A federal judge on Friday, April 11, sided with the Trump administration in allowing immigration agents to conduct enforcement operations at houses of worship despite a lawsuit filed by religious groups over the new policy.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington refused to grant a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs, more than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans.

 More than 25 religious groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a Trump administration order that allows immigration agents to make arrests at houses of worship.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington and says the new policy is spreading fear and lowering attendance at services and other church programs, which the groups say infringes their religious freedom.

That freedom, the groups say, includes their ability to minister to immigrants, including those who don’t have documents.

“Is Pastor Steve available? I have an important question for him.” 

She hadn’t offered her name, but I knew the woman’s voice on the other end of the line. In fact, I could picture her customary pew, the spot where she’d shuffle slowly every week, undeterred by the fact that the service had started ten minutes ago and we’d already gotten to the prayer of confession. Father, forgive me for getting exasperated at the disturbance of latecomers.

“No ma’am,” I said. “He’s not in at the moment. Could I take a message?” 

Despite the incessant tracking of evangelical Christian, Latino Catholic, Muslim and other religious groups through the recently ended election season, a study released by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that most congregations are politically inactive, with nearly half actively avoiding discussing politics at their gatherings.

When you imagine the summer attendance slump at church, you probably picture empty pews, not an empty stage.

But with around 20 percent lower turnout during the vacation months, the seasonal slump also affects the availability of the volunteer musicians that many churches rely on for worship each week.

In the midst of vacations, camps, conferences, and other activities, assembling a worship band—especially over a holiday weekend like Memorial Day, Independence Day, or Labor Day—is harder when more people head out of town.

Gateway Church founder and senior pastor Robert Morris has resigned, and his Texas megachurch is launching an investigation into allegations of abuse from 35 years ago.

Morris—a former advisor to President Trump and leader of one of the largest nondenominational churches in the country—is leaving after an Oklahoma woman, Cindy Clemishire, shared a story of being molested by the pastor when she was a minor in the 1980s. He has led the congregation since 2000.

A judge in the environmental division of Vermont Superior Court gave the go-ahead Tuesday for demolition of the former Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Burlington, considered by some to be a masterpiece of modernist architecture. The cathedral was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and the property was landscaped by Dan Kiley, whom the state architectural historian called "two of the foremost designers of the 20th century." It closed in December 2018 after dwindling to fewer than 100 parishioners. Judge Thomas Durkin ruled against a group of 10 Burlington...

Donald Trump doesn't have the support of Iowa's most prominent evangelical leader in Monday's caucuses. But in Iowa and across the country, MAGA pastors are among Trump's most loyal backers.

Why it matters: It's not just that they like the former president for appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn abortion rights.

Some of Trump's most enthusiastic believers are pastors who share his dark view of U.S. politics — or who've touted him as they've risen to prominence on social media.

The Ukrainian people, for the first time, are celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25 this year, as the war-torn country continues to distance itself from Russia and embraces traditions of the West.

The shift marks a further separation from Russia, which celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7. Christmas was moved to Dec. 25 in Ukraine, after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation this summer making Dec. 25 a public holiday.