The Public Religion Research Institute survey of 3,066 mainline clergy, released Thursday (Sept. 14), shows that about half identify with the Democratic Party, 28% identify as independents and only 14% as Republicans. In this sense, they are the inverse of evangelical clergy, whom surveys find to be overwhelmingly conservative and vote Republican. (Shimron, Religion News Service)
Read MoreMost French Christians—92% of Catholics and 87% of Protestants—think the environment and climate change should be more present in the life of their local parish or church community. Half of them—52% of Catholics and 58% of Protestants—believe the church should speak out on environmental issues and climate change. (Vonnoh, Christianity Today)
Read MoreThe Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Gyanvapi mosque stand side by side in the heart of Varanasi. The mosque was built in the 17th century by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb after demolishing a Hindu temple. Years later, a Hindu queen rebuilt the temple beside the mosque. For centuries, both communities have shared the space, but now, some Hindus say they want to reclaim it. (Pathak, NPR)
Read MoreA letter found among the private papers of Pope Pius XII suggests that the Holy See was told in 1942 that up to 6,000 people, “above all Poles and Jews,” were being killed in furnaces every day at Belzec, a Nazi death camp in Poland. Povoledo, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe 71-year-old former president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists has been one of the few Russian religious leaders to publicly denounce the war in Ukraine. Although secular activists and a few Orthodox priests have been imprisoned for similar opposition, until last month no evangelicals had been targeted. (Casper, Christianity Today)
Read MoreWith few exceptions, those accused of wrongdoing were all male. Nearly three-fourths of the documents examined showed the sexual abuse involved minors. The report, commissioned by the Swiss Conference of Bishops and led by two University of Zurich historians, offers a deep look at the sexual abuse and harassment that has confounded the Catholic Church across the globe in recent decades — upending the lives of many victims and their families, and tarnishing the image of the institution. (Keaten, Religion News Service)
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