In just a few days, crowds are expected to descend on Washington for an explicitly Christian event, celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary. Later this month, many churches will swap hymns for patriotic songs and dress their sanctuary in American flags, mingling patriotism and Christianity. When do these patriotic actions cross over into Christian Nationalism?
Read MoreThe Big Idea for this podcast? The social-credits system shifted into high gear the year after China, in 2018, launched sweeping new regulations to crush religious activities that lacked formal government approval. Digital technology is at the heart of China’s efforts to control the beliefs of its citizens.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court has stayed a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals nationwide ban on mail-order abortion pills, the main mode of pregnancy termination in the U.S.
Read MoreEvery now and then, a current event comes along that waves a red flag at the mainstream media — warning editors and reporters that there is no way around the religious content in this story. What kind of red flag?
Read MoreIn a ballroom surrounded by fellow Godbeat pros, our columnist immediately thought this when he learned of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting: There’ll be a religion angle. Why? There always is.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Trump claimed the White House Correspondents Dinner attacker “hated Christians,” but reporting indicates the suspect was a believer whose manifesto drew on Christian theology. The discrepancy highlights how Trump’s framing may serve broader political goals, particularly unifying a divided conservative Christian base around perceived religious persecution.
Read MoreThe pursuit of virtue and liberty ought to be at the center of American policymaking. What’s changed — especially among conservative lawmakers — in recent years? Matthew Peterson interviewed Stephanie Slade, senior editor of Reason magazine and author of the upcoming book “Fusionism” to find out.
Read MoreIn writings, Cole Tomas Allen thanked his church and argued that his attempt to assassinate Trump administration officials was compatible with his faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the central stories of that work is that white Christianity has become noticeably more conservative. That’s not just the case in white evangelicalism (which most people know about), but it’s also true among white Catholics. It has become increasingly the case that to be white and Christian is to support the Republican Party.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Muslim Americans can often feel helpless in combating the hate they experience – more awareness and advocacy could reduce Islamophobia and address the mental health needs of an already vulnerable community. As the war with Iran continues, these issues will continue to persist among America’s Muslim community.
Read More(ANALYSIS) American religion has rarely, if ever, seen anything quite like these past weeks. Start with President Donald Trump’s profane Easter Sunday message to Iran. Making matters worse, the president then took on Pope Leo, saying the pontiff is a “very liberal person” who is “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.”
Read MoreFood pantries often include a mobile component that delivers food to those in the community who can’t reach them. With the increased price of fuel, MinistryWatch reached out to Christian food pantry ministries to see how rising costs are affecting them.
Read MoreIt’s hard to discuss a war in the Middle East without mentioning religion, especially when the main players are Israel, Iran and the United States. Apparently, the most important word in this drama is not “nuclear” or “oil” -- it’s “fundamentalism.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) For many people, Trump’s rant against the pope was shocking. But conflicts between popes and rulers are not an aberration; they’re a durable feature of Western history. Whenever political leaders cloak power in sacred language, or religious leaders publicly denounce political violence, they reenact debates that stretch back more than a millennium.
Read MoreThe clash between Trump and Pope Leo highlights the conflict between political power and moral authority amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. The pope condemns violence and rejects religious justification, emphasizing dignity and restraint. Trump counters by politicizing the pope, framing criticism as opposition.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a big electoral upset, Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power — rejecting the authoritarian policies and the right-wing movement he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger. Orban, in conceding defeat, told supporters: “The responsibility and opportunity to govern were not given to us.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a world in which the Vatican has only soft power, the pope’s decrees carry only as much power as they are given. But however soft the pope’s power may be, that surreal Vatican visit to the Pentagon suggests that even the best-armed military in the world is afraid of it.
Read MoreBaptists in Lebanon are suffering the escalation of Israel’s war with Hezbollah, as the war zone has expanded to include areas surrounding Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) and the Beirut Baptist School, both founded by Southern Baptists.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the midst of a civil war, married couple Ernesto and Linda Fuentes fled their home country of El Salvador and headed for Philadelphia, via Mexico, in November 1983. Ernesto was an activist who dispensed food and medicine in Salvadoran refugee camps. Linda was a union organizer for banks and clothing factories.
Read MoreProtestant pastors overwhelmingly view legal immigration as beneficial and support increasing or maintaining it. Most favor combining stronger border security with a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants. While divided on deportation levels, pastors prioritize removing violent offenders and emphasize family unity and human dignity.
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