HILDALE, Utah — The tea tasted bitter and earthy, but Lorenzo Gonzales drank it anyway. On that night in remote Utah, he was hoping for a life-changing experience, which is how he found himself inside a tent with two dozen others waiting for the psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca to...
Church Vandalism Exposes Divisions Over Faith and Politics
WASHINGTON — Vandalism at four downtown Washington churches after rallies in support of President Donald Trump is exposing rifts among people of faith as the nation confronts bitter post-election political divisions. Among the damaged houses of worship were two historically Black churches where people ripped down Black Lives Matter banners,...
California, Minnesota Churches Sue to Challenge COVID-19 Restrictions
Churches in California and Minnesota, backed by a conservative legal group, filed lawsuits this week against the governors of their states challenging restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak that they contend are violations of religious liberty. They’re the latest in a long series of legal challenges, many of them...
California Lays Out Pandemic Rules for Church Reopenings
LOS ANGELES — Rabbi Shalom Rubanowitz looks forward to reopening his synagogue doors — if his congregation can balance the laws of God and California during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the state released a framework that will permit counties to allow in-person worship services. They include limiting worshipers to...