(ESSAY) As an anthropologist who studies social bonding during times of crisis, I now understand how cultural religious traditions — even when they seem different — can create unexpected connections. Many years after my military service, during the final days of my father’s life, my large family kept vigil beside him. Sitting with my siblings, mother and dozens of nieces and nephews, I told them this story.
Read MoreA new Catholic diocese in Bangladesh is creating a place of hope for people of all faith, especially in the fields of education and health. Bishop Paul Gomes was consecrated this month as the first bishop of the new diocese of Joypurhat in northern Bangladesh, which is largely inhabited by indigenous people. Joypurhat is the ninth Catholic diocese in Bangladesh with more than 24,000 Catholics.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Defense has reopened one of the longest-running religious disputes in American history: Whether members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be considered Christians. The controversy emerged after the Pentagon revised a list of religious affiliations available to military personnel.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Ten years after “Hillbilly Elegy” catapulted its author into public view, JD Vance is publishing a new memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.” The vice president explains the book as a sort of self-help guide for the spiritually lost: “… by sharing my journey I might be helpful to others — Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise — who are seeking reconciliation with God.”
Read MoreYorktown has a landscape layered with meaning. It’s where cannon fire once settled an empire’s fate and the birth of a new nation. It’s also the place where the “Hand of Providence” prevailed.
Read MoreMilan took center stage in new film “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” The movie showcases the city’s most iconic Catholic sites, such as the Duomo, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the church courtyard and convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which houses Leonardo Da Vinci’s mural painting “The Last Supper.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) The trend in Spain is also a reflection of a pan-European phenomenon. According to various surveys such as the European Social Survey, in southern European countries, including Spain, younger generations exhibit less attachment to religious institutions but maintain nuanced and pluralistic spiritual orientations.
Read MoreFemale. Conservative. Young. Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado to lead the Vatican’s communications office stands out for three major reasons.
Read MoreOn Jan. 18, a cell of anti-ICE demonstrators crashed a Sunday service at the Cities Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota. Debates about the legality of this protest have been defined by the Red vs. Blue divide in American politics, which has dominated the Donald Trump era. On the cultural right, this protest was seen as a violation of the First Amendment religious-liberty rights of the worshippers. On the left, efforts to prosecute the activists were seen as a violation of their First Amendment free-speech rights.
Read MoreWhile many Christian colleges face financial challenges and closures, Biola University is expanding by acquiring Phoenix Seminary’s assets and establishing a Phoenix branch of Talbot School of Theology. The move will create one of the nation’s largest interdenominational seminaries and broaden Biola’s regional reach.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Once the cranes disappear, the basilica will cease from being an evolving construction project and instead become something more fixed — a monument subject to preservation battles, increased tourism pressures and the inevitable weight of history. Nonetheless, Pope Leo’s Spain trip, with a stop in Barcelona, represents the fulfillment of decades of hard work.
Read MoreA low-budget movie, cheesy horror that is literally just “The Exorcist” meets “Speed” and whose theology is as thin as a communion wafer. In theory, this can be an opportunity for an actually really fun campy horror experience. Unfortunately, it’s far more interested in stale religious deconstruction than it is in classic scares.
Read More(ANALYSIS) G.K. Chesterton blended humor and philosophy; he turned belief into something wondrous, culturally alive, and fiercely imaginative. The man made God fun. That sounds like a modest achievement until you consider how desperately the task still needs doing, and how spectacularly everyone since has failed at it.
Read MoreWho is AI for and who is it leaving behind? Those were the central questions of Pope Leo’s first encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”). By addressing the challenge and comparing it to the Industrial Revolution, the pope positioned the Catholic Church not as a casual observer of the tech age change, but an active participant in shaping its future.
Read MoreMatthew Peterson speaks with reporter Joseph Maina about how African AI developers are using their skills to in church services and how pastors view the rise of artificial intelligence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It seemed inevitable that the first encyclical from the first American pope, the forward-looking and worldly-wise Leo XIV, would focus on the growing furor over artificial intelligence. The pope’s encyclical comes as the culmination of various articles during recent weeks about the implications of AI on faith, ethics and morals.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The United States is prepared to provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Cuba, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 13. But there’s a catch.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the data from 2024, 57% of white evangelicals were weekly attenders compared to 25% of white Catholics. So not controlling for attendance gives us a much different sample when analyzing evangelicals and Catholics.
Read MoreIn this week’s episode, we tackle Pope Leo’s first encyclical and what it means for AI, politics and, more importantly, Catholic doctrine.
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.
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