2+ week, 6+ day ago (1466+ words) A new type of Christianity - more militant, more political - is on the rise. But some in the Church of England claim this is a "corruption" of their faith. Data and forensics correspondent @chesh Monday 10 November 2025 12:28, UK Bishop Ceirion Dewar rejects the Church of England as heretics. Instead, he gathers his flock under a gloomy sky on a beach in Cornwall. More than 20 people answered the call he made on social media - one wears a T-shirt saying Jesus is King. Another wears a Union Jack anorak with a T-shirt emblazoned "UTK" - Unite the Kingdom - the movement organised by anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson. Wearing a white robe over a wetsuit, Dewar strides down the beach and prepares for a mass baptism. His voice booms out: "In the name of Jesus Christ, I gladly baptise you!" Critics call Dewar "the far-right bishop" - a…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (582+ words) The UK's highest court upheld an appeal and reinstated an earlier court ruling that the teaching of RE and collective worship in the country breaches human rights, as it does not approach the subject in an "objective, critical and pluralist manner". Wednesday 19 November 2025 17:09, UK Religious education (RE) in schools in Northern Ireland does not comply with human rights standards and is unlawful, the UK Supreme Court has ruled. The UK's highest court upheld an appeal brought by a pupil at a school in Belfast and her father. It reinstated an earlier court ruling that the teaching of RE and collective worship in the country breaches human rights, as it does not approach the subject in an "objective, critical and pluralist manner". The pupil, known as JR87, took part in non-denominational Christian religious education and collective worship at a controlled primary school…...

3+ day, 57+ min ago (549+ words) Pope Leo lands in the capital Ankara to begin a three-day visit before heading to Lebanon on Sunday. His visit comes at a crucial time in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Middle East tensions. Thursday 27 November 2025 14:28, UK Pope Leo has arrived in Turkey on his first foreign visit since his inauguration in May. The pontiff wants to use the trip to push for world peace. His visit comes at a crucial time in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Middle East tensions. Ankara has hosted rounds of low-level talks between Russia and Ukraine and has offered to take part in the stabilisation force in Gaza to help uphold the fragile ceasefire. Leo landed in the capital city on Thursday afternoon ahead of a meeting with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he began a…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (1492+ words) A new type of Christianity - more militant, more political - is on the rise. But some in the Church of England claim this is a "corruption" of their faith. Data and forensics correspondent @chesh Monday 10 November 2025 04:59, UK Bishop Ceirion Dewar rejects the Church of England as heretics. Instead, he gathers his flock under a gloomy sky on a beach in Cornwall. More than 20 people answered the call he made on social media - one wears a T-shirt saying Jesus is King. Another wears a Union Jack anorak with a T-shirt emblazoned "UTK" - Unite the Kingdom - the movement organised by anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson. Wearing a white robe over a wetsuit, Dewar strides down the beach and prepares for a mass baptism. His voice booms out: "In the name of Jesus Christ, I gladly baptise you!" Critics call Dewar "the far-right bishop" - a…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago (511+ words) Pope Leo's visit to the 17th-century Ottoman-era mosque marked part of his first overseas visit as head of the Catholic Church. He will travel to Lebanon on Sunday. Saturday 29 November 2025 12:07, UK The Pope has visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque during a day spent meeting both Muslim and Christian leaders. Pope Leo joined the imam at the 17th-century Ottoman-era mosque, officially called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The trip marked part of the third day of his first overseas visit as head of the Catholic Church. From Turkey, he will travel to Lebanon on Sunday. After the mosque visit, Leo held a private meeting with Turkey's Christian leaders at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem. While the Vatican had said Leo would observe a "brief minute of silent prayer" at the Blue Mosque, the imam said the Pope declined. Speaking to reporters…...

2+ week, 4+ hour ago (421+ words) Dozens of Hollywood stars - including Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Greta Gerwig, among others - were invited to an audience with the Pope at the Vatican. Sunday 16 November 2025 03:57, UK The Pope met with film stars and directors at a special Vatican audience to celebrate cinema. Welcoming dozens of Hollywood icons - including Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Greta Gerwig, among others - to an audience hall, Leo XIV called film "a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all". The Vatican's culture ministry organised the occasion as part of its efforts to reach out to the secular world. "When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges," the Pope, who was elected earlier this year after the death of Pope Francis, told those in attendance. "It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes…...

2+ week, 4+ hour ago (421+ words) Dozens of Hollywood stars - including Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Greta Gerwig, among others - were invited to an audience with the Pope at the Vatican. Sunday 16 November 2025 06:07, UK The Pope met with film stars and directors at a special Vatican audience to celebrate cinema. Welcoming dozens of Hollywood icons - including Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Greta Gerwig, among others - to an audience hall, Leo XIV called film "a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all". The Vatican's culture ministry organised the occasion as part of its efforts to reach out to the secular world. "When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges," the Pope, who was elected earlier this year after the death of Pope Francis, told those in attendance. "It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (209+ words) Despite having a maximum capacity of 3,000, the crowd at the temple swelled to around 25,000 on Saturday, on one of Hinduism's sacred days. Saturday 1 November 2025 13:09, UK Nine people have died in a crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in southern India, authorities have said. Dozens of others were injured in the crush at the Swamy Venkateswara Temple, where thousands of devotees had gathered to mark a sacred day in the Hindu calendar. According to an initial investigation, an iron grille meant to maintain the queue of worshippers at the temple broke, leading to an uncontrolled surge of people, a senior police officer said. Senior local government official Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said more casualties were feared. "Initially, we had reports of seven deaths, but two more people have succumbed to their injuries, while the condition of two others is critical," he…...