This, too, could pass: Christian group's rule keeping beaches closed on Sunday mornings may end

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. (AP) — In this seaside community that calls itself “God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore,” all the land is owned by a religious group that has for generations enforced an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt stay off the beach on Sunday morning. But there are signs...

Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencement

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy in some quarters for his proclamations of conservative politics and Catholicism on Saturday, but he received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees of the May 11 commencement ceremony at Benedictine College in...

India PM Modi files his nomination to run for a third term in general election

VARANASI, India (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the holy Hindu city of Varanasi on Tuesday surrounded by his party leaders and supporters as he formally filed paperwork to run in an ongoing election that is essentially a referendum on his decade in power. The...

Why voters in southern India are more resistant to Modi's Hindu-centric politics

CHENNAI, India (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wielded near-total control over Indian politics since coming to power 10 years ago, with one exception: He has failed to win over the country’s wealthier southern region. Five states across southern India account for roughly...

A milestone reached in mainline Protestant churches' decades-old disputes over LGBTQ inclusion

The fight to allow same-sex marriage and gay clergy has defined much of the last half-century for major mainline Protestant denominations in the U.S., mirroring in many ways the broader fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion in civic life. Within these theologically moderate-to-progressive...

United Methodists begin to reverse longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates began making historic changes in their policies on sexuality on Tuesday — voting without debate to reverse a series of anti-LGBTQ policies. The delegates voted to delete mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and to...

United Methodists, at major conference, begin to dismantle longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies

Modi is accused of using hate speech for calling Muslims 'infiltrators' at an Indian election rally

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's main opposition party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators" — some of his most incendiary rhetoric about the minority faith, days after the country began its weekslong general election. The...

Indians vote in the first phase of the world's largest election as Modi seeks a third term

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting on Friday in a six-week election that's a referendum on Narendra Modi, the populist prime minister who has championed an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics and is seeking a rare third term as the country's leader. People...

Here's what you need to know about the world's largest democratic election kicking off in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — The world’s largest democratic election could also be one of its most consequential. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and close to 970 million voters, India’s general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, against...