Protestantism
People in Amish country prepare a horse team to work on a farm in Pulaski, Pa., Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The vaccination drive is lagging far behind in many Amish communities across the U.S. following a wave of virus outbreaks that swept through their churches and homes during the past year. ​(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Amish put faith in God's will and herd immunity over vaccine

By John Seewer Jun. 28, 2021 11:21 AM EDT

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

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. The state of California has agreed to pay more than $2 million in legal fees in a settlement with churches that challenged coronavirus closure orders. Church lawyers who successfully took their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday, June 2, 2021, that the state agreed not to impose restrictions on houses of worship that are greater than those on retail businesses. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
California to pay $2M church legal fees over virus closures

By Brian Melley Jun. 02, 2021 07:44 PM EDT

A Muslim couple wearing face mask and face shield while waiting for vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, May 31, 2021. An exhibition center in Malaysia has been turned into the country's first mega vaccination center as the government aims to speed up inoculations amid a sharp spike in infections. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Asia Today: Vietnam to test high-risk groups in largest city

May. 31, 2021 12:11 AM EDT

Presbyterian church closes after 115 years in Ironwood

May. 10, 2021 11:22 AM EDT
IRONWOOD, Mich. (AP) — After more than 100 years, a Presbyterian church in an Upper Peninsula community is changing hands, the result of a shrinking...

Joining thousands gathered outside the State Capitol, opponents of a bill to repeal Connecticut's religious exemption for required school vaccinations marches down Capitol Avenue before the State Senate voted on legislation, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Hartford, Conn. A law adopted this week in Connecticut adds momentum to the push to strengthen vaccination requirements for schoolchildren, but efforts to give families more leeway are brewing in statehouses around the country in debates that go back more than a century. (Mark Mirko/Hartford Courant via AP)
Momentum grows for closing gaps in US vaccine requirements

By Dave Collins, David Crary And Michael Melia May. 01, 2021 08:12 AM EDT

Rural Humboldt County sees COVID-19 spike linked to church

Apr. 26, 2021 08:03 PM EDT
EUREKA, Calif. (AP) — Humboldt County in rural Northern California is seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections that health officials say is linked to...

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

Christians wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus attend while maintaining social distancing during an Easter service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 4, 2021. The church allowed only 20 percent members of the capacity to attend at the Easter service as a part of measure to prevent against the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Hymns through masks: Christians mark another pandemic Easter

By Frances D'emilio Apr. 04, 2021 06:13 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 28, 2020 file photo, Ahmad Kamel, right, performs the Maghrib prayer with his wife, Nadia Chaouch, as their son Ahmad Kamel runs past after the family broke the Ramadan daily fast just after sunset in their home, during the coronavirus outbreak in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Holy days arrive for the faithful as pandemic eases in US

By David Crary And Mariam Fam Mar. 31, 2021 09:08 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 19, 2019 file photo, a gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan. Conservative leaders within the United Methodist Church unveiled plans Monday, March 1, 2021 to form a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church, with a doctrine that does not recognize same-sex marriage. The move could hasten the long-expected breakup of the UMC, America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination, over differing approaches to LGBTQ inclusion. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
United Methodist conservatives detail plans for a breakaway

By David Crary Mar. 01, 2021 04:19 PM EST

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 Sunday, July 10, 2016 file photo, a parishioner at First Baptist Church, a predominantly African-American congregation, leaves after a worship service in Macon, Ga. According to a Pew study released on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, Black Americans attend church more regularly than Americans overall, and pray more often. Most of them attend churches that are predominantly Black -- yet many would like those congregations to become racially diverse. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
Survey: Black Americans attend church and pray more often

By David Crary Feb. 16, 2021 12:03 PM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, June 7, 2020, file photo, a hundred faithful sit while minding social distancing, listening to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez celebrate Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the first Mass held in English at the site since the re-opening of churches, in downtown Los Angeles. The Supreme Court is telling California it can’t enforce a ban on indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic. The high court issued orders late Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in two cases where churches had sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in the state(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Some California churches hold indoor services after ruling

By Christopher Weber Feb. 07, 2021 03:00 PM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, June 7, 2020, file photo, a hundred faithful sit while minding social distancing, listening to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez celebrate Mass at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the first Mass held in English at the site since the re-opening of churches, in downtown Los Angeles. The Supreme Court is telling California it can’t enforce a ban on indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic. The high court issued orders late Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in two cases where churches had sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in the state(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
California revises indoor church guidelines after ruling

By Daisy Nguyen Feb. 06, 2021 04:44 PM EST

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 6, 2020 file photo, The Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. The Supreme Court is telling California it can't enforce a ban on indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic. The high court issued orders late Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 in two cases where churches had sued over coronavirus-related restrictions in the state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Justices: California can't enforce indoor church service ban

By Jessica Gresko Feb. 05, 2021 11:16 PM 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