State, county and city officials increasingly are ordering residents to wear masks and maintain social distance amid a rise in coronavirus cases across the country. Published November 19, 2020
Students who staged a "Black Pre-Born Lives Matter" rally in August have sued the District of Columbia over law enforcement officers shutting down their attempts to paint the slogan on a city street. Published November 19, 2020
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued Tuesday a statement about Joseph R. Biden, saying the presumptive election of the nation's second Catholic president "presents certain opportunities but also certain challenges." Published November 17, 2020
Nearly two-thirds of respondents say their faith has been important during the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey by a leading religious liberty firm. Published November 17, 2020
U.S. Catholic church leaders met virtually Monday under the "shadow of the coronavirus," according to a top bishop. But it was the shadow of a bombshell report from the Vatican on former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick that took center stage. Published November 16, 2020
A committee for the United Methodist Church says it will decide soon on a plan to formally separate the denomination. Published November 13, 2020
More than 40% of Americans living in rural communities suffer from high blood pressure, while urban dwellers have lower rates, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published November 13, 2020
A measure to ease abortion restrictions in Massachusetts has drawn the ire of the state's leading Roman Catholic archbishop. Published November 13, 2020
In a year in which many days have felt as ominous as Friday the 13th, we now face an actual Friday the 13th — only the second one of 2020. Published November 12, 2020
Governments have been cracking down on religious expression more than any other time in recent memory, says a new report on global religious persecution. Published November 11, 2020
A Vatican report on sexual abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick lays some blame on Pope John Paul II for a lapse in oversight of the disgrace former archbishop of Washington. Published November 10, 2020
For-profit colleges never had a better friend in the Cabinet than outgoing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The Michigan Republican fundraiser and investor joined the Trump administration with a history of financing firms that worked with proprietary colleges, and her agency has spent the last four years snipping away regulations the industry found burdensome. Published November 9, 2020
The Justice Department says it has reached agreement with officials in a Connecticut town where a Muslim community's plan to build a mosque in an industrial park was denied. Published November 6, 2020
Pope Francis continues to forgo a face mask in public appearances, frustrating some Catholic officials as coronavirus cases surge in Europe. Published November 6, 2020
With small margins in a few swing states likely to decide the election, some of Mr. Trump's opponents say the small erosion in evangelical support after 2016 could have played a critical role in the result. Published November 5, 2020
Has the U.S. reached the tipping point on legalizing marijuana? Published November 4, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is claiming another victim in higher education: standardized testing. Published November 3, 2020
The National Endowment for Humanities is providing $120,000 to repair statues that were damaged in this summer's rioting against racial injustice, insisting that their survival is key to youngsters' understanding of American history. Published November 2, 2020
A debate is roiling the Catholic Church over the role clergy and nuns play in partisan politics ahead of Tuesday's elections. Published October 29, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will "very, very shortly" issue a new COVID-19 guidance ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas, pushing back on critics who have suggested the state is planning on hindering the holidays during the pandemic. Published October 28, 2020
