Freedom of religion
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, accompanied by tour guide Alessandro Conforti, right, and Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See Patrick Connell, left, gets a tour of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome, Monday, June 28, 2021. Blinken is on a week long trip in Europe traveling to Germany, France and Italy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Pope voices 'affection' for Americans as he meets Blinken

By Frances D'emilio Jun. 28, 2021 07:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2018, photo, Ammon Bundy poses for a photo in Emmett, Idaho. On Saturday, June 19, 2021, anti-government activist Bundy came out with his first video announcing his campaign to become governor of Idaho. (Kelsey Grey/Idaho Statesman via AP)
Anti-government activist Bundy issues Idaho campaign videos

By The Associated Press Jun. 19, 2021 10:23 PM EDT

FILE - This June 8, 2021 file photo shows the Supreme Court building in Washington. A Thursday, June 17, 2021 Supreme Court ruling that favored Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia was far from the constitutional gale wind that would have reshaped how courts interpret religious liberty under the First Amendment. Governmental entities are now on notice that if they want to ban discrimination against LGBTQ persons or anyone else, they had better not allow for any exceptions – or else religious groups will have the right to ask for them, and they'll have a strong case for getting them. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Catholic foster care agency wins Supreme Court verdict

By Jessica Gresko Jun. 17, 2021 03:20 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 23, 2020, file photo, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page speaks during a news conference in Town and Country, Mo. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, over St. Louis County's COVID-19 restrictions. The lawsuit says the county's restrictions are too severe and asks the court to end them. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Schmitt lawsuit challenges St. Louis Co. COVID restrictions

By Jim Salter May. 11, 2021 12:43 PM EDT

Archdiocese sues Wisconsin over prisoner visit restrictions

May. 07, 2021 10:01 AM EDT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Friday demanding state corrections officials relax COVID-19 protocols and allow ministers to...

California lifts COVID-19 limits on indoor worship services

By Robert Jablon Apr. 12, 2021 08:30 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California on Monday lifted its limits on indoor worship services in the face of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down the coronavirus...

Editorial Roundup: North Carolina

By The Associated Press Mar. 24, 2021 07:28 AM EDT
Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers: ___ March 23 The Winston-Salem Journal on the...

SC House passes bill to keep churches open in emergencies

Mar. 13, 2021 02:56 PM EST
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House has approved a bill that would make sure churches and other religious organizations are treated as essential...

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015 file photo, Kurds living in Switzerland stage a protest on the Kirchenfeld bridge after clashes with Turkish nationalists in downtown Bern, Switzerland. At a time when seemingly everyone in Europe is wearing masks to battle COVID-19, the Swiss go to the polls Sunday, March 7, 2021 to vote on a long-laid proposal to ban face-coverings like niqabs and burqas worn by some Muslim women or by protesters in ski masks or bandannas. (Peter Klaunzer/Keystone via AP, File)
Swiss mull 'burqa ban' in vote centering on security, rights

By Jamey Keaten Mar. 05, 2021 09:00 AM EST

SC House considers bill to keep churches open in emergency

Feb. 14, 2021 11:12 AM EST
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina House panel plans to review a bill that would confirm churches and other religious organizations are treated as...

Doyle Bradford, pastor of Father's House International Church in Bluefield, W.Va, stands in the doorway of his office on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Bradford stirred some controversy among religious leaders in his community for attending the "Save America" rally in Washington on Jan. 6 and for some of his social media posts on politics. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Election turmoil splits West Virginia city's evangelicals

By Luis Andres Henao And Jessie Wardarski Feb. 08, 2021 12:16 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2018, file photo, Nevada's incoming Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks with The Associated Press in Las Vegas. Attorneys general from 19 other states had recently joined in support of the unusual request from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley east of Reno. Ford had argued the justices should let the federal court in Reno sort out the details before taking the extraordinary step of wading into the case. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
US Supreme Court won't hear Nevada church's COVID-19 case

By Scott Sonner Jan. 25, 2021 01:02 PM EST

Nevada church presses US Supreme Court on COVID-19 limits

By Scott Sonner Jan. 22, 2021 05:52 PM EST
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A rural Nevada church wants the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a legal battle over the government's authority to limit the size of...

Police officers escort Arzoo Raja, background center, after her appearance in Sindh High Court, in Karachi, Pakistan, on Nov. 3, 2020. Raja was 13 when she disappeared from her home in central Karachi. The Christian girl’s parents reported her missing and pleaded with police to find her. Two days later, officers reported back that she had been converted to Islam and was married to their 40-year-old Muslim neighbor. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Each year, 1,000 Pakistani girls forcibly converted to Islam

By Kathy Gannon Dec. 28, 2020 02:28 AM EST

Usher Gloria Addison hands out a communion packet and radio frequency notice to a church member prior to the start of a First Sunday service at Anderson United Methodist Church, Dec. 6, 2020, in Jackson, Miss. The church has taken to using a variety of digital means by which to broadcast the majority of its church services to the members. However, for First Sunday services, the congregants gather in the church's parking lot to celebrate the receiving of communion in their personal vehicles. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi churches face difficult decisions at Christmas

By Leah Willingham Dec. 20, 2020 09:11 AM EST

Editorial Roundup: New England

By The Associated Press Dec. 18, 2020 03:46 PM EST
Recent editorials of regional and national interest from New England’s newspapers: CONNECTICUT: Bipartisan interest...

Editorial Roundup: Kentucky

By The Associated Press Dec. 16, 2020 02:26 PM EST
Recent editorials from Kentucky newspapers: ___ Dec. 15 The Daily Independent on Time magazine...

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 24, 2020 file photo, a woman prays at the Saint Martin Basilica in Halle, Belgium during a partial lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19. The Belgian government is under pressure to change its restrictive rules on religious services during the coronavirus crisis after Belgium's highest court said the measures impede constitutional conditions on freedom of religion. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
Belgium seeks to ease virus rules on religious services

By Raf Casert Dec. 09, 2020 06:26 AM EST

Deck the halls? Not at the Illinois Capitol due to virus

Nov. 28, 2020 09:57 AM EST
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The coronavirus has extinguished some traditional holiday cheer at the Illinois Capitol. There will be no...

FILE - This Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 file photo shows Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio as Pope Francis, right, arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The longtime head of the Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn said Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, that a ruling by the Supreme Court that barred New York from enforcing certain restrictions on religious services in areas hit hard by the coronavirus is a “good decision” that guarantees constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool, File)
Brooklyn bishop hails ruling, says diocese in line with pope

By Luis Andres Henao Nov. 27, 2020 06:10 PM EST