In the US, white supremacists found liable for violence at Charlottesville rally
RNS A jury has found that a group that helped organised the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, is liable for injuries suffered by counter-protesters, awarding a total of $US26 million in damages. The jury was deadlocked on two federal conspiracy charges but found the defendants, including white nationalist activists Richard Spencer, Jason Kessler […]
ESSAY: JOHNNY CASH’S GOSPEL VERSUS THE TEMPTATIONS OF NATIONALISM
In an excerpt from his book ‘Trains, Jesus, & Murder: The Gospel According to Johnny Cash’ first published by Religion News Service, RICHARD BECK looks at how Johnny Cash viewed the Gospel and patriotism – and how nationlists can distort his message…
US civil rights advocates, victims’ families urge support for new hate crime reporting bill
RNS Nearly three years ago, Khalid Jabara, an immigrant from Lebanon, died on his own doorstep in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when his neighbour gunned him down. One year later on the same day of the month – 12th August – a woman named Heather Heyer was struck and killed by a white supremacist driving a car after […]
ON THE SCREEN: SPIKE LEE’S ‘BLACKKKLANSMAN’ BIZARRE BUT BITING
DAVID ADAMS watches Spike Lee’s latest film, ‘BlacKkKlansman’…
Two reports show fewer Americans involved in incidents of Muslim extremism in 2017
RNS Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on 12th August, 2017. One person was killed and 19 were injured in the incident. PICTURE: Steve Helber/AP Photo. To hear it from the Trump administration, Muslim extremists pose the greatest […]
Surge in anti-Semitism in US reported in latest study
RNS The vandalised sign at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati on 2nd January, 2017. PICTURE: Via Twitter A new report shows a continued rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the US in the first nine months of 2017, partly attributable to the Charlottesville, Virginia, rally in which white nationalists marched through the city shouting “Jews will […]
US pastor Paula White: ‘Our President is not a racist’
RNS Paula White, spiritual adviser to US President Donald Trump and pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Floride, speaks with RNS reporter Adelle Banks at a Religion News Association meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. PICTURE: RNS photo by Jerome Socolovsky “I can say 1,000 per cent, our President is not a racist.” Paula White, […]
Washington National Cathedral to remove windows honoring Confederate generals
RNS Stained-glass windows honoring Confederate Generals Robert Lee and Stonewall Jackson will be removed from the Washington National Cathedral. In August, 2016, the cathedral quietly removed the panels depicting the Confederate flag and replaced them with red and blue panes to match surrounding glass. PICTURE: Washington National Cathedral. Following “considerable prayer and discussion” prompted by […]
Pastor explains why he left the US President’s evangelical advisory board
RNS Pastor AR Bernard at Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York. PICTURE: Michael Chan via arbernard.com Preaching days after he became the first member of the White House’s evangelical advisory board to resign after US President Donald Trump’s comments on events in Charlottesville, Virginia, Rev AR Bernard said he sees the controversy swirling around the […]
In the US, black clergy call for churches to foster healing in the aftermath of Charlottesville
RNS An ecumenical group of African-American clergy gather outside the US Capitol in opposition to the proposed pending budget and health care bill on 18th July. PICTURE: RNS/Madeleine Buckley A coalition of African-American clergy is calling on churches to serve as sacred spaces for healing in the aftermath of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and as […]