Religion and Faith

Annual convention unites Muslims from across Minnesota
Around 8,000 people attended this year’s convention, according to organizers. The schedule included lectures with 68 speakers on navigating life with faith, as well as a Quran recital competition and a Muslim singles social event.
As Al Quie is laid to rest, another family remembers enduring bond of faith, friendship
Al Quie was a Minnesota governor and longtime member of Congress. But it was in his role as a church committeeman, a lifetime ago, that he reached out to a stranger — and formed an unexpected family bond that endures to this day.
Native American group to digitize 20,000 archival pages linked to Quaker-run Indian boarding schools
A coalition advocating for Native American people traumatized by an oppressive system of boarding schools for Native youths plans to digitize 20,000 archival pages related to schools in that system that were operated by the Quakers.
Judge rejects Minnesota abuse victims' suit against Vatican
A judge in St. Paul this week rejected a lawsuit that four clergy abuse victims from Minnesota filed against the Vatican. Judge Eric Tostrud ruled that the Vatican is exempt from U.S. lawsuits under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the law’s limited exceptions do not apply in this case.
Pittsburgh synagogue gunman has been sentenced to die in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack
The man who killed 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue was formally sentenced to death Thursday, one day after a jury determined that capital punishment was appropriate for the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
Congregations leave United Methodist Church over defiance of LGBTQ+ bans
The largest mainline Protestant denomination in the U.S. is shrinking due to disputes over LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage. About 20 percent of United Methodist congregations have left in recent years.
Pipestone carvers preserve revered Native spiritual tradition in Minnesota prairie
Under the tall prairie grass outside this southwestern Minnesota town lies a precious seam of dark red pipestone that, for thousands of years, Native Americans have quarried and carved into pipes essential to prayer and communication with the Creator.
In Malaysia, a mom is contesting her kids' conversion to Islam. It's a landmark case
The children were converted by their father after the parents divorced. The case has thrown into sharp relief the ethnic and religious identity markers that form the bedrock of Malaysian policy.