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 […]
Survey: Who Americans blame for insurrection depends on their faith
RNS A new survey finds white evangelicals are far more likely than most other religious groups to blame left-wing activists for the 6th January insurrection at the US Capitol. Other white Christian groups are split on the question, which allowed for multiple answers, while Black Protestants are more likely to point to white supremacists and […]
Complaints on Trump’s debate performance highlight generational divide among white evangelicals
RNS Kyle Meyaard-Schaap didn’t even make it to the climate change section of the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Despite running Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, an environmental advocacy group, Meyaard-Schaap only managed to watch about 30 minutes before he picked up his remote and turned off […]
Billy Graham statue to replace that of white supremacist in US Capitol
RNS A life-sized statue of Rev Billy Graham will be installed in the US Capitol’s Statuary Hall collection sometime next year, replacing a statue of a white supremacist that both the state of North Carolina and the US House want removed. Last week, a North Carolina legislative committee approved a two-foot tall model of the statue depicting […]
White supremacist propaganda on US college campuses doubled in 2019 – report
RNS White supremacist groups doubled down on colleges and universities across the country in 2019, blanketing campuses and off-campus haunts with propaganda, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. The report found a total of 2,713 cases of leafleting on and off campus – an average of more than seven per day […]
Anti-Semitism tops American Jewish concerns in latest survey
RNS A first-of-its-kind survey from the American Jewish Committee finds that 88 per cent of American Jews say anti-Semitism is a problem in the US today and nearly a third report they avoid publicly wearing, carrying or displaying objects or symbols that might help people identify them as Jewish. The Jewish advocacy organisation released the survey last […]
Does Trump encourage white supremacists? Faith groups divided in survey
Washington, DCRNS A new survey shows a sharp racial and religious divide over whether the actions of President Trump are encouraging white supremacist organisations. Three-quarters of black Protestants say Trump’s behavior and decisions are emboldening white supremacists while slightly more than a quarter of white evangelicals agree with that view. Overall, more than half of […]
US evangelical leaders call on Trump to condemn the alt-right
RNS White nationalist demonstrators walk through town after their rally was closed down near Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, on 12th August, 2017. PICTURE: AP Photo/Steve Helber. A who’s who of Southern Baptist leaders and some other evangelicals have written a letter to US President Donald Trump calling on him to do more to condemn […]