Friday, January 14, 2022

Indigenous Mormons challenge church doctrine

Lead story

A picture of the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints roof against a blue sky.

Editor's note:

Growing up in Virginia, Sarah Newcomb was the only Indigenous person in her class, and she was proud of it. She was also proud of her LDS faith. That is, until she began to realize the two were not easily compatible. Newcomb was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has traditionally taught Indigenous Americans are descended from a group cursed by God after rebelling. Diana Kruzman, a Religion News Service and Interfaith Youth Core fellow, reports on how Indigenous members of the LDS faith and ex-members, like Newcomb, are taking issue with this theology and historical injustices the church has carried out against Native Americans. It’s a tension playing out in many churches and denominations around North America, as these religious institutions grapple with their historical roles in Indigenous boarding schools, Native American assimilation and cultural erasure, displacement and genocide.

A picture of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor at Religion News Service.
 

Religion News

Pope moves to reorganize Vatican doctrine office 

Pope Francis took the first step to reorganize the Vatican’s powerful doctrine office, removing the No. 2 official widely believed responsible for a controversial document barring blessings for same-sex couples because God “cannot bless sin.” By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press

Muslims in interfaith bonds are proliferating. Imams willing to marry them are not.

One out of five Muslims is in an interfaith relationship, surveys suggest. But few imams are willing to conform the traditional Muslim wedding ceremony to their needs, couples say. By Sara Badilini/Religion News Service

The two scholars suggest Magdalene may well be an honorific from the Hebrew and Aramaic words meaning ‘tower’ or ‘magnify.’ By Yonat Shimron/Religion News Service

Ransom freed some missionary hostages in Haiti, workers say 

Workers for an Ohio-based missionary organization say an unidentified person made a ransom payment that freed three of their kidnapped colleagues from a Haitian gang in early December. That ransom agreement was supposed to have led to the release of all 15 of the North American hostages. But ex-hostages and others say the gang reneged. By Peter Smith/The Associated Press

An early Quran, that is part of the collection of the National Library of Israel, is displayed at The Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. The library says the number of visitors to its Arabic website more than doubled over the course of 2021, thanks to the digitization of its Arabic manuscripts and archives and an extensive outreach program in recent years. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Israel’s national library sees Arabic site traffic boom

Israel’s national library says the number of visitors to its Arabic website more than doubled last year, driven by a growing collection of digitized materials and an aggressive outreach campaign to the Arab world. By Ilan Ben Zion/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

MLK’s vision for nonviolence included abolishing what he called triple evils – racism, poverty and militarism. By Anthony Siracusa for The Conversation

Three female academics discuss how women are forging new pathways in faith leadership throughout religions that traditionally have been patriarchal. By Carolyn Woo, Emilie M. Townes and Jue Liang for The Conversation

Sir Sidney Poitier changed the film world on the way to changing the larger world. By Greg Garrett/Religion News Service

When you prepare to talk about end-of-life decisions and the legacy you want to leave behind, try thinking about them as gifts you bestow to family and friends. By Deborah Carr for The Conversation

 
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivers the Christmas Liturgy in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Parishioners wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, observed social distancing guidelines as they attended the liturgy Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivers the Christmas Liturgy in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. Parishioners wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, observed social distancing guidelines as they attended the liturgy Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

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