North America

Episcopalians own the cathedral of D.C. culture  Thus, journalists embedded in Beltway life applauded Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde.

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.

(OPINION) I have one bit of advice for all those people fuming over Elon Musk’s hand gestures: Stop. I know it’s tough to resist the temptation to go into full outrage mode over the apparent Nazi gesture Musk made during an Inauguration Day speech at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena. A lot of energy has gone into parsing Musk’s gesture, and attacking those who don’t see it your way.

Shrinking church attendance. Closing congregations. Minister shortages. Post-COVID upheaval. All those factors contributed to the strong interest in the dialogue organized by Heritage21, which partners with churches to — as the ministry puts it — “renew, repurpose and replant God’s kingdom in these challenging times.”

A Lifeway Research study of U.S. Protestant pastors finds few hold or teach beliefs connected to the prosperity gospel, the theological movement that teaches God wants to make followers materially wealthy and will do so if individuals hold certain beliefs or perform specific actions.

(ANALYSIS) While many critics accuse the Babylon Bee of spreading political misinformation — the website's motto is “Fake News You Can Trust” — controversies about its work usually center on clashes between religious doctrines and powerful trends in modern life, such as the sexual revolution.

In the late 1950s, a young man named James O. Maxwell enrolled at Southwestern Christian College in Terrell, Texas. Maxwell’s time at Southwestern — the only historically Black higher education institution associated with Churches of Christ — changed his life, and he became one of the fellowship’s most influential ministers.

(ANALYSIS) Luce, the anime-inspired official mascot for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee, whose name means “light” in Italian, has been getting a lot of attention on social media. Some people love the cartoon and find her “cute,” but a few others consider her “unsuitable” and even “repugnant.”

The King’s College — the four-year evangelical school in New York City forced to shut its doors to students in 2023 under a mountain of debt — is seeking to resume operations in an effort to “create a significant center for Christian higher learning.” The school temporarily closed in 2023 following a budget shortfall. The search for a partner has been a fruitless one for King’s in the past.

According to Landon Schott, lead pastor of the adjacent Mercy Culture megachurch, the Oakhurst neighborhood is inhabited by people he believes to be “witches” and “warlocks” who are putting up “insane demonic resistance” to the work of God.

As Ramadan approaches, the prayers of Kashmir’s people resonate more deeply than ever. They pray for peace, not just for themselves, but for a future where their children can live without fear. These prayers are imbued with the hope that one day, the beauty of their homeland will no longer be overshadowed by its pain. Until that day comes, their faith remains a beacon of hope in a land of unyielding beauty and resilience, a testament to the enduring spirit of a people determined to find peace amid the chaos.

President Donald Trump has halted for at least 90 days a refugee admissions program that resettled 100,000 individuals fleeing persecution in fiscal year 2024, including nearly 30,000 Christians. By an executive order Monday, Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests” of the nation.

(ANALYSIS) Imagine attending a funeral where the person who has died speaks directly to you, answering your questions and sharing memories. This happened at the funeral of Marina Smith, a Holocaust educator who died in 2022.

In Israel after the 1967 War, Tamar’s sister-in-law, Hadas, is killed in a terror attack. In reality, Hadas was dating a Palestinian man, Daoud — a taboo in wartime Israel — and her death was a crime of passion. In the book, only Tamar knows the truth, and she keeps it a secret. Tamar immigrates to the U.S. with her husband and kids. When Tamar’s teenage daughter falls in love with the son of a Palestinian family, Tamar fears that history will repeat.

Dallas-based Gateway Church has announced its interim pastors are staying on while the search for an executive pastor continues. Pastors Max Lucado and Joakim Lundqvist first joined the church as temporary teaching pastors at the church in July 2024 after decades-old child sex abuse allegations became public, The Roys Report (TRR) previously reported.

(REVIEW) The Baroque painter Francisco de Zurbarán is celebrated today as one of the greatest masters of the Spanish Golden Age. His many paintings of friars, nuns and saints for the churches and religious orders earned him the sobriquet “painter of monks.” A favorite subject was Saint Francis of Assisi and nearly 50 paintings of the 13th-century friar by Zurbarán or his assistants are known to have survived.

In a day punctuated by prayer and references to God, Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday as the 47th president of the United States. “I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump said in his inaugural speech, alluding to the failed assassination attempt against him last July during a Pennsylvania rally.

(OPINION) Some of historian Tom Holland’s insights are surprising, including his contention that modern developments — including the transgender rights movement and a recent spike in atheism — probably wouldn’t exist were it not for the West’s Christian philosophical and moral foundations.

Christians in Iran were sentenced to a combined total of over 250 years in prison last year — a sixfold increase compared to 2023, according to a new report. In all, 96 Christians were sentenced to a combined 263 years behind bars in 2024. That’s compared to 22 Christians sentenced to 43½ years in 2023.

American churches are finding new ways to adapt and rebuild after facing crises like political polarization, the pandemic and even natural disasters. While some congregations struggle to stay afloat, others are embracing diversity, tough conversations and community engagement in an effort to become more resilient in the age of Trump.

(ANALYSIS) MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to end racial discrimination and economic injustice — to build the “beloved community,” as he often said. But King does not fully explain the phrase’s meaning in his sermons and writings.

(ANALYSIS) Italy expects 35 million pilgrims to visit Rome during the Catholic Church’s current “Holy Year” or “Jubilee” that runs through January 6, 2026. In modern times, Holy Years usually occur in 25-year intervals, though Pope Francis called an “extraordinary” one in 2015 and has announced a 2033 Jubilee to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the redemption won in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

(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.

(ANALYSIS) The date was October 4, 1997, and the MSNBC producers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., had a problem. Actually, they had several problems. The main problem was that the million or so Promise Keepers men (D.C. crowd estimates were already a highly politicized affair) gathered for the Stand in the Gap rally keep singing, praying, reading their Bibles, listening to sermons and confessing their sins.

(REVIEW) “Brave the Dark” is easily the best movie the faith-based film industry has released about the struggles of young men. It’s by far the best Angel Studios movie to date. There’s a major gender shift happening in American Christianity. Church pews have largely been filled by women, even as the pulpits were dominated by men. Women are abandoning church and men are starting to flock to it.

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.

(ANALYSIS) Israel and Hamas’ new ceasefire deal promises to bring much-needed relief to the region after 15 months of brutal conflict. But a series of uncertainties continues to loom large. Many pivotal questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will determine whether this ceasefire is a genuine step towards lasting peace or merely a temporary reprieve.

(REVIEW) Born to Jewish parents who converted to Catholicism, Tamara Rosa Hurwitz married prominent lawyer Tadeusz Łempicki and adopted the feminine version of his last name, Łempicka. They lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, until the Russian Revolution of 1917 forced them to flee the country. The couple moved to Paris, where Łempicka studied under Maurice Denis and André Lhote, both important figures of cubism and fauvism.