Lead story
Editor's note:
On Thursday June 24, a high-rise apartment tower in Surfside, Florida, collapsed, burying more than 150 people in the rubble and devastating a tight-knit community of immigrants, retirees and Orthodox Jews. The death toll has continued to rise, even as rescuers persist in the careful if desperate efforts to find any remaining survivors. Less than a mile away from the ruins is The Shul at Bal Harbour, a bustling synagogue that’s part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Judaism. Since the collapse of the Champlain Towers South, The Shul has taken on a massive relief operation to help the mostly Jewish families whose homes — and in many cases, lives — were turned to rubble. RNS national reporter Yonat Shimron talked with The Shul’s rabbi, Sholom Lipskar, on the phone at his office at the synagogue.
Religion News
Millions skipped church during pandemic. Will they return?
Churches, synagogues and mosques are returning to normal services as the pandemic recedes. But a looming question is how many worshippers will be returning. On the Maine coast, the pandemic proved to be the last straw for the 164-year-old Waldoboro United Methodist Church. By David Sharp, Mariam Fam, Luis Andres Henao and Hannah Fingerhut/Associated Press
At landmark US Hindu temple, a timely rite of rejuvenation
The gathering on a hilltop near Pittsburgh at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, modeled on a major pilgrimage site in India and itself a landmark in the growing Hindu presence in this country, also marked a way of “going back to normal” for devotees emerging from the pandemic. By Peter Smith/Associated Pres
Pagan god (and Disney star) Loki wrapped up in trademark battles
'I'm not wearing a licensed costume. It's my FACE,' tweeted one person who received 'copyright strikes' on an online marketplace for resembling Disney's superhero. By Heather Greene/Religion News Service
The Florida town of Surfside is home to a large Jewish community, where the families often crowd the sidewalks before sunset as they walk to services for the Sabbath. By Luis Andres Henao and Terry Spencer/Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
For Tibetan Buddhists it is important that they are in charge of the selection process for the next Dalai Lama, but China wants to appoint its own. By Brooke Schedneck for The Conversation
The American church needs to reckon with its legacy in Indigenous boarding schools
The American church will not be able to hide from its history of complicity in the treatment of Indigenous peoples — and the ongoing colonization Indigenous peoples continue to face today. By Kaitlin Curtice/Religion News Service
Biden is not the first public figure, that the Catholic Church wants to deny Communion to. Over the centuries, the Church has often come under criticism for either denying, or giving Communion. By Mathew Schmalz for The Conversation
Kentucky lawmakers are trying to make the state the 21st to enact a ban on conversion therapy. In states that are 'silent' on the issue, nonprofessionals are allowed to continue the harmful practice. By Carl & Donna Sheperis for The Conversation
People walk around a bonfire celebrating the summer solstice in Okunevo village, northeast of the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, Monday, June 21, 2021. The festivities of Ivan Kupala, or John the Baptist, are similar to Mardi Gras and reflect pre-Christian Slavic traditions and practices. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Sofiychuk)
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- This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
- The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
