Press Release: Religion News Association Announces Top 10 Religion Stories of 2025
The historic election of Pope Leo XIV as the first U.S.-born pope, and the repercussions of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on faith communities, dominated the Religion News Association's annual lists of the Top 10 Religion Stories.
The Chicago-born pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was also named the Religion Newsmaker of 2025.
The list is compiled through an annual poll of RNA members and reflects the collective judgment of journalists who cover religion and its impact on society.
Voters chose Leo’s election as the top international religion story.
In a tie for first place among domestic stories, voters chose the reverberations of Leo's election in his native country, along with the immigration crackdown, which has affected worship attendance and drawn criticism from faith leaders, including Leo himself.
The Top 10 poll serves as a snapshot of a moment in time: capturing how religion intersected with politics, culture, conflict, and community life during a pivotal year. Members selected from a ballot in early December. Events happening after that ballot was distributed were not included.
Poll results are as follows:
Top 10 Domestic Religion Stories of 2025
TIE 1. The election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.-born pontiff — sparks celebration among U.S. Catholics, especially in his native Chicago and at his alma mater, Villanova University. He weighs in on U.S. abortion and immigration politics, drawing both praise and criticism.
TIE 1. Trump administration launches sweeping deportations of immigrants lacking legal status and revokes temporary legal status for many. Catholic bishops and other faith-based groups protest and report parishioners avoiding worship for fear of arrest. The administration ends “sanctuary” protections from immigration enforcement in houses of worship.
3. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is assassinated at a Utah campus, sparking debate over political violence and free speech. His wife, Erika, publicly forgives the gunman, whom authorities say had leftist motives. Top officials join tens of thousands in a worship-infused memorial service. Many Black pastors are alienated by praise of Kirk.
4. Zohran Mamdani is elected New York City's first Muslim mayor, spurring pride for U.S. Muslims along with fierce anti-Islamic rhetoric and debate over his anti-Zionism. Many Jewish leaders say Mamdani’s rhetoric and associations are antisemitic. Others, particularly some younger Jews, cheer his progressive and pro-Palestiniance stances.
5. Deadly attacks target faith communities. A gunman and arsonist motivated by anti-Mormon hatred kills four at a Latter-day Saints church in Michigan. A former student kills two children at a Minneapolis Catholic school and injures many more; the assailant “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable,” a prosecutor says. Congregations nationwide reassess security measures.
6. Jewish targets face major attacks allegedly motivated by opposition to Israeli policies: fatal shootings at the Israeli Embassy; a deadly Molotov assault at a Colorado rally; and an arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home. The ADL reports record-high antisemitism; the FBI says Jews remain the most frequent targets of religious hate crimes.
7. Donald Trump returns to the presidency, framing his mandate in religious terms, saying he was “saved by God to make America great again.” He creates a Faith Office, Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, and Religious Liberty Commission, advancing policies and appointments favored by conservative Christians; progressive critics say he is eroding church-state separation.
8. Trump administration freezes most refugee admissions and funding, prompting faith-based networks to cut services. Critics say persecuted refugees face danger. Episcopal refugee service refuses to help resettle white South Africans granted immediate entry ahead of others blocked after years of processing.
9. Progressive faith groups protest Trump administration policies including immigration crackdowns, troop deployments in cities and diversity rollbacks. Black clergy condemn efforts to downplay slavery’s legacy in cultural institutions. President Trump rebuffs Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s plea for mercy toward LGBTQ+ people and migrants.
10. The IRS reinterprets the Johnson Amendment to exempt internal political speech within houses of worship from enforcement, sparking debate over political endorsements by churches.
Top 10 International Religion Stories of 2025
1. Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected the first U.S.-born pope in a historic conclave, taking the name Leo XIV. He also is a citizen of Peru and worked much of his adult life there as a priest and bishop. He maintains many of predecessor Francis’ priorities, including attention to migrants, the poor, the environment, synodality, youth involvement, and outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics.
2. Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88 a day after blessing Easter worshippers, concluding a 12-year papacy in which he charmed many with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change and his relatively tolerant stances toward LGBTQ+ and divorced Catholics.
3. Trump administration cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and AIDS-relief programs reverberate widely across Africa and other regions and prompt outcry from evangelical and liberal charities.
4. A U.S.-brokered Israel–Hamas truce takes effect with partial Israeli troop withdrawals and releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Flare-ups continue. Gaza authorities report over 69,000 deaths in the war, triggered by Hamas’ deadly 2023 attack on Israel. Israel disputes genocide allegations. Several Western nations recognize a Palestinian state.
5. Sarah Mullally is named the next Archbishop of Canterbury — the first woman to be “first among equals” among leaders of the Anglican Communion. She faces challenges over sexual-abuse scandals and the role of LGBTQ+ people. The conservative Global Anglican Future Conference calls for a final break from Canterbury, but it’s unclear how many of its members will concur.
TIE 6. President Donald Trump threatens to halt aid to Nigeria and go in “‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists” after accusing its government of failing to protect Christians. U.S. designates it a “country of particular concern” on religious freedom. Nigeria denies the claim, though it pledges increased anti-terror operations.
TIE 6. Violence escalates against religious minorities in Syria, now governed by a group claiming to have renounced Al Qaeda ties. Alawite, Christian, and Druze communities report deadly attacks, including a church bombing in Damascus that kills at least 25. Monitoring groups warn that Alawite and other minorities are at risk of genocide-level violence.
8. The Pew Research Center reports that Sub-Saharan Africa has become the region with the largest number of Christians, surpassing Europe. Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, but Muslims grew the fastest in the decade ending in 2020, it says.
9. China intensifies a crackdown on underground Protestant churches under the “sinicization” policy – demolishing buildings, removing crosses, and prosecuting clergy. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says China is coercing Muslim, Buddhist and other religious groups to conform to state ideology.
TIE 10. Christian groups mark historic milestones. Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew meet in late November in Turkey to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which originated the most widely accepted creed in Christendom. Anabaptists celebrate the 500th anniversary of their movement’s founding.
TIE 10. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports that Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has “completely eradicated” religious freedom for many faith groups.
Top Religion Newsmakers of 2025
1. Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, who becomes the first U.S.-born pope and who largely continues the late Pope Francis’ priorities, with vocal support for the poor, migrants, synodality, and the environment.
2. Zohran Mamdani, who is elected New York City's first Muslim mayor, spurring pride and hope for U.S. Muslims but mixed reactions among Jewish leaders, some alarmed by his rhetoric on Israel, others cheered his support for Palestinians and progressive policies.
3. Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump, who was assassinated at 31 at a college appearance and mourned as a martyr by top officials and tens of thousands at his memorial, even as many debated his controversial legacy.
4. Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff, who dies at 88, concluding a 12-year papacy in which he charmed many with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change and his relatively tolerant stances toward LGBTQ+ and divorced Catholics.
5. Incoming Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, who is named the first female leader of the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion and faces challenges over sexual-abuse scandals, LGBTQ+ issues, and fractured relations with conservative primates in the Global South.
6. Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington, who publicly asks President Trump at a post-inaugural service to show mercy to LGBTQ+ individuals and migrants and whom the president rebuffs as a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
7. Erika Kirk, who offers forgiveness for the assassin who killed her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at his widely-viewed memorial service and who succeeds her husband as chair of Turning Point USA.
8. Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic convert, who clashes with U.S. bishops over immigration; receives an implicit rebuke from Pope Francis after defending the administration’s immigration crackdown theologically; and publicly voices hope that his wife, Usha, converts from Hinduism to Christianity.
9. Donald Trump, who returns to the presidency saying he feels “the mighty hand of God guiding this movement” and infuses his administration with people and policies favored by conservative Christians.
10. Doug Wilson, co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, who gains visibility with church members like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after long being considered on the evangelical margins for his staunch patriarchal views and his downplaying of Southern slavery.
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Since 1949, Religion News Association has been the premier professional association for people who report on religion in the news media. Its mission is to equip journalists throughout the world with the tools and resources they need to cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight.
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