• St. Patrick's Day 2017: Religious Backstory Reflects Slave to Christian Journey

  While St. Patrick's Day is known for green, boisterous revelry, the holiday has a long history that's much more somber. Saint Patrick was born around 387 C.E. in Scotland, Wales or England, and turned to God once he was kidnapped by slave traders and taken to Ireland to be a shepherd.

• Church Congregation Wants to Create Own Police Force in Alabama

  Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Ala., wants to add a service offering no other U.S. church has: Its own police force.

  

• Religious Adoption Protections Based on Faith, Sexual Preferences Enacted by SD Governor

  South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) signed a bill Friday that gives broad legal protections to faith-based, taxpayer-funded agencies whose representatives refuse to place adoptive children in certain households for reasons based on religious beliefs, especially relating to sexual orientation of child-seeking parents.

  

• Compassion International Forced to Leave India Due to Government Intervention

  A major Christian charity, Compassion International, is ceasing aid operations in India, due to government officials there not allowing local teams to accept foreign donations. Government officials claim two of the charity's affiliates have been trying to convert children to Christianity.

  

• Biblical Palace Discovered After ISIS Destroyed Jonah's Tomb

  Archaeologists said they've uncovered a biblical palace in Iraq after Islamic State extremists destroyed what is believed to be the tomb of Jonah, which was built on the palace.