(ANALYSIS) The way Hollywood portrays faith is changing because American culture is changing. The growing divide in these portrayals reflects the same growing divide in America. Next year may be when this clash gets its biggest arena — and we will all be watching, popcorn in hand.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With the release of his encyclical letter “Magnifica Humanitas” on May 25, Pope Leo XIV has signaled that he wants the church to respond to artificial intelligence much as a predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, responded to upheavals during the Industrial Revolution over a century ago.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As Muslims gather for the annual pilgrimage of Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, they will circle around the “Kaaba,” a black cube draped in gold-embroidered cloth. A ceremonial textile — known as the “kiswah” — covers the Kaaba, around which Muslims will walk seven times in a ritual known as “tawāf.” It is the central act of the annual pilgrimage.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence poses a profound threat to human dignity, labor and global stability if left unchecked. Calling for strong regulation and ethical oversight, he condemned AI-driven warfare, corporate concentration of power and profit-first development, framing AI as this century’s Industrial Revolution.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Measuring happiness is a real problem for social scientists. It’s an area of intense interest because I think all of us would like to be just a little bit happier. But it all seems pretty subjective and transient at some level, right? Take the often hyped-up “World Happiness Report,” published annually by Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup.
Read More(ANALYSIS) What most people get wrong about the great Dane is that they remember the existential dread and forget the destination.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Thousands of Americans prayed on the National Mall on May 17, during “Rededicate 250”: a day-long rally to “come together in prayer and worship ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday,” as organizers described it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, one of many Republican politicians and conservative Christian leaders to speak, led a prayer to “rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God.”
Read MoreNo one who has followed trends in the powerful world of podcasting was surprised by the headlines following Alex Cooper’s announcement that, after raising eyebrows by getting married to a stud Hollywood producer, she is now happily pregnant. Consider the following background information from the buzzy New York Times story that served as the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When addressing the 2026 graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, country music star Eric Church used words rarely heard in secular campus rites, such as “faith,” “family,” “grace” and “soul.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) If one were to ask 100 informed voters about the types of issues at the center of the Culture War debate, I think that 20 years ago two would clearly be the front runners: Gay marriage and abortion.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many Muslim Americans are fearful following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that left three worshipers dead. Investigators reportedly found hate speech and anti-Islamic writing inside the vehicle of the suspected shooters, who killed themselves soon after the attack.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “Rededicate 250” was billed as a prayer rally celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. But the event on the National Mall also became a revealing snapshot of how faith, politics and national identity are increasingly intertwined during the Trump era.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As July 4, approaches, Americans will be paying more attention than usual to events of 1776: the year the American Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Public historians, including filmmaker Ken Burns, have tried to offer a more inclusive view of the American Revolution, highlighting lesser-known patriots.
Read More(ANALYSIS) From Enheduanna to Plato and Aristotle, ancient thinkers viewed writing as a deeply human act that expresses experience and transforms audiences. AI may generate convincing text, but lacking thought, emotion and lived experience, it may produce something closer to “generwriting” than true writing.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As the United States approaches its 250th birthday this summer, the fight over “Rededicate 250” underscores a deeper question about the future of American democracy: Can a nation that is religiously diverse maintain a shared civic identity without elevating one tradition — in this case Christianity — above all others?
Read More(ANALYSIS) While neither of the “Devil Wears Prada” movies revolve around Christianity, the invocation of the devil taps into an older moral rhetoric. For centuries, fashion was cast as the troublesome, if not villainous, enemy of a pure and spiritual Christianity — a symbol of putting material desires before holy ones. For example, 18th-century cleric and founder of Methodism John Wesley urged his followers to show their faith by dressing “plainly.”
Read MoreThe Big Idea for this podcast? The social-credits system shifted into high gear the year after China, in 2018, launched sweeping new regulations to crush religious activities that lacked formal government approval. Digital technology is at the heart of China’s efforts to control the beliefs of its citizens.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Perhaps even more importantly, the Cherokee Bible offers insight into Cherokee-specific meanings, interpretations of spiritual concepts and a benchmark for understanding how the language has changed. Though the history of the relationship between Christian missionaries and Indigenous people is complex, this historic text is supporting an impressive contemporary wave of cultural renewal.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For centuries, stargazers of many kinds have debated the meaning of unidentified objects in the heavens and encounters with mysterious beings on earth. “Each new discovery, even every new theory, is held at first to have the most wide-reaching theological and philosophical consequences.
Read MoreWhat does a Church's size say about its health? Matthew Peterson speaks with Karl Vaters, author of "De-Sizing the Church" to find out in this week’s podcast.
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