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...

India begins voting in a 6-week election that could give Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term

Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. And no entity has had more influence on his...

In Modi's India, opponents and journalists feel the squeeze ahead of election

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are increasingly wielding strong-arm tactics to subdue political opponents and critics of the ruling Hindu-nationalist party ahead of the nationwide elections that begin this week. A decade into power, and on...