

April 9, 2016, 6:02am Churches & Religion

SHARON, Vt. -- An obelisk soars into the sky on a hill in central Vermont, marking the birthplace of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- and perhaps heralding an immense, futuristic, utopialike community based on his papers. Read story

Cardinals Lorenzo Baldisseri, left, and Christoph Schoenborn show a copy of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love") Friday during a press conference at the Vatican. Pope Francis has insisted that individual conscience be the guiding principle for Catholics negotiating the complexities of sex, marriage and family life in a major document released Friday that repudiates the centrality of black and white rules for the faithful. In the 256-page document "The Joy of Love," Francis makes no change in church doctrine.

Pope insists conscience, not just rules, must lead faithful

April 8, 2016, 9:27am Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis said Friday that Catholics should look to their own consciences rather than rely exclusively on church rules to negotiate the complexities of sex, marriage and family life, demanding the church shift emphasis from doctrine to mercy in confronting some of the thorniest issues facing the… Read story

People attend opening session of the two-day Mormon church conference Saturday, April 2, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Mormon leaders are set to deliver guidance to their worldwide membership in a series of speeches this weekend during the religion's semiannual conference in Salt Lake City. The first session kicks off Saturday morning at a 21,000-seat conference center near the church's headquarters.

Mormon leader urges tolerance no matter political views

April 2, 2016, 5:22pm Churches & Religion

Associated Press Read story

According to new data released by Pew Research Center, women around the globe are more likely to be religious than men, especially among Christians.

Researchers explore religious gender gap

April 2, 2016, 6:07am Churches & Religion

What do Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Siddhartha Gautama and Moses all have in common? Besides being religious figures, they are all men. Yet looking around the world, the majority of their followers are women. Read story