(RNS) — The 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the 17-day athletic love-fest kicking off to the beat of the Korean janggu drum in Pyeongchang on Friday (Feb. 9), are a secular endeavor featuring more fanfare than faith, more spectacle than spirit. But it was not always so. The Olympics — both the long-gone ancient version and the modern version unspooling this month — have deep religious and spiritual roots, which, some scholars say, are in jeopardy as every host city tries to go bigger, better and more memorable than the last. “The Olympic Games is theinternational sports event because of the diversity of the sports, the number of faiths represented, the number of countries participating,” said Anthony Moretti, an associate professor of communication at Robert Morris University who has written about the Olympic Games as a form of civic religion. “But there is nothing spiritual about Coca-Cola, there is nothing spiritual about Dow” or other sponsors of the modern Olympics, which … [Read more...]

Speaking to @donnacsr, who heads @EIETweets, at the #NationalPrayerBreakfast in Washington this morning. She's been attending the event since 1988. pic.twitter.com/Tx6wBoCGJr — Religion News Service (@RNS) February 8, 2018 WASHINGTON (RNS) — In his second appearance at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump steered clear of partisan politics and focused on his belief in the country’s dependence on God. “America’s a nation of believers and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer,” the president said in his 14-minute speech that emphasized connections between religion and government. The 66th annual event, which drew more than 3,600 people to the Washington Hilton on Thursday (Feb. 8), was a time for prayer, speeches and networking between religious and political leaders from scores of countries. Guests at the breakfast of quiche, bagels and fruit salad included the presidents of Guatemala, Kosovo and Latvia. Trump cited mentions of God in the … [Read more...]

HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily halted deportation proceedings against Indonesian Christians who are in the U.S. illegally but are seeking to gain legal status, including a man honored for his work helping to rebuild more than 200 homes after Superstorm Sandy. The order Friday was issued by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and applies to Indonesians who have orders of removal dating to before 2009. The order affects roughly 50 people in New Jersey who had identified themselves to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2009 as part of a program to obtain work authorization and stays of deportation, according to the ACLU and Seth Kaper-Dale, co-pastor of a church where some of the immigrants sought sanctuary. The lawsuit came after several enforcement actions by immigration authorities in New Jersey that targeted Indonesian Christians and rekindled fears in a community that … [Read more...]

(RNS) — As the Super Bowl nears and football fans head to Minneapolis, dozens of homeless people who usually spend the night at a church across the street from the stadium will sleep under a different roof for a few days. Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregants are preparing meals for shelter residents. And a multicultural array of Minnesotans are raising money for emergency rent assistance to help prevent others from joining their ranks. Long before the kickoff on Sunday (Feb. 4), religious leaders brainstormed ways to ease the impact of America’s most-watched sports event on some of the area’s most vulnerable people. The Rev. Dan Collison, who pastors First Covenant Church across the street from U.S. Bank Stadium, said local organizers contacted him four years ago about partnering on plans if their Super Bowl bid succeeded. In January, his church’s facilities have been used to train thousands of Super Bowl staff and volunteers and tents have filled its parking … [Read more...]

(RNS) The names Echol Cole and Robert Walker are far less familiar than the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But it was the labor action over harsh working conditions triggered by the deaths of the two African-American sanitation workers that prompted the civil rights leader to travel to Memphis, Tenn., where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. On Thursday (Feb. 1), faith leaders joined political and labor officials to mark the anniversary of the 1968 deaths of Cole and Walker, who both had taken cover from a rainstorm inside their garbage truck when its compactor malfunctioned and they were crushed. The city did not give their families enough money to cover their funeral expenses. Their deaths led to a protest in which local strikers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees carried “I Am a Man” signs. King joined their cause, visiting the city twice for it, and commended the many clergy who had become involved in it when he preached his “I’ve Been … [Read more...]