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Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, President Trump's nominee for international religious freedom ambassador, describes religious freedom as "the choice of what you do with your own soul." If confirmed, the 60-year-old, two-term Republican governor, former U.S. senator and onetime presidential candidate would be the first politician confirmed as the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be nominated as President Donald Trump 's ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House announced. Brownback, 60, became Kansas' governor six years ago after serving in the U.S. Senate from 1996-2011 and the House for one term.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet voted to renege on a compromise plan for a plaza where women and men could pray together at the Western Wall, the decision was widely viewed as a move to placate ultra-religious parties in the ruling government coalition. But analysts and former government officials say there's another key factor at play: The rise of President Donald Trump has reinforced the perception among some in Israel's right-wing government that the clout of liberal non-Orthodox Jews in the U.S. is diminishing.
Following the US Supreme Court decision which allows parts of President Trump's travel ban to go into effect, Amnesty International USA has filed a Freedom of Information Act request, to discover how key federal agencies intend to implement the ban. The ban is often referred to as a 'Muslim ban' because it targets people travelling from countries with majority Muslim populations.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources violated the rights of a Lutheran church school when it denied a grant for the church to install a rubber playground surface at the school, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 decision. In 2012, the Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center in Columbia, Mo., applied to the DNR for a grant to replace pea gravel playground surfacing at the school with a pour-in-place rubber surface, under Missouri's Scrap Tire Program.
A video of a young Mormon girl revealing to her congregation that she is lesbian and still loved by God - before her microphone is turned off by local church leaders - is sparking a new round of discussions about how the religion handles LGBT issues. Savannah, 13, spoke on May 7 in Eagle Mountain, Utah, about her belief that she is the child of heavenly parents who didn't make any mistakes when she was created.
Numerous "American friends of" organizations exist in the Jewish communal firmament to help direct funds to worthy causes in Israel. That's what most people thought was the case with an organization known as Aish International - it was generally assumed to be the American fundraising arm of Jerusalem-based Aish HaTorah, the haredi Orthodox outreach group with programs throughout the world.
Like American politics, religion in this country is also in a state of flux. Perhaps nowhere is this fact more evident than in the Southern Baptist Convention, which wrapped up its annual meeting this week in Phoenix with a nearly unanimous vote to condemn the racist political movement commonly referred to as the "alt-right."
Polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs was captured Wednesday at a marina in southeast South Dakota after being on the run for nearly a year after escaping from home confinement in Utah pending trial on food stamp fraud charges. The FBI announced the capture Thursday morning with a Tweet: "#ARRESTED: FLDS leader Lyle Jeffs in custody after nearly a year on the lam."
The Southern Baptist Convention, home to prominent evangelical supporters of President Donald Trump, adopted a statement on moral leadership at the group's annual meeting Tuesday that avoided pointed criticism of current political officeholders. The denomination also rejected a proposal to condemn the "alt-right," the political movement that came to the forefront during the presidential election that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals billions of dollars. The court ruled 8-0 that church-affiliated organizations are exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 1974 law that forces private employers to follow rules aimed at protecting pension plan participants.
For those unfamiliar with the term, TCK refers to "Third Culture Kids" or those of us who were raised between two cultures. Because of living overseas during their childhoods, my kids are-at least partly-Third Culture Kids.
Users of websites associated with the "alt-right" are cheering a Republican congressional candidate from Montana for allegedly body slamming Jewish reporter Ben Jacobs. There was no indication that Greg Gianforte knew or cared that Jacobs was Jewish when, on Wednesday evening, he allegedly threw Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses - leading to misdemeanor assault charges.
Does Saudi speech show better or worse side of Trump? #tellusatoday During a speech in Saudi Arabia, President Trump encouraged Muslim nations to fight "Islamic extremism." Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://usat.ly/2qJF4CD The Saudis and other world leaders have Trump's number.
The president made the announcement Friday in a release as he departed for his first foreign trip in office. A visit to Rome is expected where he is set to meet with Pope Francis on May 24. Newt Gingrich has credited his wife, a lifelong Catholic, with his decision to convert to Catholicism in 2009.
This Sunday, vice president Mike Pence will return to his home state of Indiana to deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. For the third time in several years, the school's graduation ceremony will be plagued by controversy, as a group of students plans to walk out during Pence's speech.
This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: Trump is leaving Friday for his first foreign trip, to the Mideast and beyond, and aides had hoped the disarray at home would have been calmed if not resolved by takeoff time.
A top House Republican is criticizing President Trump's national security adviser for declining to clarify the White House position on the location of the Western Wall. H.R. McMaster, in a press briefing Tuesday previewing Trump's first foreign trip, declined to elaborate on the location of Judaism's holiest site after reports that a U.S. official told Israeli counterparts the wall was located in the West Bank.
The Trump administration has approached the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, days before President Donald Trump embarks on his first foreign trip. Trump will nominate Callista Gingrich for the post, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said Monday.
A former Episcopal priest, who has been living in Bedford, Pa., has been given an 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a student during trips to Boston in 1973. White, 75, was associate chaplain at St. George's School in Middletown, R.I., when he took a 15- to 16-year-old boy on several overnight trips, including two to Boston where the teen was sexually assaulted.