The trial of eight people in Paris on terrorism charges started on Monday over the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty.

Authorities say a local leader of the Mexican folk saint cult “La Santa Muerte” has been gunned down at an altar to the skeletal figure.

Christians in many countries around the world are celebrating All Saints’ Day, a somber and spiritual day in the church’s liturgical calendar that shares pagan roots with Halloween.

For the first time, New York City’s public school students have the day off to mark the holiday of Diwali, celebrated in India and among the global Indian diaspora as the victory of light over darkness.

Immigration from around the world has transformed the rural Minnesota town of Worthington.

At noon on Sundays in Worthington, Minnesota, an overflow crowd is still swaying to the Guatemalan band at Spanish-language Catholic Mass, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are wrapping up their six-hour-long service, and at town’s edge among the cornfields, refugees from Southeast Asia gather to pray and sing in Karen at the Baptist church founded by Swedish farmers.

Immigration is a core issue for voters.

Immigration is a core issue for voters.

Just four years ago, most U.S. Muslim voters supported Democratic President Joe Biden.

A Washington state man who authorities say led a wildlife trafficking ring on a Native American reservation in Montana that killed thousands of eagles and hawks was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.

The Vatican tribunal says it convicted a cardinal of aggravated fraud and other charges because of his “objectively inexplicable behavior” in paying a self-styled intelligence analyst more than a half-million euros (dollars) in Vatican money.

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India and for Hindus in particular.

Indians are celebrating the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by symbolically lighting a record 2.51 million clay oil lamps at dusk on the banks of the river Saryu in a city they believe to be the birthplace of the deity Lord Ram.

The nationwide debate over transgender rights is playing out on a personal level in a federal court lawsuit filed by a former Liberty University employee fired by the Christian school after disclosing her identity as a transgender woman.

Latinos are the fastest-growing group of American evangelicals.

Pennsylvania’s State Capitol could be a crucial venue if the upcoming election leads to worsening political divisions in the most pivotal of swing states.

A Taliban government minister says Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Quran in front of other women.

“Pan de muerto," or “bread of the dead,” is freshly baked in Mexico ahead of Day of the Dead celebrations.

Nationally, Catholic voters have been a crucial swing constituency in recent presidential elections.

Pope Francis’ child protection board has issued its first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church's efforts to address the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Four Roman Catholic bishops in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero called Monday for civilian and military authorities to take steps to protect residents of a region rocked by violence that has left more than a dozen dead in recent days.

The Amish are numerous in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania, and yet only a small minority of them vote in elections.

The Rev. David Peck is an Episcopal priest in the heartland of Pennsylvania, a swing state at the center of the tense presidential election.

With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican.

Pope Francis’ yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church has ended with recommendations that fall far short of giving women more equity as hoped.

Christ Church is so symbolic to the birth of America that it's called the Nation's Church.

The two historic churches are less than a mile apart in Philadelphia.

President Biden is expected to issue an historic apology Friday for the 150-year government effort to break up Native American culture, language and identity by forcing children into abusive boarding schools.

President Joe Biden says he will formally apologize on for the nation's role in forcing Indigenous children into boarding schools, where for more than 150 years many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and more than 950 died.

Ukrainian evangelicals are lobbying their American counterparts for continued support of their homeland in its war with Russia.

A bunch of old men in robes sitting inside and picking a pontiff is not your average pitch in Hollywood.

Peruvian theologian the Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the father of the social justice-centered liberation theology that the Vatican once criticized for its Marxist undercurrents, has died.

Louisiana’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

Customarily, Simchat Torah is one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar, highlighted by exuberant dancing around a Torah.

Hundreds of people have turned out for the burial of Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

Indonesian officials say about 140 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, are on a wooden boat anchored about 1 mile off the coast of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh, and local residents refused to allow them onto land.

At dawn, pilgrims like Ernesto Troya undertook the hardest stretch of their journey to reach the image of the Black Christ of Portobelo in Panama.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is focusing his official office on fighting an abortion rights amendment.

Pennsylvania has the biggest Jewish population of any swing state, and any shift could have enormous implications in a state decided by narrow margins the past two presidential elections.

A federal judge has heard arguments on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez has been killed in Mexico.

Donald Trump’s campaign has nourished a fusion of hard-right politics and theology to energize evangelical Christians in swing states.

A group of Orthodox monks in upstate New York takes the Christian imperative to care for creation more literally than most religious communities.

Kamala Harris has visited two Atlanta-area church where she summoned Black members of the congregations to turn out at the polls.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been greeted by children outside a Sydney church in their first public appearance of their Australian visit.

Christian nationalist leaders are telling followers that Vice President Kamala Harris is under the influence of a “Jezebel spirit."

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades.

A group of Oklahoma parents, teachers and ministers are suing to stop the state's top education official from forcing schools to incorporate the Bible into their lesson plans.

A revered soul and gospel singer and the mother of Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston’s life was celebrated nearly a week after her death at 91.

Former President Donald Trump laced into Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats in a pointed and at times bitter speech as he headlined the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York.

Asian American evangelical Christians are an evolving group of voters who are increasingly seeking to distinguish themselves from their white counterparts.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back decades.

The hidden annex where the young Jewish diarist Anne Frank hid from Nazi occupiers during World War II is heading to New York.

When Elton John was on tour in America during the 1970s, there was someone on TV who caught his eye.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it’s important that allies’ aid to Ukraine doesn’t decrease next year.

Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend.

The 2024 race to the White House has already seen unexpected twists and turns.

Pope Francis has named 21 new cardinals.

For generations, many people in Lebanon have wrestled with whether to leave to seek better opportunities or escape various times of tumult.

A new round of airstrikes has hit Beirut suburbs.

Members of a pacifist Christian sect that emerged in 18th century Russia were expelled to the fringes of the Russian Empire almost two centuries ago for rejecting the Orthodox church and refusing to serve in Czar Nicholas I’s army.

A top leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is urging members to “avoid what is harsh and hateful” in the heat of election season.

Jewish communities everywhere reacted with horror at last year’s Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

Among the nation’s charismatic Christians, there’s one highly politicized faction in particular that believes the reelection of former President Donald Trump would be a win in a literal spiritual war of angels in demons.

The Ulmer Münster in southern Germany is the world’s tallest church.

A worldwide building boom of big, bright Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temples is meeting pushback in a place not known for moderation.

LGBTQ+ Jews have struggled to be accepted within their Orthodox communities.

Pope Francis' big Catholic reform project has opened with widespread calls for women to take up more positions of responsibility in the church topping the agenda.

A California man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men outside Los Angeles synagogues last year.

Judaism’s High Holy Days annually provide an emotional mix of celebration, introspection and atonement for Jews worldwide.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, starts at sundown on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and continues through the evening of Friday, Oct. 4.

While the practice of ballot collection is legal in 35 states, the rules vary significantly from state to state.

Conservative Christian churches in California and prominent figures around the United States like activist Charlie Kirk are urging congregations to get involved in ballot gathering or ballot harvesting.

Pope Francis has doubled down on his traditional views on abortion and women during his in-flight news conference coming home from Belgium.

Pope Francis has met with 17 survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Belgium.

Abortion-rights groups are courting Latino voters through door-knocking and Spanish-language ads.

Former President Donald Trump recently reissued his loyalty test to religious Americans, declaring that he can best protect their freedoms while preemptively blaming some if he loses the presidential election in November.

Thousands of Ethiopians have gathered in the capital city to celebrate an annual religious festival distinguished by the lighting of bonfires according to the beliefs of the local Orthodox Christian faithful.

An unholy argument over a hymn has struck a discordant note in the preparations for the main event of Pope Francis' trip to Belgium.

Pope Francis is still widely popular in several Latin American countries.

Erin Foster was inspired by her own experience of meeting her husband and converting to Judaism to create the new series “Nobody Wants This."

Pope Francis is urging Europe to be beacon of peace amid war and a welcome home for migrants.

Georgia's parliament last week gave final approval to a bill that severely restricts LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people.

As President Daniel Ortega has moved aggressively to silence critics of his administration in Nicaragua, faith leaders have denounced their surveillance, harassment and threats at the hands of the state.

Pope Francis is traveling to Belgium this week, where he is in for a sober welcome.

A federal judge is allowing more than 8,000 Catholic employers nationwide to reject government regulations that protect workers seeking abortions and fertility care.

Pope Francis will be visiting Belgium on a trip starting Thursday, facing a flock ravaged by countless scandals of priest sexual abuse and dwindling in the face of modernity, where women and gays insist on an equal role and rights.

For decades, some political analysts have sought to depict Hispanic Americans as “socially conservative” — and indeed many of them are.

Malaysian police say they have rescued 187 more children and raided locations nationwide linked to an Islamic business group that is being investigated for alleged sexual assault of children.

The Vatican has confirmed that plans remain in place for Pope Francis to go to Belgium and Luxembourg.

An estimated 180,000 motorcyclists gathered at Our Lady of Fatima shrine in central Portugal on Sunday for the ninth annual Pilgrimage of the Blessing of Helmets.

Vice President Kamala Harris is a Baptist who was influenced by religious traditions in her mother’s home country of India.

Just two years ago, leading anti-abortion activists were euphoric after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, thus ending the nationwide right to abortion.

Some churches are launching new Christian schools on their campuses, seeking to give parents more education options that align with religious values.

Some churches are launching new Christian schools on their campuses.

Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her efforts to win over voters who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Donald Trump has received strong support from white evangelical Protestants in his presidential bids.

The Vatican has given the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary.

The U.S. State Department says a Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S. Advocacy groups say 68-year-old David Lin was detained after he entered China in 2006, was convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison.

Midwest Lutheranism has entered the national political limelight since Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz became Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.