Najim Laachraoui used skills that could have provided a bright future to build the bombs that, the authorities say, were used in the attacks in Paris and Brussels.

Source: Radicalization of a Promising Student Turned Bomb Maker in Brussels - The New York Times

The law allows businesses, residents and government officials to refuse marriage-related services to same-sex couples if doing so would violate a "sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

Source: Mississippi Governor Signs Controversial Religious Liberty Law : NPR

The trooper, a 14-year veteran, had asked drivers about church and whether they had been “saved.”

Source: Indiana State Trooper Is Fired for Proselytizing During Traffic Stops - The New York Times

A Mississippi bill that would allow congregants to carry a concealed firearm into a place of worship is about to become law. Some congregations believe the measure will bolster security. Others worry it could bring more anxiety.

Source: Mississippi Residents Divided Over Guns In Churches Law : NPR

Princeton High School has contended with a flood of scrutiny since a blog post revealed that students had played a game called “Jews vs. Nazis.”

Source: ‘Racist’ Drinking Game Causes Uproar at High School in New Jersey - The New York Times

“I look at crime or violence as a violation of relationships. Some people are harmed, some people do that harm. So the role of restorative justice is to repair, as best we can, those relationships” says Father Dave Kelly. He directs the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation on Chicago’s South Side, a center that offers support to survivors of gun violence. More →

Source: Stemming Chicago Gun Violence | April 7, 2016 | Religion...

Tennessee’s legislature voted to honor the Bible — like the smallmouth bass and the tomato before it — as a state symbol.

Source: Bible Could Soon Be Tennessee’s Official Book - The New York Times

The pope asked priests to welcome single parents, unmarried couples and gay people, lamenting the “severe stress” of modern families.

Source: Francis’ Message Calls on Church to Be Inclusive

Three branches of Christianity are undertaking a $3.4 million renovation of the shrine holding Jesus’ tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Source: Risk of Collapse at Jesus’ Tomb Unites Rival Christians - The New York Times

“We Little Sisters of the Poor are a group of women who made religious vows to God. Now we find ourselves in a situation where the government is requiring us to make changes in our religious health care plan to include services that really violate our deepest held religious beliefs as Little Sisters,” says Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, Mother Provincial of the Little Sisters of the Poor. But Gretchen Borchelt, vice president for reproductive rights and health at the National Women’s Law Center, says, “Women deserve insurance coverage for birth control  no matter  where they work...

In The Relevance of Religion: How Faithful People Can Change Politics, former Missouri senator John Danforth, an Episcopal priest, explores how an over-emphasis on religion has changed the tone of American politics and whether religious values can help to mend a badly fractured political system. More →

Source: John Danforth on Religion and Politics | March 30, 2016 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

A Filipino devotee was nailed to a cross for the 30th time in an annual Good Friday ritual, which he dedicated to peace in Belgium and other countries targeted by Islamic extremists.

Source: Filipino Devotee Crucified In Annual Ritual — For The 30th Time : The Two-Way : NPR

She was a popular and influential host on the Eternal Word Television Network, where she criticized liberalizing trends in the Catholic Church.

Source: Mother Mary Angelica, Who Founded Catholic TV Network, Dies at 92 - The New York Times

Easter becomes “a very thin, generic festival,” says author Rev. Fleming Rutledge, without “looking into the grave and then saying we rejoice with the risen Christ.” Only then, she says, can flowers “give us the gladness that comes with the unrepeatable quality of the resurrection.” More →

Source: Easter Flowers | March 25, 2016 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS

“Sometimes the pain that’s resident in the community—it can be overwhelming,” says Rev. David Watkins III, pastor of Greater Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. “However, part of the hope of the gospel is that even in the midst of despair, you always have a way out…This community should be better off because as a church we are in it.” More →

Source: Chicago Gun Violence | March 30, 2016 | Religion...