On hills just east of Ramallah is the village of Taybeh. Its population has fallen to 1,200 today, while more than 80% of the town's sons and daughters now live abroad. What sets Taybeh apart from every other village in the West Bank is that all of its residents remain Christian — Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Latin — making it a symbol of a presence that is fading but refusing to disappear.
Read MoreThe Russian Orthodox Church has expanded with striking speed. It is more than just a turf battle over the hearts and minds of local Orthodox priests and laypeople. To some observers, it’s part of a growing, concerning trend of Russia deepening geopolitical ties throughout Africa, and leveraging soft power to remake the continent in its own image.
Read More(ANALYSIS) From polluted rivers to disappearing forests, the modern world bears the scars of human greed. Christians cannot simply point fingers at secular culture or blame industrialization while ignoring our own failures. If we believe the world is God's creation, then neglecting it goes beyond environmental policies.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Kashmir remains one of the world’s most contentious geopolitical flash points. What is overlooked in this coverage is Kashmir’s immense artistic, intellectual and spiritual heritage, one shaped by centuries of interreligious and intercultural exchange.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A leaderless protest movement in New Delhi has evolved into a broader rejection of the divisive politics associated with Hindu nationalism. Sparked by a police crackdown, demonstrators have created an unusually inclusive public space where people of different faiths, castes, genders and backgrounds gather in solidarity.
Read MoreAmid a civil war, the government army finally reclaimed Emelda Vonve’s home city. She could finally go back to her church. She saw the priest. She saw faces she hadn’t seen since before the war. They prayed together, aloud, as a congregation, as they used to. Outside, 15 police cars were waiting to arrest them.
Read MoreFather Vladimiras Seliavko risked everything when he decided to condemn the Russian war against Ukraine. As a result, his parishioners turned into his enemies, his relatives abandoned him and he was branded a traitor. On the other hand, he said it was impossible to be a priest who blesses war criminals.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For Iran’s Baha’i community, the country’s latest political upheaval has revived a painful historical pattern: Whenever the Islamic Republic faces existential pressure, one of its first responses is to intensify its campaign against vulnerable religious minorities. The case of Peyvand Naimi and his cousin Borna Naimi illustrates this dynamic.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A new international Community-Based Truth Commission will examine the failure to deliver justice for Yazidis after the genocide of 2014. Scheduled for hearings in Berlin this year, it will hear survivor testimony and propose pathways to accountability, including universal jurisdiction and possible international tribunal mechanisms.
Read MoreIt’s the conflict that seems to never end — and Americans have shifted their opinions on it. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, a messy war ensued in Gaza. Americans fiercely debated which side, if any, the U.S. should align with. After almost three years of war, researchers have been able to gauge how American sentiments about Israel, Palestine and Hamas have changed over time.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A culture that laughs off the parting of the Red Sea will nod along when a man declares himself a woman. A culture that calls the Jesus’ resurrection absurd will assure you civilization can thrive after dismantling family, faith and biology. Walking on water is preposterous. Walking away from every inherited moral guardrail is sophisticated.
Read MoreThe Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, proved to be just the first bloodletting in a renewed cycle of violence and recrimination. Israel responded with its destructive campaign in Gaza. Far from the theater of war, American Jews reckoned with renewed fears of antisemitism and fractures within their own communities and families.
Read MoreThe Iran war has triggered several instances of unity among Sunnis and Shiites — two major Muslim groups that have historically been at odds. Young people lead the displays of solidarity, finding a common cause in the wake of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As Canada marks National Indigenous Peoples Day, the often-overlooked partnership between evangelicals and Indigenous leaders deserves recognition. From Elijah Harper’s Sacred Assembly to ongoing reconciliation efforts, Canadian evangelicals have helped advance healing, Indigenous rights and renewed relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Read More(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 Pew Research Center study found religious hostilities increased sharply around the world in 2023, driven by harassment of religious minorities and fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. Government restrictions on religion remained near record highs, an issue affecting billions of people across dozens of countries.
Read MoreFollowing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death in a US-Israeli strike and the renewed Israel-Iran conflict, Nigeria's Islamic Movement mobilized nationwide protests, reflecting deep ideological and spiritual ties to Iran while raising concerns among authorities about security, sectarian tensions and regional stability.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A delegation of 12 Buddhist monks recently walked across Sri Lanka along with their adopted dog Aloka. People of all faiths in Sri Lanka, who have witnessed riots and bloodbaths in the past decade, welcomed them. Apart from Buddhist monks, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders joined the U.S.-based delegation during their week-long peace walk across the island nation.
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 MoreThe St. Paul city attorney declined to file state charges against protesters who disrupted a Southern Baptist church service in January, citing insufficient evidence. Pastor Jonathan Parnell and legal advocates criticized the decision as a failure to protect religious freedom.
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