Lead story
Editor's note:
In towns across New Mexico – including many rural hamlets – are hundreds of Catholic mission churches built over the past 400 years out of the mix of mud and straw known as adobe. Today, threatened by depopulation, dwindling congregations and fading traditions, some descendants of the early parishioners are fighting to save these historic structures from literally crumbling back to the earth they were built with. As the AP Religion Team’s Giovanna Dell’Orto reported, many of the churches have devoted caretakers called “mayordomos" who strive to preserve the structures and care for their often-elaborate wooden altarpieces. These churches anchor a uniquely New Mexican way of life for their communities, many of which no longer have schools or stores, and struggle with chronic poverty. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the necessary resources to maintain many of the churches, especially since most are used for only a few services each year.
Religion News
Taylor professor Julie Moore cited Jemar Tisby on her syllabus. Then she lost her job.
A well-respected professor and published poet, Moore said her provost named Tisby in explaining why her contract was not renewed. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service
Jews, Muslims, Sikhs get coronation role as king reaches out
At a time when religion is fueling tensions around the world, King Charles III is trying to bridge the differences between the faith groups that make up Britain’s increasingly diverse society. The new king hopes to show that the monarchy can still represent the people of modern, multicultural Britain. By Danica Kirka/The Associated Press
A glut of underutilized church properties offers a solution to the severe shortage of affordable housing for newly arrived refugees. By Yonat Shimron/Religion News Service
Pope voices willingness to return Indigenous loot, artifact
Pope Francis says talks are underway to return artifacts in the Vatican Museum that were acquired from Indigenous peoples in Canada and has voiced a willingness to return other colonial-era objects in the Vatican’s collection on a case-by-case basis. By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press
Black Protestant churches still vital despite attendance drop
The empty spaces between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolina highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches. In-person attendance fell more sharply among these congregations during the pandemic than any other major religious group. By Luis Andres Henao/The Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
How did blockbuster horror films such as 'The Exorcist' help the church warm to the controversial ritual? By Joseph P. Laycock for The Conversation
Religious freedom has grown more important in US foreign policy – but does that come at the expense of promoting other human rights? By Laura E. Alexander for The Conversation
A new history of evangelicalism recounts the damage of the movement’s repeated purges. By Jonathan Merritt/Religion News Service
Lithium extraction in Bolivia poses more than environmental questions: It illustrates how notions about 'raw materials' can be at odds with Indigenous relations with the land. By Mario Orospe Hernández for The Conversation
Police and local residents load the exhumed bodies of victims of a religious cult into the back of a truck in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southeastern Kenya on April 23, 2023. Dozens of bodies have been discovered so far in shallow graves in a forest near land owned by a pastor, Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, in coastal Kenya who was arrested for telling his followers to fast to death. (AP Photo)
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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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