Fears of AI are not the only things driving public concern about the end of the world. Climate change and pandemic diseases are also well-known threats. Reporting on these challenges and dubbing them a potential “apocalypse” has become common in the media — so common, in fact, that it might go unnoticed, or may simply be written off as hyperbole.
Read MoreThe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2024 report urged the U.S. State Department to add 15 nations to the current list of egregious religious freedom violators, and recommended key policy guidance for the Biden administration. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam should be added to the 12 Countries of Particular Concern.
Read MoreThe Russian military’s need to replenish its ranks for what appears to be a long-term war against Ukraine and its Western allies has resulted in Indian men being lured to Moscow with the promise of work, only to discover that they have been forced to enlist in the army. Russian President Vladimir Putin has even justified the invasion of Ukraine partly as a defense of the Moscow-oriented Orthodox Church.
Read MoreA new survey found 47 percent of U.S. voters believe colleges should ban pro-Palestinian protests, compared to 30 percent who say the demonstrations should be permitted. A slightly smaller number — 41 percent — would ban pro-Israel protests. The vast majority of voters — 76 percent — also said they support colleges asking police to protect campuses from violence.
Read MoreIreland — once a bastion of Catholicism — has become a more secular, pluralistic nation. In the 2022 census, 14% of respondents reported having no religion, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. That’s a rise of nearly 100,000 people since the 2016 census. With more Irish people moving away from organized religion, nonreligious weddings, have become increasingly common.
Read More“Kumbaya,” the Negro spiritual pleading with the Lord to come and bless the oppressed, filled the sanctuary of Parkridge Baptist Church at a prayer service for Haiti. The gathering of pastors cried out to God for help hours after a transitional council began establishing order two months after gangs overtook the capital Port-Au-Prince.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A new report offers another data point in the abiding struggle between Christianity and culture, suggesting further changes ahead if these trends continue. With fewer people consulting the Bible for spiritual growth or guidance in their daily decisions, societal norms once influenced by Scripture are evolving into an array of moral perspectives, many of which are incompatible with its teachings.
Read MoreDaystar University, a Kenyan school whose academic programs started with a certificate course from Wheaton College and later rose to be a leader in the training of communicators in Africa, has been forced to defend its Christian identity after a Muslim member of parliament accused it of discriminatory practices.
Read MoreThe OM Ship, carrying a crew of 350 missionaries from 70 nations, arrived at the Richards Bay’s port in the Eastern Cape in South Africa for their five-month ministry stay earlier this year. They are currently stationed at five South African ports and are expected to complete their work in June.
Read MoreNews about the demonstrations spreading at colleges in the United States has been dominating the headlines here. All of the 21 Israeli Jews we spoke with perceive protesters’ rally cries as attacks on Jews writ large. Most also said, without evidence, that American college kids are being manipulated, if not also paid, by Hamas, Qatar, Iraq or China to undermine Israel and Jews.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There is something different about how sci-fi movies deal with religion and how traditionally “faith-based” films do. And that is, quite obviously, when you think about it, that these movies treat faith like fiction and fantasy, whereas faith-based fiction treats it as fact. It’s the same as how comic books like Superman treat aliens as “real,” but no one would pretend these comics are making any claims about the existence of aliens.
Read MoreNo money, no phones, no school, no medicine — and no questions. This is what life was like in Canaan, the shrine of an African Apostolic faith church on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, where police last month rescued hundreds of people — including more than 250 children — forced to believe they were prepared to depart for heaven.
Read MoreIn several districts of central and southwestern Uganda, places with high levels of poverty, a beacon of hope shines bright these days. It’s The Share the Light Gospel Initiative — led by an American couple, Brian and Mary Kluth through HealthyCharity.org — that’s illuminating lives and brightening the future of hundreds of Christian families.
Read MoreMegachurch pastor John Lindell apologized to his congregation on Sunday for inviting sword-swallower Alex Magala and disgraced pastor Mark Driscoll to the Stronger Men’s Conference two weekends ago in Missouri. The apology follows a week of controversy sparked by Driscoll’s sharp condemnation of Magala’s “strip” act.
Read MoreIslamic extremists waging an insurgency in Mozambique have increasingly targeted Christians and churches in the first three months of this year. As a result, priests and their followers — a total of 100,000 people — have been forced to flee following increased attacks that have left scores of dead and some church buildings destroyed.
Read MoreColumbia University’s president canceled all in-person classes and urged faculty and students who do not live on campus to stay away, after a weekend of anti-Israel protests swelled and included threatening messages to the school’s large Jewish student population. The extraordinary move was announced in an early-morning Monday email.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 23 to May 4, 2024. Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Congress of the XXV World Russian People’s Council, headed by Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, issued a document on March 27 entitled: “The Present and Future of the Russian World.” In the document, the leadership of the XXV World Russian People’s Council describes the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.”
Read MoreChristian ministries are raising concerns about a proposed addition to Department of State regulations that would limit the employment decisions of those accepting foreign assistance. The Accord Network, Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Legal Society and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and others, filed an official comment about the proposed changes.
Read MoreChanging population patterns and crumbling buildings requiring costly repairs have creating a challenging environment for Britain’s network of thousands of churches, many of which date back hundreds of years. It’s a situation that has resulted in a major campaign to save these churches — and increasingly inventive ways of maintaining their existence.
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