Evan Roberts Locke, middle son of controversial Tennessee preacher Greg Locke, died of a drug overdose on Friday. He was 20 years old. Greg Locke announced his son’s death on social media.
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(ANALYSIS) Liberal democracies promise freedom and prosperity, yet they often struggle to answer a deeper question: What is this freedom for? When shared narratives and moral horizons fade, individuals may experience fragmentation and a loss of meaning. Politics shrinks into technocratic management.
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A retired Baptist pastor is the latest Christian convicted for religious activity in an abortion buffer zone in the United Kingdom, this time for holding a church service on the outskirts of a zone.
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(ANALYSIS) Russell Brand, the erudite Englishman, is scheduled to stand trial in the U.K. on three counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. He has pleaded not guilty to everything. He has also, in the meantime, become a Christian, moved to Florida and now he wants you to buy his book.
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(ANALYSIS) Mother’s Day seems like a strange time to celebrate birth control, which, on its most basic level, is about helping people to not become mothers — or not become mothers again.
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The Israeli thriller “Unconditional” has sparked accusations of “hasbara” before release, but the series proves more complicated than simple propaganda. Following a young Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia, the show explores national image-making, Israeli behavior abroad, and the moral gray zones surrounding identity, war, and public perception.
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Paulo Silas Pereira is preparing for the upcoming World Cup as a broadcaster. In doing so, his focus has shifted from goals and tactics to something far more personal: Telling the story of his life and Christian faith.
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(ANALYSIS) The general admonition is the same in many faith communities: Try to marry someone who shares your faith background. That’s certainly a well-established norm in Jewish communities.
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(ANALYSIS) Mother’s Day in the U.S. now drives about $34 billion in spending, but its founder, Anna Jarvis, envisioned it as a day honoring mothers’ social and moral influence. From ancient traditions to modern activism, mothers have long been seen as protectors and advocates for peace — a legacy often overshadowed today.
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Religious minorities in India are in dire straits, facing persecution, lynching and other violence, according to a U.S. watchdog group. “Every day violence and calls for violence have become routine,” said Stephen J. Rapp, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. “Throughout this grim history, it is seldom that the perpetrators have been held to account.”
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Polls and news coverage explaining the voting habits of “evangelicals” are haunted by the same kinds of questions. Define an “evangelical” voter. Please.
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Far from isolated, this case reflects a growing wave of church thefts across France targeting religious art. Last year, the French Interior Ministry recorded about 538 thefts of religious items — an 11% increase from the year before. People usually steal things like chalices, statues, paintings, relics and other religious items from churches and other places of worship.
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In Zimbabwe, 200 in every 100,000 women die in childbirth — a rate far higher than in many Western countries, and far exceeding international standards. While the focus is always on reducing maternal deaths, some pastors are supporting newly widowed husbands, too.
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(ANALYSIS) The United States is on the verge of being burned again for not seeing the importance of religious belief driving human behavior in global conflicts. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is not defending Iran as a state but its version of Islam as a global religion.
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(ANALYSIS) There is nothing unusual about turning a corner in West Virginia's maze of rough mountain roads and seeing churches with plain white walls and big porches. The new sanctuary at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross — 10 miles of twists and turns into a holler outside the town of Wayne — offers a variation on that vision. Its green-metal roof has domes resembling medieval Russian helmets, topped with golden cupolas and soaring Slavic crosses.
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(ANALYSIS) When he was elected pope last May, Robert Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, greeted the crowd with Christ’s words to his disciples: “Peace be with you.” Peace has become a central theme of the pontificate of the first American pope. In recent months, opposing the war in the Middle East, Leo has said that the “world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”
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Pastor Greg Locke retracted years-old allegations accusing Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and others of abuse, admitting he lacked any evidence. The claims unraveled after scrutiny from apologist Mike Winger, prompting Locke to admit he had been misled and been used as an “amplifier.”
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An Alabama town honors Vietnam veterans during a memorial ceremony, reflecting deep ties between faith and military life in this part of the country. Residents and leaders have increasingly used Christian rhetoric to frame U.S. military actions in the Middle East, drawing both support and criticism over religion’s role in government and war.
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To fully understand Atlanta, you have to look beyond its highways and glass towers, back to the broader history of Georgia and its unusual role during colonial America. In that earlier era, a quiet but consequential force — religious diversity — helped shape a mindset that would eventually contribute to the movement for independence in 1776.
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(ANALYSIS) For those who have been long-time subscribers to this newsletter, you will know that the predominant approach to measuring religion is called “the three B’s.”
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