On Jan. 22, pastor Carlos Nzolameso received a call from a member of his congregation who was searching for a roommate. Evaristo Kalonji had not shown up to work. Several congregants also reached out to Nzolameso, concerned that Kalonji, an asylum seeker from Angola, was missing. Nzolameso, who leads Maine’s Rehoboth Christian Church, said Kalonji, is like a son.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Beyond the debate over who is polarized in the U.S., there’s an adjacent, and perhaps more critical, discussion I want to tackle today: What drives polarized views? There is ample reason to think that religiosity impacts views on topics like abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender identity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) You’ve seen the headlines about Iran’s uprising, but there is a deeper story: Two-thirds of the nation’s mosques, 50,000 out of 75,000, have been closed due to declining worship attendance, according to a high-ranking cleric. What does that mean for Iran and for Islam?
Read More“It is painful to see how, especially in the West, the space for genuine freedom of expression is rapidly shrinking," said Leo.
Read MoreFor someone who once appeared on a U.S. black list, Philippa Winkler seems calm, almost proud. Despite the exalted company she keeps, in the eyes of some, this makes her dangerous. The list she ended up on was the notorious S.H.I.T. List (Self-Hating and/or Israel Threatening), maintained by a pro-Israel group.
Read MoreLeaders of Cities Church condemned protestors who disrupted a St. Paul worship service, calling the conduct unlawful and intimidating. Pastor Jonathan Parnell addressed the incident biblically, urging perseverance. The Department of Justice began investigating, while church leaders affirmed their mission and called on authorities to protect religious freedom rights broadly.
Read MoreViolence against Christians has reached an all-time high in 15 countries, with 388 million people facing severe persecution worldwide, Open Doors reported. Nigeria remains the deadliest nation, while Syria saw the largest single-year rise amid instability. Other dangerous parts of the world include North Korea, Somalia and Yemen.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Religious freedom in Hong Kong and Macau seems to be at the mercy of the ruling authoritarian Chinese Communist Party in People's Republic of China. Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that was banned by the People’s Republic of China in 1999, but remained active in Hong Kong and Macau, has been gradually losing its religious freedom.
Read More(OPINION) Days of protest across Iran left hundreds dead as authorities imposed an unprecedented internet blackout to suppress dissent. Social media nevertheless shaped mobilization, documentation and global awareness through diaspora networks and dissident media, revealing escalating demands for regime change through the use of technology.
Read MoreHistory nerds rejoice! An incredibly detailed land-use survey and census from the 1500s, commissioned by none other than Henry VIII, will soon be digitally available to everyone, including genealogists, educators, researchers and community groups, thanks to a new $2 million project. The historic records, published under the title “Valor Ecclesiasticus,” or Value of the Church, were the Tudor equivalent of the Domesday Book.
Read MoreNigeria, Rwanda, China, Mozambique and Mexico were the most dangerous countries for Christians from 2023-2025 in five distinct categories of persecution, Global Christian Relief said in its second annual Red List.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pope Leo XIV used an annual address to Vatican diplomats to warn that global politics had shifted toward militarism and force. Without naming any political leaders, he criticized war, erosion of international law and weakened human rights, positioning the Holy See as a moral counterweight to rising geopolitical tensions in many places around the world.
Read MoreIt is a fraught time to lead a Christian congregation. Church leaders are navigating concerns about President Donald Trump’s second term, ongoing ICE raids, difficult conversations following Charlie Kirk’s murder — and also trying to dodge spiritual and occupational burnout along the way.
Read MoreThe climb to Mar Musa al-Habashi monastery is deliberate and demanding — 340 stone steps wind up a stark, treeless mountain ridge in the Qalamun region. But complete the journey, and you’ll find a community of Muslims and Christians committed to interfaith dialogue and healing their nation.
Read MoreFor many years, Uganda’s churches and affiliated NGOs depended heavily on international financing from the U.S., U.K. and European Union to run feeding programs, support clergy families and build schools and hospitals. Until last year, USAID was a major conduit for American support.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For members of the Religion News Association, this was the kind of dramatic appeal that made the Chicago native the top Religion Newsmaker of 2025. The runner-up was Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who was elected as New York City's first Muslim mayor. The assassinated evangelical activist Charlie Kirk placed third.
Read More“My stories for Religion Unplugged are important because they offer readers a nuanced understanding of a complex region often reduced to simplistic narratives,” Iqbal said. “The website amplifies original, deeply reported stories that reveal how religion has become central to social and political developments.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) There are moments in our national life when a legal controversy reveals something deeper than a dispute over statutes or precedent. It exposes a fracture in our shared moral imagination — a failure to recognize what is sacred to communities whose ways of life do not mirror our own. The struggle for Oak Flat in Arizona's Tonto National Forest is one of those moments.
Read MoreDespite cannabis's central role in Rastafarian worship, adherents face persistent criminalization and face a minimum 10-year prison term for simple possession. Police raids on tabernacles remain routine across Kenya, with officers confiscating plants, destroying drums and sometimes forcibly cutting dreadlocks. Now, adherents are trying to legalize it.
Read MoreOne of Christianity’s last strongholds in the Middle East is rapidly losing Christians, who are fleeing the country after years of wars and economic failures. Pope Leo XIV visited Lebanon earlier this month to encourage the nation’s young Catholics. But local young adults say it could be too little, too late.
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