Baptist
Southern Baptist Convention President J. D. Greear holds a Bible as he speaks during the denomination's annual meeting Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Southern Baptists pick president who worked for racial unity

By Travis Loller And Peter Smith Jun. 15, 2021 06:41 PM EDT

First lady Jill Biden embraces a person receiving a vaccine speak as she visits the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Sunday, June 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Jill Biden, Dr. Fauci visit vaccine site at Harlem church

Jun. 06, 2021 05:41 PM EDT

Massachusetts residents 16 and older eligible for vaccine

Apr. 19, 2021 08:48 AM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — Nearly 2 million Massachusetts residents are newly eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Beginning Monday, anyone 16...

FILE - In this Sunday, June 28, 2020 file photo, Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress addresses attendees at First Baptist Church Dallas during a Celebrate Freedom Rally in Dallas. Jeffress believes a majority of his congregation welcome the COVID-19 vaccines, while some have doubts about their safety or worry they have links to abortion. Jeffress is among numerous religious leaders who say the leading vaccines are acceptable given their remote, indirect links to lines of cells developed from aborted fetuses. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Vaccine skepticism runs deep among white evangelicals in US

By David Crary Apr. 05, 2021 01:46 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. Nearly a year into the pandemic, Carter and his wife have returned to one of their favorite things: church. Maranatha Baptist Church in tiny Plains, Ga., announced on its Facebook page Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, that the 96-year-old Carter and Rosalynn Carter are again attending worship in person. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
Vaccinated for virus, Jimmy Carter and wife back in church

Feb. 24, 2021 04:27 PM EST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, photo Melvin Marriott, 69, poses for a photograph with his 93-year-old mother at the home they share in southeast Washington. Marriott has been unsuccessful in finding an appointment for himself or his elderly mother, who he cares for. "She's my priority," says Marriott. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Washington taps pastors to overcome racial divide on vaccine

By Ashraf Khalil And Hilary Powell Feb. 21, 2021 08:24 AM EST

FILE- In this Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 fiel photo, President Joe Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, places his hand over his heart during a performance of the national anthem, during a virtual Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service in the State Dinning Room of the White House, in Washington. Donald Trump's departure from the White House and the start of Biden’s presidency have stirred new hopes among many religious leaders in the United States, while causing dismay among others. For leaders of the two largest Christian denominations — the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention — the paramount concern about the Biden administration is its strong support for abortion rights. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
A mix of hope and dismay as religious leaders assess Biden

By David Crary And Elana Schor Feb. 01, 2021 02:12 PM EST

Rev. Derrick Scobey, right, Ebenezer Baptist Church Senior Pastor, talks with the media as as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, center, and Dr. Lance Frye, left, State Commissioner of Health, look on, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, in Oklahoma City. Scobey helped to organize the event in an effort to encourage more African Americans in Oklahoma City to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Dozens line up at Oklahoma City church for COVID vaccine

By Ken Miller Jan. 26, 2021 04:39 PM EST

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 file photo, a Catholic pastor receives the first of the two Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations at a hospital in Chicago. In a growing consensus, religious leaders at the forefront of the anti-abortion movement in the United States are telling their followers that the leading vaccines available to combat COVID-19 are acceptable to take, given their remote and indirect connection to lines of cells derived from aborted fetuses. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Anti-abortion faith leaders support use of COVID-19 vaccines

By David Crary Jan. 10, 2021 09:10 AM EST

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 20, 2020 file photo, a woman stands during the Martin Luther King, Jr. annual commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Branden Camp
Senate race thrusts 'Black America's church' into spotlight

By Aaron Morrison Jan. 03, 2021 07:55 AM EST

FILE - In this March 29, 2020 file photo, the Rev. Steven Paulikas, rector at All Saints Episcopal Church, delivers an evening prayer service over Facebook Live in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Even amid a mass coronavirus vaccine distribution effort, religious communities will continue to wrestle with the pandemic’s impact on in-person worship. (AP Photo/Emily Leshner)
After turbulent 2020, faith in America faces more big issues

By David Crary And Elana Schor Dec. 18, 2020 10:30 AM EST

Members of Prestonwood Baptist Church walk from the church after morning services Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Plano, Texas. Three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, an evangelical church in a Dallas suburb has emerged as a front for Republicans fighting to keep the diversifying state from flipping to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
White evangelicals hope to keep changing Texas red for Trump

By Ellen Knickmeyer Oct. 13, 2020 12:07 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 29, 2020 file photo, the Rev. Steven Paulikas, right, and curate Spencer Cantrell deliver an Evening Prayer service over Facebook Live in the Brooklyn borough of New York, amid the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Pastors across the country say they and their congregations have responded with creativity and resiliency — and invigorated community spirit — even as the outbreak forced widespread cancellations of in-person services. (AP Photo/Emily Leshner)
Amid pandemic challenges, houses of worship show resiliency

By David Crary Oct. 03, 2020 09:05 AM EDT

FILE - This Aug. 18, 2020, file photo shows the Big Moose Inn on Millinocket Lake in Millinocket, Maine. A COVID-19 outbreak connected to a wedding reception held at the inn in early August has led to more than 175 cases of the virus and at least five deaths. (Linda Coan O'Kresik/The Bangor Daily News via AP, File)
Virus death toll linked to Maine wedding grows to 7

By Patrick Whittle Sep. 15, 2020 10:15 AM EDT

Pastor: 40 infected with coronavirus after church event

Jul. 27, 2020 07:37 AM EDT
STRAWBERRY, Ala. (AP) — More than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church,...

Vice President Mike Pence, left, greets Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress, right, after Pence spoke at the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas during a Celebrate Freedom Rally in Dallas, Sunday, June 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical allies

By Elana Schor Jul. 07, 2020 12:03 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Mississippi

By The Associated Press Jun. 24, 2020 03:16 PM EDT
Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers: ___ June 24 The Dispatch on efforts to preserve the...

In this June 22, 2020 photo provided by Lauren Manning, Pastor Joshua Manning poses outside his Community Baptist Church in Noel, Mo. The town of 1,800 residents has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and Manning believes he, his wife and their three children all have it, though testing has not yet confirmed it. Manning said several members of his congregation also have either tested positive or are showing symptoms, so much so that he has closed the church for the time being. (Lauren Manning via AP)
Rural Missouri pastor: Virus 'just started to sprout up'

By Jim Salter Jun. 23, 2020 02:58 PM EDT

Virus outbreaks linked to 3 West Virginia churches

By Anthony Izaguirre Jun. 17, 2020 05:26 PM EDT
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Coronavirus outbreaks were linked to three churches in West Virginia on Wednesday as officials urged parishioners to follow safety...

An artist creates an image of George Floyd on Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Violent protests over the death of Floyd, the black man who died in police custody, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Faith leaders in dual roles guiding congregations and police

By Giovanna Dell’orto May. 31, 2020 01:34 PM EDT