While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (based on several factors) held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of 10, the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government religious restrictions rose to 59, which accounts for 30% of the 198 countries and territories Pew Research Center studied.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Dec. 5, 2024, Amnesty International, a nongovernmental organization, published a new report analyzing the situation of Palestinians in Gaza. The report, “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman,” finds that the atrocities perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide.
Read MoreTen Catholic priests and a seminarian were murdered during the six-year term of former Mexican President López Obrador that ended Sept. 30, the Catholic Multimedia Center said in its 2024 annual report.
Read MoreFaith leaders called on President Joe Biden on Monday to commute all federal death row sentences before President-elect Donald Trump, who supports capital punishment, takes office next month. The group — which includes Black pastors, Catholics, former corrections officials, civil rights advocates, current and former prosecutors — reflects bipartisan concern about the use of capital punishment.
Read MoreLine of Fire radio program host Michael Brown has agreed to a third-party investigation after allegations of sexual impropriety surfaced this week. He acknowledged a “lack of judgment,” but denied any sexual misconduct.
Read More(OPINION) A thorough analysis of the autopsy reports for the 10 Kuki-Zo “village volunteers” killed in Manipur during an alleged gunbattle with the Central Reserve Police Force suggests that the young men were shot from behind or from multiple directions and at close range. Some of them also sustained injuries that cannot solely be attributed to gunfire.
Read MoreThe autopsy reports reveal that each of the deceased sustained multiple gunshot wounds from behind. This pattern of injury indicates that the young men were either fleeing or not directly engaging at the time they were fatally shot.
Read MoreA former student who suffered severe injuries at Asbury University in Kentucky last year has filed a lawsuit for negligence, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Isabella Willingham was found unconscious in her room in November 2023 with cuts, bruises and other injuries.
Read MoreAnimals such as cows, sheep and goats play different roles in the traditional culture and religion of millions of South Africans. Nonetheless, there is growing controversy regarding how different faiths handle animal sacrifice.
Read MoreAfter MinistryWatch published an article about the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the administrative commission (AC) of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies filed additional charges and an indictment against Pastor Nate Devlin and the Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church session (or board of elders). The trial could result in punishment ranging from admonition to excommunication.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Now, thanks to a brave young Yazidi woman, Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad, the struggle to reestablish life after years of enslavement is brought to the surface, with a documentary from director Hasan Oswald and executive producer Emma Thompson.
Read MoreMembers of the small Jewish community in Amsterdam confronted the city’s deputy mayor Friday morning, demanding answers for its failure to prevent violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans the night before that international Jewish organizations and leaders condemned as a pogrom. Videos showed men running through the streets beating Israelis and shooting fireworks at them.
Read MoreDonald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris and returning to the White House for the second time following his unexpected victory in 2016. The win marked an unlikely political comeback for Trump. Faith voters were a big reason why Trump and the GOP dominated the 2024 election cycle.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation last year that agents — acting on behalf of the Indian government — were connected to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver sent relations between the nations spiraling. A year later, the rift has grown worse.
Read MoreThe site of the deadliest church shooting in the nation no longer stands, as First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs moved forward this week with a 2021 decision to demolish its former sanctuary. Church members voted 69-35 to demolish the Texas sanctuary after a gunman killed 25 there in November 2017, including a pregnant woman, and injured 20 others before killing himself.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Riots have erupted across the United Kingdom over the past week as far-right groups launched attacks against hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques. A heavy security presence on Wednesday and a series of arrests across Britain has prevented a repeat of widespread rioting involving racist attacks targeting Muslims and other migrants that started late last month.
Read More(REVIEW) “Sing Sing” — the latest film from celebrated independent film studio A24 — tells the story of Divine G, imprisoned at a maximum security prison (Sing Sing) for a crime he didn't commit. He finds purpose by acting in a theater group alongside other incarcerated men. The film is based on the book, “The Sing Sing Follies,” which tells the true story of Divine G and the theater program he founded while incarcerated.
Read MoreAccording to the 2023 Annual Church Profile, most Southern Baptist congregations, like New Vision, use background checks for volunteers. Fewer, however, say they have been trained in reporting sexual abuse or caring for sexual abuse survivors.
Read MoreThe Vatican on Friday excommunicated the outspoken Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, its former ambassador to Washington, finding him guilty of promoting schism after repeatedly questioning Pope Francis’ authority. The Italian prelate had in recent years become one of Francis’ harshest critics.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When members of the Society of Jesus gather at Borgo Santo Spirito, their headquarters near the Vatican, they worship surrounded by the relics of Jesuit saints and works of sacred art. This includes the work of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, who the Jesuits expelled last year after investigations into allegations he sexually and emotionally abused up to 30 women in religious orders. The Vatican had excommunicated the priest in 2020, but quickly withdrew that judgment.
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