Istanbul's Byzantine-era landmark has been used as a museum since 1934 and is widely regarded as a symbol of peaceful religious coexistence. A court ruling Friday revoked its museum status. Emrah Gurel/AP hide caption
Religion NPR's stories on U.S. and world religion, spirituality, ethics, and moral issues affecting society and culture. Subscribe to NPR Religion RSS feeds.
Religion
Wednesday's decision seems to be an extension of a 2012 ruling in which the Supreme Court unanimously found that a fourth-grade teacher at a Lutheran school who was commissioned as a minister could not sue over her firing. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Justices Rule Teachers At Religious Schools Aren't Protected By Fair Employment Laws
James Henley Thornwell regularly defended slavery and promoted white supremacy from his pulpit at the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C. A.H. Ritchie/The Collected Writings of James Henley Thornwell, 1871 hide caption
White Supremacist Ideas Have Historical Roots In U.S. Christianity
Supreme Court: Montana Can't Exclude Religious Schools From Scholarship Program
Park describes his experiences as a child soldier during an interview in his office in Yeongju. Anthony Kuhn/NPR hide caption
Thousands Of Child Soldiers Died In The Korean War. Survivors Want More Recognition
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez Liveright hide caption
'Jesus And John Wayne' Explores Christian Manhood — And How Belief Can Bolster Trump
In this June 19, 2015, file photo, the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. lead a crowd of people in prayer outside the Emanuel AME Church, after a memorial service for the nine people killed by Dylann Roof in Charleston, S.C. Stephen B. Morton/AP hide caption
The Rev. Lenny Duncan, here in May 2019, at the Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Courtesy of Lenny Duncan hide caption
Jesus Was Divisive: A Black Pastor's Message To White Christians
Audio for this story is unavailable.
Pastor Donte Hickman, seen at Southern Baptist Church in 2015, says he's had some productive conversations with the Trump administration on policy issues. David Goldman/AP hide caption
'Breathe, Pray, Meditate': Born From Resistance, Black Churches Now Leading In Crises
Sen. Tim Kaine, left, and then-Charlottesville mayor Michael Signer visit a temporary memorial Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017, where Heather Heyer was killed when a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally Charlottesville, Va. Julia Rendleman/AP hide caption
Evangelical Christians traditionally focus on individual sin and salvation. But some are taking a wider view when it comes to addressing systemic racism. Reza/Getty Images hide caption
President Trump asserts "most religious leaders loved" his appearance Monday in front of St. John's Church in Washington. The bishop who oversees the church condemned Trump's photo-op. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
In Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sister Quincy Howard protests the arrival of President Trump to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
President Trump's photo opportunity in front of St. John's Episcopal church in Washington has set off criticism, as law enforcement used tear gas and force to clear a path for him to walk from the White House. Tom Brenner/Reuters hide caption
Hasan Minhaj hosts Patriot Act on Netflix. Mark Seliger/Netflix hide caption
Protesters and police clash near Lafayette Park late Monday in downtown Washington, D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
A church in North Hollywood, Calif., stands empty last month after services were canceled because of coronavirus restrictions. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption
Jesus' baptism site overlooking the Jordan River, 6 miles north of the Dead Sea. The Jordanian site includes the spot where UNESCO says Jesus was believed to have been baptized, now inland after the river changed course, as well as Elijah's Hill, where tradition says the Prophet Elijah ascended to heaven in a flaming chariot. Moises Saman for NPR hide caption
From left: Comedians Natasha Chandel, Abdullah Afzal and Mariam Sobh. They each performed a set during the Socially Distant Eid Comedy Night Special, a virtual event hosted by the Concordia Forum. Facebook/ Screengrabs by NPR hide caption
Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations in Minnesota plan to resume worship services in defiance of the state's ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. Jim Mone/AP hide caption
A mix of traditional and nontraditional Arabic desserts served with Turkish coffee. Eslah Attar for NPR hide caption