Latest Religion and politics News
India kicks off a massive Hindu festival touted as the world's largest religious gathering
PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is being touted as the world's largest religious gathering. Over about the next...
Some US lawmakers want more Christianity in the classroom. Trump could embolden their plans
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing to introduce more Christianity to public school classrooms, testing the separation of church and state by inserting Bible references into reading lessons and requiring teachers to post the Ten Commandments. The...
Elon Musk helped Trump win. Now he's looking at Europe, and many politicians are alarmed
LONDON (AP) — Fresh from pouring his money and energies into helping Donald Trump win reelection, Elon Musk has trained his sights on Europe, setting off alarm bells among politicians across the continent. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has endorsed the far-right Alternative...
Far-right leader pledges to 'govern Austria honestly' and makes demands of potential partner
VIENNA (AP) — Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl said Tuesday in his first comments after being tasked to form a new government that he aspires to “govern Austria honestly” as he prepared for talks on a potential coalition with conservatives who criticized him sharply in the past. ...
Who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer? An AP Explainer about the anti-Nazi pastor
Who was Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Germany executed by the Nazis in 1945 at age 39 for his role in a resistance movement that included attempts to assassinate German leader Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was born in 1906...
Pope names like-minded ally Cardinal McElroy as Washington archbishop
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego as the archbishop of Washington, tapping one of his most progressively like-minded allies to head the Catholic Church in the U.S. capital at the start of Donald Trump's second administration. At a press...
Jimmy Carter and Playboy: How ‘the weirdo factor’ rocked ’76
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Jimmy Carter already had drawn months of media scrutiny as a devout Southern Baptist running for president. Then the 1976 Democratic nominee brought up sex and sin as he explained his religious faith to Playboy magazine. Carter was not misquoted. But he was...
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi
NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, was cremated after a state funeral on Saturday as politicians and the public mourned his death. The veteran leader, who was also credited...
Leaders and politicians pay homage to India’s former prime minister, Manmohan Singh
NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in India have declared a seven-day mourning period to honor Manmohan Singh, officials said Friday, as politicians and public paid tributes to the country’s former prime minister widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program. ...
Sectarian violence in Syria has been less intense than feared since Assad's ouster
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule. While there have been bursts of deadly sectarian violence in the days since Assad was ousted, it’s nothing...
