Mark A. Kellner
Articles by Mark A. Kellner
Parole can’t be revoked for refusing faith-based rehab, federal court rules
A federal appeals court has ruled that parole cannot be revoked for a Colorado felon who refused to participate in a rehabilitation program that has a religious component. Published August 9, 2021
Christian member of Finnish Parliament faces prison for questioning support of gay pride parade
A member of Finland's Parliament is facing two years in prison for tweeting a message questioning the alignment of her church with a gay pride parade and for other statements expressing what she said is the Bible's view on homosexuality. Published August 6, 2021
Religious households give more support to charities than secular ones, study finds
Religious households are more generous than secular ones when they donate money to charity, but they are less likely to give anything at all, a new study has found. Published August 4, 2021
Maryland to review state contracts with Unilever over Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israel
Maryland officials said they will review whether the state has any contracts with Ben & Jerry's and its parent company, Unilever, and "respond accordingly" over the ice cream maker's decision not to sell its products in Israeli-controlled West Bank settlements. Published August 3, 2021
Fredericksburg church asks Supreme Court for property-tax relief after city rejection
A Presbyterian church in Fredericksburg, Virginia, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to overturn a Virginia Circuit Court ruling denying property tax relief on housing used by the congregation's campus ministers. Published August 2, 2021
Maine evangelical church asks Supreme Court to block delta-related COVID-19 restrictions
An evangelical church in Maine has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block any return of the state's COVID-19 restrictions on worship gatherings. Published August 2, 2021
Biden nominates first Muslim to religious freedom post; Holocaust scholar as anti-Semitism envoy
President Biden on Friday announced his intention to nominate four people to religious freedom posts, including the first Muslim to serve in one of the top roles; a noted Holocaust scholar as a special envoy on anti-Semitism; an openly gay Jewish cleric, and a Muslim immigrant who famously clashed with former President Donald Trump. Published July 30, 2021
![From left, Jehovah’s Witnesses members Vilen Avanesov, Alkesandr Parkov, and Vilen’s son Arsen Avanesov attend a hearing involving their case in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. On July 29, a court sentenced the men to terms ranging from six years to six and one-half years, following more than two years of pretrial detention. [Photo courtesy of Jehovah’s Witnesses]](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2021/07/29/210715_%D0%90%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B_%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%B2_%D1%81%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B5_c0-107-1280-853_s652x380.jpeg?9fd21d4650ecf971c7fa538550a4f74c4d7e721d)
Russian court sentences Jehovah’s Witnesses to six years in jail
A Russian court sentenced three Jehovah's Witnesses to as much as six and a half years in prison Thursday for religious "extremism," a spokesman for the religious group said. Published July 29, 2021
Ex-Cardinal McCarrick charged with sexually assaulting teen
Former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Wellesley, Massachusetts, court documents show. Published July 29, 2021
Colorado web designer plans Supreme Court appeal to decline same-sex wedding clients
A Colorado web designer is taking her challenge of the state's anti-discrimination law to the U.S. Supreme Court, now that a federal appellate court has rejected her lawsuit claiming religious liberty in denying service to same-sex wedding couples. Published July 29, 2021
Friendly persuasion: Religious push raises COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, survey says
America's religious communities have played an important role in upping acceptance of vaccines designed to thwart COVID-19, a survey released Wednesday morning revealed. Published July 27, 2021
Local radio station named a ‘Best Christian Workplace’
For the second year in a row, WGTS-FM 91.9, a nonprofit radio station in Rockville, Md., is one of the nation's "Best Christian Workplaces," an organization announced Tuesday. Published July 27, 2021
Help wanted: police chaplains
Pastor Claudio Consuegra wants to replicate himself, and quickly. A Seventh-day Adventist minister, he's the lead chaplain for the Prince George's County Police Department and he wants to boost the current ranks of chaplains from five to 17. Published July 27, 2021
Former Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming dies following a bicycle accident
Former Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming died Monday "surrounded by his family" at a hospital in Loveland, Colorado, following a Friday night bicycle accident in Gillette, Wyoming, and a medical evacuation flight for additional treatment. He was 77. Published July 27, 2021
Former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer assaulted, robbed in California
Former Sen. Barbara Boxer, 80, was assaulted and robbed of her cellular phone in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland, her office announced via Twitter. Published July 26, 2021
City accused of hostility to religion for barring Catholic vendors from farmers market
A Michigan family farmer will enter U.S. District Court on Tuesday hoping to gain a place to sell produce at the farmers market in East Lansing after the city stripped him of that spot over his religious opposition to gay marriage. Published July 26, 2021
Recently retired GOP Sen. Mike Enzi hospitalized after bike wreck
Former U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, 77, Wyoming Republican, has been hospitalized in Loveland, Colorado, following a July 23 bicycle accident in Gillette, Wyoming, and a medical evacuation flight for additional treatment. Published July 26, 2021
![A holographic image of the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Jr. appears to float above the platform at City Impact Church near Auckland, New Zealand, on July 4. The speaker recorded the sermon in California using technology that made the image look three-dimensional when projected. [Photo: The K Company]](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2021/07/24/Rodriguez_Hologram_c0-0-1200-699_s652x380.jpeg?72b4cf14cde6689fb239d57b1e17d117920a397e)
Sermon via hologram? California preacher ‘visits’ Auckland congregation using ‘teleportation’ video
The last time the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Jr., pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, spoke on the platform at City Impact Church near Auckland, New Zealand, he wasn't really there. Published July 24, 2021
![Cedar Park Assembly of God, a church in Kirkland, Washington, will get to argue its case against a Washington state law requiring them to provide abortion coverage if the Pentecostal church's health insurance covers maternity services. [ADF photo]](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2021/07/22/CedarParkChurch_0_c134-0-3840-2160_s652x380.jpeg?13cf091c4230891cd07b50a8f8e396baee096afb)
Cedar Park Assembly of God gets win from 9th Circuit in case on abortion coverage
An Assemblies of God congregation near Seattle is one step closer to being released from a Washington state law requirement that its employee health-insurance plans cover abortion if they also offer maternity care. Published July 22, 2021
Pa. Supreme Court nixes lawsuits over decades-old attacks by priests
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a woman who said she was sexually abused by a Catholic priest cannot seek damages decades later. Published July 21, 2021
