“American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story” — a new feature-length documentary narrated by actor Martin Sheen — premieres in theaters Aug. 25 and 26 in English and Aug. 27 in Spanish. An Oklahoma farm boy who grew up to become a priest, Rother spent 13 years as a missionary to Guatemala. He died in 1981 at age 46 when three masked assassins entered his rectory during that Central American nation’s civil war.
Read MoreAbout 25 years ago, I wrote two columns examining the Church of Rome’s priest shortage — through the eyes of faithful mothers, with the help of a priest who had led a seminary. The headline: “Fathers, mothers & Catholic sons.” I was reminded of themes from those columns during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read MoreFor thousands of years, the Jews have walked. Dispatched by God to the promised land of Canaan, Abraham walked. When the Israelites became a nation in the desert, they camped, kvetched, warred, and worshiped, but mostly walked. And on Shabbat, when the Torah forbids riding horses, carriages, trains or cars, observant Jews have walked — but not anymore.
Read More(ANALYSIS) (ANALYSIS) The Iranian government seized control of the historic St. Peter Evangelical Church earlier this month in Tehran, despite repeated warnings from U.N. human rights experts and international Christian organizations, revealing a broader pattern of violence against religious minorities in Iran.
Read MoreIn the digital age, one blunt way to reach Pope Leo XIV is to write a candid letter and post it online. That's what Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, an auxiliary bishop in the Netherlands, did recently. “Holy Father,” he began, with “reverence for the office entrusted to you as successor of Saint Peter, and in communion with the Church which Christ built upon the apostles, I address you with this open letter. I don't do so lightly.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nepal underwent major political upheaval just a year ago, toppling the government in a fashion few could have imagined. An even more dramatic development followed. Voters handed a near-supermajority to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which was founded only four years earlier. Its senior leader, Balendra Shah, became the youngest prime minister in Nepal’s history.
Read More(ANALYSIS) News from around the world gives little hope for the prospects of addressing violence based on religion or belief — nations need to act now in accordance with UN policies to ensure everyone has freedom of religion.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of an infamous terror attack: The 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. On that Sunday morning, members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, planted dynamite on the east side of the brown brick building. The bomb went off in the midst of Sunday school, at 10:22 a.m., murdering four girls.
Read MoreA 2012 mission trip to the Amazon inspired Christopher Beth to found The Bucket Ministry, providing water filters worldwide while sharing the Gospel. The ministry has since expanded globally, completing major projects like Kibera, Kenya, and combining clean-water access with evangelism, discipleship, transparency, and measurable impact.
Read More(ANALYSIS) India’s religious diversity has deep historical roots, reflected in the experiences of Hindu soldier Sitaram Pande and Muslim poet Mirza Ghalib. Their writings portray sacred landscapes shaped by multiple traditions while revealing identities that crossed religious boundaries, challenging contemporary claims that religious purity justifies anti-minority rhetoric or violence.
Read MoreThe falling birth rate across many parts of the world has become an issue that is leading educational institutions around the world to analyze its impact on enrollment. In the United States, some schools have closed their doors because they don’t have enough students. In Latin America, the “demographic cliff” is becoming just as severe.
Read MoreAlmost 4 in 5 pastors (78%) and 9 in 10 churchgoers (91%) believe their church is multigenerational, with a good number of active members from all generations, according to Lifeway Research.
Read MoreOn this week's podcast, anthropologist Susannah Crockford explains why she believes part of the root of climate change may be buried deep inside of evangelical Christianity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Religion in the United States “works” differently for Asian Americans compared to African Americans. The average white American doesn’t think about religion the same way, or practice their faith in the same patterns, as Hispanic Americans. Race is a central component of how religion operates in the American context.
Read MoreThe sale comes 14 months after Buss sold the Lakers to Mark Walter, the head of a private equity firm and a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walter, who bought the team at a $10 billion valuation, is currently facing federal and SEC investigations into insurance companies tied to his broader business operations.
Read MoreAfter 11 seasons, PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery!” series “Grantchester” has come to an end. For more than a decade, viewers returned to the quiet village of Cambridgeshire to watch an unlikely crime-solving duo: Anglican vicars and Det. Inspector George “Geordie” Keating.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Today, amid Japan’s shrinking population and anti-immigrant sentiment, it might be jarring to remember that there once were hopes that the island nation would be the anti-colonial leader of the world’s Muslims and that some of Asia’s Muslims dreamed of an “Islamic Republic of Japan.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Our family’s love of baseball has taken us from the Oakland A’s to the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners. Along the way, baseball cards featuring Vance Law and Mark Grace sparked a powerful gospel illustration: God’s law exposes our sin, while His grace brings redemption through Jesus.
Read More(REVIEW) There’s something about priests solving murders in small towns that people love. A long-running series in this genre that’s just ended is “Grantchester.” The series follows young, good-looking vicars in the fictional sleepy British town who partner with a local lawman to solve murder cases.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I often think of religious traditions as a styrofoam cup. Each of them has a different level of water in them at any given time. However, that volume of water never stays fixed for long, because religious groups operate in a volatile environment with constant pressure to rise or fall.
Read More
