Lead story
Editor's note:
In July 2024, Donald Trump addressed a crowd of supporters, calling them “my beautiful Christians.” His remarks made headlines – mostly because he assured the group that if they voted him back into office, “it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore.”
Michael Emerson, a scholar of religion and public policy at Rice University, was struck by Trump’s use of the phrase “my beautiful Christians.” “I had an immediate gut reaction,” he writes. “Such a blanket term is out of place,” considering how diverse Christianity is in the United States.
Overall, though, Emerson argues, those words hint at something true. U.S. churchgoers’ views are growing more similar on some topics, such as race-related issues and immigration – and the consequences are clear at the ballot box.
In fact, in his research, Emerson finds it more useful to categorize Christians based on whether they’re "practicing" – that is, Christians who go to services at least monthly and say faith is very important in their lives – than by traditional labels such as denomination.
Christianity in the U.S. remains vastly diverse. However, as regular churchgoers’ numbers shrink, so does some of that diversity. “And it is shrinking in a decided direction,” Emerson writes, “toward conservative Protestantism.”
Religion News
At Trump’s inauguration, religious allies and new faces to offer prayers
Meanwhile, inaugural worship services hosted at the Washington National Cathedral and St. John’s Church are being pared down. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service
Some US lawmakers want more Christianity in the classroom. Trump could embolden their plans
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. By Moriah Balingit/The Associated Press
On Monday, the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, and the multifaith community organizing group Faith in Action held a day of prayer and dialogue with immigrant families at St. Lucy’s Catholic Church. By Aleja Hertzler-McCain/Religion News Service
Pope Francis is introspective and self-critical in his autobiography, at least about his youth
In a new autobiography, an introspective Pope Francis has divulged some of the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the secret 2013 conclave that elected him pope and the resistance he has encountered ever since. By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press
Millions of pilgrims and ash-smeared ascetics take holy dips in India's mega Hindu festival
Tens of thousands of Hindu ascetics and millions of pilgrims took dips in freezing water at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India in a series of major baths in the Maha Kumbh festival, the largest religious congregation on Earth. By Sheikh Saaliq/The Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
Cardinals play an important role, whether in serving as papal ambassadors or in shaping public opinion, and they have done so over the centuries. By Joanne M. Pierce for The Conversation
Musk isn’t just spreading hate — he is engineering the infrastructure that allows it to thrive. By Omar Suleiman/Religion News Service
‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ a novel by Laura Z. Hobson, was considered groundbreaking for its depiction of everyday prejudice. By Rachel Gordan for The Conversation
A scholar of Tibetan Buddhism discusses how she challenges her students to rethink their preconceived notions of death, the afterlife and the concept of the ‘other.’ By Jue Liang for The Conversation
A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church, Jan. 8, 2025, in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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