January 21, 2021

Daily Religion Headlines

A daily roundup of the latest religion headlines from around the web · Subscribe ↗

NEW FROM PEW RESEARCH CENTER

President Joe Biden is only the second Catholic to occupy the Oval Office, after John F. Kennedy, even though Catholics have long been one of the nation’s largest religious groups. Most presidents have been Protestant, and many have identified as Episcopalians or Presbyterians. An updated Fact Tank post takes a look at the religious affiliations of U.S. presidents.

U.S. headlines

For President Joe Biden, an inauguration filled with faith
Religion News Service

Biden invokes Augustine in call for American unity
Christianity Today *

Biden gets Pope’s welcome, abortion warning from U.S. bishops
The Associated Press

Kamala Harris picks Bible of civil rights justice (and saint) for VP oath
Religion Unplugged

At his swearing-in, Jon Ossoff used a Hebrew Bible from an MLK ally whose synagogue was bombed by White supremacists
The Washington Post *

Community takes pride in seeing Schumer become the highest politically ranking Jew in America
Forward *

American Muslims breathe sigh of relief as Biden reverses travel ban
Religion News Service

Ohio orthodox priest suspended for attending Trump rally at U.S. Capitol, reports say
Cleveland.com *

Two pastors join SBC president race
Christianity Today *

Joseph M. Scheidler, ‘godfather’ of the anti-abortion movement, dies at 93
The New York Times *

International headlines

Saudi Arabia redefines role as world’s defender of Muslims
Bloomberg News *

Twin suicide bombings hit Baghdad, killing 28 and sparking fears of Islamic State comeback
Los Angeles Times *

Islamic extremist in UK shared ‘terror tutorials’
BBC News

American ‘digital nomad’ to be deported from Bali after LGBT and lifestyle tweets
Reuters

India: Muslim comedian detained over anti-Hindu jokes he might crack
Deutsche Welle

Arab Spring lifted, then crushed Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood
Agence France-Presse

Austria presents national strategy against anti-Semitism
The Associated Press

Analysis and commentary

Joe Biden quoted Augustine in his inaugural address. What would the saint think of our politics?
America

Biden ends the ‘Muslim ban’ on day one of his presidency but its legacy will linger
The Philadelphia Inquirer *

From Biden’s giant Bible to Christian flags waved by rioters, ‘religion’ means different things to different people and different eras
The Conversation

Biden’s inaugural speech called for Americans to embrace civil religion. What does that mean?
NBC News

Georgia’s new senators will write the next chapter in Black-Jewish relations
The Washington Post *

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Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank. As a neutral source of data and analysis, Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.