Latest Religion and politics News

India's ruling BJP wins 3 of 4 states in elections that pitted Modi's party against Congress

Dec. 03, 2023 22:04 PM EST

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party won in three of four state elections, according to results released Sunday from a crucial vote that pitted the main opposition party against that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi before national polls next year. Modi’s...

In a political shift to the far right, anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch election

Nov. 23, 2023 14:30 PM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders said Thursday that he is ready to join the next Dutch coalition government after he surged to a huge election victory that marked a stunning lurch to the far right for a nation once famed as a beacon of tolerance. The...

In a shock for Europe, anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders records a massive win in Dutch elections

Nov. 23, 2023 03:26 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders won a huge victory in Dutch elections, according to a near complete count of the vote early Thursday, in a stunning lurch to the far right for a nation once famed as a beacon of tolerance. The result will send...

Founder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause, group says

Nov. 21, 2023 19:08 PM EST

The founder of a far-right, unofficial Catholic media group has resigned for an unspecified violation of the organization's morality clause, the group said in a statement Tuesday. Michael Voris stepped down as president of St. Michael’s Media and Church Militant, a Michigan-based...

Christian conservatives cheer one of their own as Mike Johnson assumes Congress' most powerful seat

Oct. 27, 2023 14:57 PM EDT

Evangelical Christian conservatives have long had allies in top Republican leadership in Congress. But never before have they had one so thoroughly embedded in their movement as new House Speaker Mike Johnson, a longtime culture warrior in the courthouse, in the classroom and in Congress. ...

Editorial Roundup: West Virginia

Oct. 26, 2023 16:25 PM EDT

Charleston Gazette-Mail. October 20, 2023. Editorial: Why try to undo one thing WV does well? West Virginia is at the bottom of a lot of national lists, when it comes to things like economic progress, physical and mental health, infrastructure and quality of life. ...

The late Mahsa Amini is named a finalist for the EU's top human rights prize

Oct. 12, 2023 06:42 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, sparking worldwide protests against the country’s conservative Islamic theocracy, has been named a finalist for the European Union’s top human rights prize. The...

In Poland, church and state draw nearer, and some Catholic faithful rebel

Oct. 10, 2023 01:43 AM EDT

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland (AP) — Dominika Gala grew up going to Mass with her grandmother and attending Catholic school in Warsaw. After her grandmother’s death in 2010, she began to drift away from the church. A decade later, when the Catholic leadership backed a near-total abortion...

In secular Japan, what draws so many to temples and shrines? Stamp collecting and tradition

Oct. 06, 2023 04:42 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals — cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a Goshuin, a stamp with elegant calligraphy that shrines provide for a fee to certify the...

Indian police arrest a news site's editor and administrator after raiding homes of journalists

Oct. 05, 2023 11:46 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in New Delhi have arrested the editor of a news website and one of its administrators after raiding the homes of journalists working for the site, which has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist-led government. NewsClick...