Africa
(ANALYSIS) Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. State Department determined the atrocities in Darfur as amounting to genocide. The statement refers to the atrocities following the conflict unleashed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.
In one Kenyan church, most of the congregants were deaf, as were the choristers and choirmaster. The singing was muted — only lips moved, while bodies swayed with swan-like grace — while hands waved to the delightful rhythm of the drum beats. Even the minister, the Rev. George Obonyo, is deaf.
Africa, with more Christians than any other continent, has in Nigeria the deadliest nation for believers at the hands of Islamic terrorists and suffers persistently high violence in a dozen countries in its sub-Saharan region. Add to that the civil war in Sudan that has created the largest displacement crisis in the world, as well as lingering civil wars elsewhere, and it’s no wonder that an additional 15 million Christians are suffering high levels of persecution.
The rise in land disputes involving religious institutions in Uganda has triggered a trend of demolishing of churches and mosques throughout the country, raising religious freedom concerns over safety regarding places of worship. The issue has become a major problem across the country, a trend that has intensified over the last four years.
Global Christian Relief (GCR), the watchdog group launched in 2023 when Open Doors USA reorganized, has released its first persecution report, citing top five countries persecuting Christians in select categories. The 2025 GCR Red List is marketed as a “first-ever quantifiable and verifiable index” of incidents in five key areas.
Zimbabwe has many religious shrines which had been visited over the decades, but the emergence of prophets in Pentecostal churches has led to the surge of such pilgrimages. At the same time, the government has acknowledged that religious tourism plays a crucial role in the growth of the travel sector, contributing immensely to the national economy.
Christian persecution intensified in 2024 in Nicaragua, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and regions throughout Africa’s Sahel region, ICC said in a new report, citing increased government hostility in Nicaragua, Hindu nationalism and anti-conversion laws in India and terrorism and displacement in Africa.
(ANALYSIS) No text ever written can compare with the impact of the Nicene Creed in this way: Whenever the world’s two billion-plus Christians gather for their regular Communion services, most recite these ancient words to define their core beliefs affirmed across the centuries, in a multitude of nations and languages, in churches that may differ on many other matters.
The route pushes cyclists to their limits. They face unrelenting desert heat, rugged terrain, crowded highways, brutal headwinds and sheer exhaustion that comes from cycling for days in such extreme conditions. It is a route that was first conquered by the H&K Cycle Club riders in 2022 — and despite the knowledge of the extreme challenge involved they now go back every year.
It may be the start of a new year, but many of the same issues and concerns will dominate the news cycle in 2025. From Pope Francis’ health from the erosion of religious freedom in many parts of the globe to the moral implications that come with the widespread use of AI, here’s what to watch for in the new year.
(ANALYSIS) Almost two decades ago, the reigning editor of The New York Times admitted, during a speech to the National College Media Association, that the world’s most influential journalism cathedral had changed one of its core doctrines.
Churches across Zimbabwe of various denominations climb mountains to seek God and find spiritual uplifting. Most pilgrims frequently pray for the mountains all night long, or they climb early in the morning and remain until the evening. The Domboshava Mountains see a flurry of activity, mostly on weekends.
Growing up, Catholic priest Jack Yali watched his parents consume plenty of alcohol. This experience later formed part of his interest in drinking, which he eventually started consuming at age 15. He soon became an alcoholic. He eventually made it his mission to get better — and to help others.
A dispute between members of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN) and the Global Methodist Church (GMC) escalated to violence Sunday, resulting in three fatalities.
As Ruto’s regime enters a new year struggling to win public acceptance, it is clear that the voice of the Catholic bishops is back and their political clout will increasingly reverberate in the corridors of power.. “A culture of lies is swiftly replacing integrity and respect in government,” said Bishop Dominic Kimengich of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, adding, “Kenyans deserve better!”
While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (based on several factors) held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of 10, the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government religious restrictions rose to 59, which accounts for 30% of the 198 countries and territories Pew Research Center studied.
(ANALYSIS) Technology, AI and social media have been developed for the common good, to make our lives easier, one way or another. However, they can also be abused — and this is precisely what we have seen across contemporary cases of genocide.
Christians in Nigeria plan to celebrate Christmas amid fear of a repeat of violence that claimed at least 160 lives in Nigeria’s Middle Belt at Christmastime in 2023 and dozens in northern Nigeria during the holidays in 2022, international religious liberty advocates reported.
Despite this grim reality, church leaders in this nation of 2.3 million are not just in denial about this social crisis — but are also in denial about being in denial, leaving the desperately depressed with no one to give them the much-needed message of hope. Talking about suicide is taboo in many African societies and that includes Lesotho.
(ANALYSIS) It’s crucial for readers to understand that while Islamic radicals have killed Christian believers by the thousands, they also attack and murder Muslims who do not share their warped version of Islam. This includes persecuting Muslims who dare to assist organizations — such as the Red Cross — that seek peace in the midst of Nigeria’s ongoing civil strife.
Animals such as cows, sheep and goats play different roles in the traditional culture and religion of millions of South Africans. Nonetheless, there is growing controversy regarding how different faiths handle animal sacrifice.
Ethiopia’s Amhara region, located in the north near Sudan, has benefited from measures that included pairing community medical workers with religious leaders on community health drives. Ethiopian Orthodox priests are respected for their collaboration with health organizations to spread awareness and immunization campaigns.
(ANALYSIS) An estimated 18 million Americans are invested in cryptocurrency, according to the Federal Reserve. And the United States just elected a pro-crypto president. But is cryptocurrency a good ethical investment?
(ANALYSIS) The creative economy is about translating the inspiration of culture and ideas into high-value businesses and enterprises. For billions of people around the world their faith is a big source of inspiration and creativity. Artificial intelligence will be a major disruptor of our economy. It will also allow many people to join the ranks of the creative economy like never before. In essence, faith has a role to play in the unfurling of the next chapter in humanity’s economic story.
(ANALYSIS) In 2023, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes were documented in 35 European countries. This included 232 personal attacks, such as harassment, threats and physical violence. At least 2,000 Christian places of worship were damaged. Attacks took place throughout the continent, including Germany, the United Kingdom and especially France.
(REVIEW) In 2018, Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appeared on the East African nation’s political scene almost from nowhere. Claiming to be responding to an assignment by God, the young Pentecostal Christian promised democratic salvation and national unity to a hopelessly divided nation.
“He loved them to the end.” While this Biblical verse found in John 13:1 is in reference to Jesus, it also sums up the life of John Bradburne, the British-born missionary martyred in Zimbabwe more than four decades ago that many are hopeful will become the country’s first Catholic saint.
Freedom of religion or belief, a right that speaks to something so deep-seated in each of us that it practically defines what it is to be human, is under attack in many parts of the world. Repressive laws, exclusion, deportation, imprisonment and out-and-out genocide threaten the liberty of far too many religious communities in far too many places.
(ANALYSIS) The absence of religious “safety nets” in schools has been blamed for the growth in juvenile delinquency across Zimbabwe. Parents and communities are becoming aware of the vacuum caused by the absence of faith-based activities in schools as a result of drug addiction and other crimes. Christians, it should be noted, have been impacted by this more than any other religious group.
In November, Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that starting this month, churches in the country would be expected to pay taxes. The announcement caused apprehension among religious leaders, prompting the country’s tax agency, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, to clarify that the new tax would apply only to churches’ trading income, not tithes and offerings.