Posts in History
By ‘Focusing On The Family,’ James Dobson Helped Propel Evangelicals Into Politics

(ANALYSIS) For decades, one name was ubiquitous in American evangelical homes: Focus on the Family. A media empire with millions of listeners and readers, its messages about parenting, marriage and politics seemed to reach every conservative Christian church and school. And one man’s name was nearly synonymous with Focus on the Family: James Dobson.

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From ‘New Jerusalem’ To Lost Shtetl: Inside The Twin Souls Of A Polish Town

The 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”).

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Special Report: Why Egypt Has Rekindled Its War On Atheism

Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports has launched “Youth Against Atheism,” a government program partnering with Al-Azhar, the country’s top Sunni Muslim institution and the Coptic Church to combat what officials call “electronic atheism” spreading through social media platforms. The initiative targets five areas and marks an escalation in state efforts to address the phenomenon.

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Discovering The Untold Story Of India’s Christian Roots

In a country known for its spices, yoga, the Taj Mahal and Hinduism, a movement is taking place to show the world that Christianity came to India as early as the first century CE. Indian Christians believe their history and heritage can be traced back to Saint Thomas the Apostle. 

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Hope, Sacrifice And Resurrection: Why Superman Is Christ In A Cape

(ANALYSIS) This summer’s “Superman” is more than just another superhero movie. James Gunn's latest, starring David Corenswet, offers something different: A return to the character's core — not just as a cultural icon, but as a figure imbued with spiritual and moral gravity. Because Superman has always been religious. Maybe not explicitly, but unmistakably.

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Beyond Brute Strength: A New Look At Samson’s Search For Intimacy

(ANALYSIS) By reevaluating the Samson narrative, readers can move beyond the one-dimensional portrayal of him as an overly masculine brute. His story is not just one of strength but also of longing and deep emotional vulnerability. His riddle may not be a challenge meant to humiliate his enemies, but an expression of personal connection.

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From Roman Holiday To Religious Feast, A History Of An Italian Summer Tradition

The 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.

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80 Years Later: Remembering Nagasaki As Holy Ground

(ESSAY) On Aug. 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb called “Fat Man” on Urakami, Japan, the most Christian suburb of the most Christian city in Japan: Nagasaki. It is the forgotten bomb, the silent bomb. Hiroshima, being the city where the first nuclear bomb, less powerful than the Nagasaki bomb was detonated, is the atomic bombing that all peace movements acclaim: “No more Hiroshimas!”

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Seeing What’s Sacred: Jonathan Anderson On Religion’s Place In Contemporary Art

(REVIEW) “The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art” is a deeply academic tome. Its 480 pages includes an extensive set of endnotes that will no doubt prove invaluable to future scholarship, while its large appendix is itself a significant resource. Yet, with Anderson’s lucid and well-informed writing style, this book will be accessible to a wide audience of readers.

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The Situation In Gaza Requires Urgent International Attention

(ANALYSIS) The situation in Gaza requires urgent attention and response from the international community — to prevent further civilian suffering and death. While some steps have been taken to provide humanitarians assistance, as it stands, the steps appear to be too little and too late to address the current and ever-growing needs of the population.

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Tackling Africa’s Wildlife Crimes From The Religious Front

Religious 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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Yellowstone A ‘Sacred Wonderland’ Of Spiritual Power For Centuries

(ANALYSIS) Nearly five million travelers visit Yellowstone National Park each year, most in the summer months. They come for the geysers, wildlife, scenery and recreational activities such as hiking, fishing and photography. However, few realize that religion has been part of Yellowstone’s appeal throughout the park’s history.

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250 Years Of Faith and Service: Army Chaplain Corps Celebrates Historic Milestone

As the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year, another significant institution hits that milestone this week. The Army Chaplains Corps formed on July 29, 1775, at the behest of the Second Continental Congress and the request of General George Washington. The Navy Chaplains Corps would follow in November of that same year.

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So What If Preachers Endorse Political Candidates?

(ANALYSIS) Unless a federal court challenge succeeds, American clergy are now free to endorse political candidates in sermons during worship. The Internal Revenue Service has just erased the pulpit prohibition that for 71 years was among conditions to obtain federal tax exemption on income and donor gifts.  The impact is tough to predict.

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Vatican Stalls Return Of Stolen Treasures From Former European Colonies

A leading academic who has called for the return of precious artifacts “stolen by Pope Pius XI and his missionaries” from Indigenous First Nations communities has urged Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican Museums to “rethink their colonial mindset.” Gloria Bell said the Vatican continues to falsely “refer to everything” in their collection as a “gift.”

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Bob Dylan, His Jewish Roots And The Reinvention Of An American Icon

(ANALYSIS) In reinventing himself, did Robert Allen Zimmerman — Dylan’s birth name and the grandson of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Jewish immigrants — also betray his Jewish heritage? What was that heritage and how did it shape his music, his worldview, his rise to fame and identity? Harry Freedman explores these questions in his probing book, “Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil.”

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Sacred Boundaries: Navigating Faith and Control in Kyrgyzstan

(ANALYSIS) Strolling through the streets of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, one easily gets the impression of walking through multiple cities at once. 

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‘Queens Of Islam: The Muslim World’s Historic Women Rulers’

(EXCERPT) In “Queens of Islam: The Muslim World’s Historic Women Rulers,” journalist Tom Verde shares stories of 15 Muslim women rulers, dating back to the early Islamic era through the 17th century. The book, published by Olive Branch Press, pushes back on stereotypes about Muslim women as oppressed. Instead, it highlights prominent rulers who influenced Islamic civilization across the Arab world.

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‘I Will Always Be a Jew’: Billy Joel On His Family’s Holocaust History

In the second installment of “And So It Goes,” HBO’s new two-part documentary about Billy Joel, the Piano Man explains why he wore a yellow Star of David in August 2017, during his residency at Madison Square Garden, in his most extensive filmed account of his family’s experience in the Holocaust. “No matter what, I will always be a Jew,” he said.

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