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State Sen. Doug Mastriano, Republican gubernatorial candidate, stands as the national anthem is sung during a campaign event at the Deja Vu Social Club in Philadelphia, Pa., Friday, Sept., 30, 2022. In one of the most closely watched races in one of the most contested battleground states, both candidates for governor in Pennsylvania bring religion into their campaigns. (Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)

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In Pa. governor's race, faith surfaces in contrasting ways
By PETER SMITH - Associated Press
Thu,10/27/22-7:56AM , 474 Reads
CARMICHAELS, Pa. (AP) — In one of the most closely watched races in one of the most contested of battleground states, both gubernatorial candidates bring up religion. But in starkly different ways.
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Rev. Chris Morgan leads his congregation at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. The church has a diverse congregation with most leaning toward the center. In regional gatherings across the country this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination primarily over debates over sexuality and theology. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

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United Methodists are breaking up in a slow-motion schism
By PETER SMITH - Associated Press
Mon,10/10/22-10:02AM , 314 Reads
United Methodists have for generations been a mainstay of the American religious landscape — one of the most geographically widespread of the major Protestant denominations, their steeples visible on urban streets, in county seats and along country roads, their ethos marked by a firm yet quiet faith, simple worship and earnest social service.
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LGBTQ-friendly church OK with getting Southern Baptist boot
By PETER SMITH - Associated Press
Tue,09/27/22-9:29AM , 423 Reads
When her teenage daughter came out as a lesbian several years ago, one of the first things Caroline Joyce did was to Google, “Can you be gay and be a Christian?”

The family was attending a conservative Southern Baptist church in the Greensboro, North Carolina, area that considered homosexual activity to be sinful.
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A cross and Bible sculpture stand outside the Southern Baptist Convention headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., May 24, 2022. On Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, the Southern Baptists' top administrative body voted to cut ties with two congregations: an LGBTQ-friendly church in North Carolina that had itself quit the denomination decades earlier and a New Jersey congregation it cited for “alleged discriminatory behavior.” (AP Photo/Holly Meyer, File)

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Southern Baptists cut ties with LGBTQ-friendly church
By PETER SMITH - Associated Press
Tue,09/20/22-5:28PM , 463 Reads
The Southern Baptist Convention's top administrative body voted to cut ties with two congregations on Tuesday — an LGBTQ-friendly church in North Carolina that had itself quit the denomination decades ago and a New Jersey congregation it cited for “alleged discriminatory behavior.”
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