religion

Bills proposed by Republican legislators in Missouri include posting the 10 Commandments in classrooms, history lessons that frame religion in a positive light and allowing students to leave school for religious education.

House Bill 2352 adds ordained ministers to a list including social workers, doctors, emergency medical workers and others to the list of those required to report physical, mental or emotional abuse of children.

Abortion is Murder, a Christian group known for protesting with graphic signs, was permitted to protest inside the Kansas Statehouse just a few months after the Satanic Grotto was blocked from doing the same. The group says it is planning a counterprotest.

"We're talking about constitutional rights in someone's dying moments," one advocate said.

Democratic state Rep. Ray Reed introduced legislation that would make grant funding available to houses of worship and LGBTQ community centers for safety improvements. He said the bill is a response to a rise in antisemitism.

Indian Heights United Methodist Church plans to keep replacing its "All Are Welcome" sign, which has been vandalized and stolen multiple times since first going up in 2019.

Popular author and faith leader John Pavlovitz will be in Kansas City next Monday to be the keynote speaker for a Grandparents for Gun Safety forum.

Federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations mandate staff vaccinations for employers that receive funding. But the high court ruled that Katlin Keeran was protected by a 2021 Kansas law making it illegal for employers to question the sincerity of religious beliefs for opting out of vaccines.

The allegation involves Father Richard Storey, who formerly led Curé of Ars, a Catholic Church on Mission Road. Archbishop Shawn McKnight has initiated his own canonical investigation.

United Nation of Islam, a quasi-religious group based in Kansas City, Kansas, was accused of forcing children to endure long, unpaid work days while living in crowded conditions with strict diets. Sentences for the six leaders range from five years of probation to 10 years in prison.

The Arkansas group Return to the Land, which explicitly bans Jews and non-whites from membership, is exploring the idea of expanding into the Springfield area. Both Democratic and Republican legislative leaders from the area spoke out against the plan.

The Satanic Grotto sought a permit at the Kansas Statehouse to protest "Christian favoritism within our state government." State officials say they denied the permit because of safety concerns, after the group's last protest ended with several arrests.