Broadly, the three nations persistently harass religious communities through surveillance, threats of imprisonment, arbitrary detentions and arrests, control of religious messages including sermons and public attacks. The nations enact laws that unjustly restrict the activities and legal status of religious groups; practice favoritism in attempts to control messaging and deny religious freedom to prisoners.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Students’ sense of religious and spiritual belonging comes from everyday relationships — authentic connections and conversations that faculty and staff can help foster. I believe universities can create an environment where all students, including religious minorities, feel seen, accepted and appreciated.
Read MoreFor more than a decade, Hindu businessman Balwant Rathore and his Muslim partner Mohammad Harun have run their shop together. Then, without warning, they were told to vacate their shop. Blaming “Love Jihad”, a Hindu nationalist leader’s son ordered Muslims to leave the market.
Read MoreHundreds of Christians from various churches in South Africa came together recently to march to the Union Buildings, the seat of the national government, to protest the establishment of a statutory regulatory body that they say is a violation of their right to freedom of religion. It came after the government passed a law regulating the activities of churches.
Read MoreDespite the weather that hinted of the winter to come, nearly 8,000 people streamed inside the Wolverines’ basketball court that had been transformed after Friday night’s game into a “theater-in-the-round” with the stage at center court. Still more people were said to be in a nearby overflow room, and 67 Utah churches live-screened the event.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Mamdani is America’s first high-profile Muslim office-holder. The campaign’s competing accusations of “antisemitism” versus “Islamophobia” raise obvious concerns for Muslims, and for Jews, for whom New York has long been the most important town west of Tel Aviv. Signals are mixed on whether the Mamdani era will improve, or worsen, relations between these communities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A majority of mainline Protestant Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2024. They also supported him in 2020 and 2016. In fact, even during Barack Obama’s landslide election in 2008, the mainline was evenly divided at the ballot box.
Read MoreHis comedic DNA is everywhere. His writers included Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon and Woody Allen. Even so, when author David Margolick interviewed him for his new biography of Sid Caesar, Brooks told him, “People are going to say, ‘Gee, this is really good and really interesting. Just one question, David: Who’s Sid Caesar?’”
Read MoreTheir historic building awaiting sale just a block away, former members of the Central Church of Christ gathered with guests including singer Amy Grant at a downtown campus of Lipscomb University to celebrate what would have been their congregation’s 100th anniversary.
Read MoreIt’s been occupied twice by military forces; it’s been expanded to house Franciscan friars, and these days, it’s part museum, part sacred space. The Church of San Francisco’s building tells the history of its host city, La Paz. Founded in 1549, the church is best known by the name of the founder of the Franciscans, which was one of the first orders to arrive with the Spanish conquerors.
Read MoreLa Basílica y Convento de San Francisco, fundados en el siglo XVI, son un símbolo fundamental de la identidad paceña. Reconstruida tras el colapso de su primera estructura, la actual iglesia barroca mestiza se erigió entre 1743 y 1800. A lo largo de la historia, el complejo fue ocupado por fuerzas independentistas y remodelado varias veces, siendo declarado monumento nacional en 1967.
Read MoreDallas County Judge Emily Tobolowsky has rejected a plea by disgraced pastor Robert Morris, founder of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, to have abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire’s lawsuit dismissed on First Amendment grounds.
Read More(OPINION) Among humanity, the opportunities for offense are endless. But if you don’t want to get trapped in this habit of spreading bile, you don’t have to. Pastor Paul Prather gives practical tips to have more peaceful, loving relationships.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the most talked-about film from the final year of the 20th century, “The Matrix,” a computer hacker named Neo finds that the world he lives and works in isn’t real. It’s a virtual reality, created by artificial intelligence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) OK, so there’s this response option to a single survey question that has intrigued me for a very long time. It’s about religious attendance. Across different surveys, the number of response options can vary. The standard is typically six increments, but others — like the General Social Survey — use eight.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Every fall I anticipate the winter holidays with almost childlike joy. I look forward to familiar traditions with friends and family, eggnog in my coffee, and the sense that everyone is feeling a little lighter and more connected.
Read MoreOnce again, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gathered for debates and votes with serious implications for the current occupant of the White House and his supporters.
Read MoreA group of faith leaders has sent a letter to President Donald Trump thanking him for his recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
Read MoreIn the early 1960s, Ron Bever paid 50 cents — roughly $5.34 in today’s dollars — for an old religious book at an estate sale. A rare books enthusiast, even Bever didn’t realize at first what a treasure he’d acquired.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Carpenter’s Son” is a horror-spun story following Joseph, played by Nicolas Cage, as he tries to raise Jesus. The film claims to ask hard questions about the biblical narrative — but it just ends up merely recapitulating simplistic modern narratives.
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