Tom Gjelten

Henry Kissinger, a hawkish and towering figure in foreign policy circles, has died at the age of 100. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Nov. 29, 2023.)

America's diversity means it is not defined by a single ancestry or faith tradition. Americans may nevertheless unite behind a "civil religion" that incorporates the nation's founding principles.

After six years on the religion and belief beat — and four decades reporting for NPR — Tom Gjelten is retiring. He discusses how covering religion in America has changed in recent years.

Resettling a single refugee family requires a huge effort, and after four years of neglect under the Trump administration, rebuilding the system will be difficult.

Pope Francis has disappointed pro-LGBTQ Catholics via a Vatican statement that the church cannot bless same-sex unions. He had previously seemed open to an endorsement.

Some religious groups fear the Equality Act could undermine the freedom to exercise traditional faith beliefs. Other denominations say anti-LGBTQ discrimination cannot be tolerated.

Catholic bishops say the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines did not use abortion-derived fetal cell lines, but that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is acceptable, if it's the only available option.

Because abortion-derived cell lines were used in its development, some Christian groups are advising against using the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine if other vaccines are available.

The work of ministering to the sick and consoling the grieving has been a heavy burden for many faith leaders in the time of COVID-19.

In addition, most white evangelicals and Republicans say Biden's election was illegitimate and Trump was not behind the attack on the Capitol.

President Biden is only the second observant Catholic president in U.S. history. He also supports the right to an abortion, which has set him off on a rocky start with U.S. bishops.

Speakers at the service see a "new America" and embrace a range of progressive causes. "The only way to establish domestic tranquility is to establish justice," the Rev. William Barber II says.

Wednesday's post-inauguration prayer service, a tradition dating to George Washington's inauguration, featured faith leaders from various religious traditions. Many were from progressive backgrounds.

The conviction of some Christians that God has a particular plan for America gave extra potency to efforts in support of Trump's attempts to overturn his election defeat.

Some of the extremists who assaulted the U.S. Capitol are Christian nationalists. They believe they are on a divine mission to challenge government institutions in the name of God.

President Trump has had the support of evangelical Christians throughout his presidency, but his incitement of the assault on Congress has proved costly.

The Trump administration has issued a new rule this week that allows federal contractors that claim a religious mission to exclude any job applicant who does not share their beliefs.

Opposition to the death penalty is "a teaching that deserves our respect," says Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley. "I don't think it can be simply disregarded."

His comments came even as the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a federal district court to reexamine its previous support for restrictions on indoor religious services in California.

Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, told the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that churches shouldn't return to in-person worship yet.