Religion News Service

The word "church" has multiple meanings. One theologian counted more than a dozen different ways "church" was used in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, referring to everything from a building to the Mystical Body of Christ.

A group of Vietnamese-American Catholics in Orange County, California, home to the largest Vietnamese Catholic community outside Vietnam, are leading the development of the United States' first major stand-alone shrine to Our Lady of La Vang.

Last week, many  on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border relied heavily on their faith to cope with the most recent violent escalation, as a clash between an undercover Israel Defense Forces unit and Hamas fighters in Gaza left seven Palestinian fighters and one IDF officer dead.

Signs of the Times: The U.S. bishops, meeting in Baltimore, felt their house was burning down, and the Vatican was asking them to delay turning on the fire hoses.

A number of churches are lobbying local, state and federal officials to limit the reach of predatory payday lending operations. In some instances, churches are offering small-dollar loans to members and the community as an alternative.

That clash between Jerusalem mayoral candidates Ofer Berkovitch, the secular candidate, and Moshe Lion, an Orthodox Jew, has become focused on religious issues, including sabbath restrictions in Israel's capital.

As the U.S. Catholic bishops gather in Baltimore to discuss controversial issues such as clerical sexual abuse and racism, some people are talking about the threat of schism.

Dozens of students at the University of Notre Dame took a knee during the playing of the national anthem at the Catholic school's football game in South Bend, Ind., this weekend, saying their faith compels them to protest racism.

The new CBS hourlong dramedy "God Friended Me" premiered to such impressive ratings that the network gave a full-season order. Its surprise success has caused some media watchers to wonder whether we're on the cusp of a religion renaissance on the small screen.

The U. S. ambassador for religious freedom called for renewed activism on protecting faiths around the globe on Nov. 9 as religious liberty advocates gathered in the nation's capital to mark the 20th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act.

It took about a week for visitors to the massive Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany, to notice a small addition to its ornate Gothic entrance — a carved stone figure of Pope Francis leaning forward like a gargoyle.

President Donald Trump's administration has issued new rules it says will "provide conscience protections for Americans who have a religious or moral objection to health insurance that covers contraception methods."

Methodists asked Jeff Sessions to repent. He resigned instead, ending a tenure marked by near-constant pushback from faith communities across the religious spectrum who opposed his policies and his attempts to defend them with Scripture.

Thousands of Catholics in one of the world's poorest nations are objecting after the church asked the government to collect a 10 percent tithe from worshippers on its behalf.

Donald Trump isn't at the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto, but his influence is widely felt here.

The Islamic State in Egypt claimed responsibility for an ambush on  buses carrying Coptic Christians Nov. 2.

A delegation of conservative evangelical Christian leaders from the United States met Nov. 1 with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who is under fire after the death of a journalist in his country's consulate in Istanbul.

Jewish groups are speaking out against Vice President Mike Pence's appearance at a rally Oct. 29 in Michigan with Loren Jacobs, a defrocked clergyman in the Messianic Jewish movement.

A new survey shows a sharp racial and religious divide over whether the actions of President Trump are encouraging white supremacist organizations.

For those looking for Pope Francis' synod of bishops on young people to settle the current divides in the Catholic Church between bishops and laity, conservatives and reformers, LGBT Catholics and those who regard that group as an oxymoron, the synod's final report is bound to disappoint.