(ANALYSIS) European lawmakers have criticized Serbia’s use of force against anti-government protesters. But the Serbian Orthodox Church — representing 85 percent of this Baltic country’s population — has been largely urged the student protestors to “go back to their classes” and not protest.
Read MoreIn the early 2000s, women were more regular churchgoers than men, and according to researchers, it is unclear whether this new shift “is a story of women stepping back or men stepping up.”
Read More(REVIEW) The information we have about the role of women in ancient Christianity is limited. Among the male disciples, only two prominent figures stand out: Mary and Mary Magdalene. Overall, women’s participation in church leadership has been restricted, and the appointment of women as priests and ecclesiastical leaders remains a controversial issue to this today.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The announcement that Bishop Sarah Mullally will become the next Archbishop of Canterbury marks an extraordinary milestone in the Church of England’s long and complex history — but also sets the stage for a challenging chapter ahead. Her appointment is as symbolic as it is strategic. It comes at a moment when the church is navigating both internal turmoil and a shifting role in British public life.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The deadly attack at a synagogue in northern England on Yom Kippur — the holiest and most solemn day of the Jewish calendar — has cast a long shadow over the safety and security of Jewish communities in Britain and beyond. The 10/7 attacks and their aftermath have exacerbated an already volatile environment.
Read More(REVIEW) “Triumph of the Heart” is a rare movie that leans into the parts of the Christian walk we often like to talk about but not experience. In doing so, it shows us the beauty of standing up against evil. If one can take the constant drumbeat of pain and look past some of its repetitiveness and hagiographical weaknesses, one will be rewarded by having one’s heart drawn closer to God.
Read MoreIt’s not just modern, but historic art also plays a role in this rebirth. In 2024, Winchester Cathedral collaborated with the National Gallery on a groundbreaking immersive exhibition centered around a 16th century masterpiece by Flemish artist Jan Gossaert. It marked the first time the National Gallery undertook a touring digital facsimile exhibition. Churches, however, have long been involved in art.
Read MoreAfter 40-plus years on the Godbeat, let me offer this observation: It’s extremely difficult to write about ancient, complex, often mysterious religious beliefs and doctrines in language that is both accurate and easily understandable in the mainstream media.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Leo Tolstoy spent half a century avoiding arguably the most essential truth of them all: Everything comes to an end. If that’s true, which it is, what’s the point? He’d conquered every peak the world could name. “War and Peace” made him immortal. “Anna Karenina” made him rich. Critics worshipped him in tongues he didn’t even speak. Russian aristocrats name-dropped him like Scripture.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One thing I consider part of my job as a columnist is pointing you to opinions that are better-expressed and more revelatory that what I’d normally produce on my own. That’s the case here.
Read More(ANALYSIS) History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis — the 15-year-old tech prodigy known as “God’s Influencer” — the first Millennial saint. Before 80,000 pilgrims, many of them young families and digital natives, this wasn’t just a canonization. It was a prophetic moment for the Catholic Church as it grapples with its place in the 21st century.
Read MoreA new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals.
Read MoreChurches of Christ in Albania sponsor their own basketball league, Rebound. The Tirana team is about half Roma. They named themselves “Wings of Eagles” after Isaiah 40:31. Fushë Krujë also has a team, though some of its members joined before learning to dribble. They dubbed themselves “The Sons of Thunder,” the nicknames of apostles James and John in Mark 3:17.
Read MoreThe church was lifted onto a custom-built trailer and transported over two days as part of a larger project to relocate the Arctic city of Kiruna to safer ground due to the expansion of the world's largest underground iron ore mine. The recent move attracted some 10,000 people — many of whom had traveled to Kiruna to see the 113-year-old wooden church move to its new location.
Read MoreThe Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse are helping Christians persecuted for their faith in the United Kingdom through a legal defense fund of more than $1.2 million.
Read MoreThe Vistula, Poland’s longest river, snakes 650 miles north from the Tatras Mountains past Krakow and Warsaw to the Gulf of Gdańsk, where it empties into the Baltic Sea. Upstream from the capital, the river flows past Góra Kalwaria, a place the country’s Catholics revere as Nowa Jerozolima (or “New Jerusalem”).
Read More(ANALYSIS) A young J.R.R. Tolkien wrote: “The fume of the burning, and the steam of the fair fountains of Gondolin withering in the flame of the dragons of the north, fell upon the vale of Tumladen in mournful mists.” The battlefields were “cold and terrible.”
Read MoreThe roots of Ferragosto date back over 2,000 years to ancient Rome. The name itself is derived from the Latin phrase Feriae Augusti, meaning “Festivals of Augustus” — a holiday instituted in 18 BCE by Emperor Augustus. It later became a Christian holiday and is celebrated throughout Italy to this day.
Read MoreYou wouldn’t usually think of going to a pub for a church service — especially for a baptism — but this is all in a day’s work for the Rev. Ben Woodfield. He has been holding services at The Mosley Arms for three years when parishioner Mike McGarry asked to reaffirm the promises made at his childhood baptism. The reverend simply arranged a time and date and brought along a portable baptistery.
Read MoreReligious demand for wildlife products can be just as relentless as demand for items used in traditional medicine, status symbols or investments. From African elephant ivory carved into crucifixes for Catholics to Islamic prayer beads and Coptic crosses to amulets and carvings for Buddhists and Taoists in Thailand, the list is very long.
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