Bonfires, Maypoles and a saint’s day: How Europe celebrates the longest day of the year

As reports of anti-Christian incidents in Israel increase, advocates press police to act

JERUSALEM (RNS) — ‘For three years, the police saw me as a nudnikit (pest),’ said Yisca Harani, founder of the Religious Freedom Data Center, which tracks and aims to prevent incidents targeting Christians in Israel. ‘After the incident with the nun, I feel they are taking me a little more seriously.’

What does it mean to belong in America? RNS asks 5 faith leaders and thinkers

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, debates over national identity, religion and immigration have intensified. Was America founded as a Christian nation? A pluralistic democracy? A nation of immigrants? And who gets to define what this means?  In 2026, these questions are not abstractions. Immigrant and faith communities have been on the front...

How enslaved African Muslims resisted bondage through their faith and writing

(The Conversation) — As the US approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, two scholars revisit the rich legacy of American Muslims.

Pope Leo XIV exalts first American saint Cabrini as a model for Christians for her care of migrants

SANT'ANGELO LODIGIANO, Italy (AP) — Leo, who has clashed with the Trump administration over its migrant crackdown, urged young people in particular to learn about Cabrini’s life and service, once again confirming history’s first U.S. pope as the heir to Pope Francis in prioritizing the plight of migrants.

Supreme Court rules Rastafari man can’t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages against individuals even when rights are violated.