Posts in Human Rights
A Doctor Allegedly Killed Patients: Why Justice Still Eludes Victims’ Families

Many in the African nation of Zimbabwe are continuing to seek justice for their friends killed by Michael Swango, an American serial killer doctor now serving three life terms in a U.S. federal prison for similar crimes he committed on U.S. soil. Despite being imprisoned, families say he’s never been punished for poisonings committed in Zimbabwe during the 1990s.

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Iran’s Christians And The Media’s Religion ‘Blind Spot’

There’s that question again: How can mainstream media cover this story? Do elite journalists want to cover it? Is it cynical to thinkthat this story could, finally, end up on the front page of The New York Times if, and only if, it can be framed as yet another failure linked to Orange Man Bad?

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Kenya’s Marriage Paradox: Polygamy Accepted, Divorce Rejected

In May 2024, a Catholic parish in Kiambu County, near the Kenyan capital Nairobi, made national headlines when it allowed a polygamous man to marry one of his wives in a church ceremony. The marriage ceremony happened while the other wife sat in the pews. The church agreed that Ndachu had to write a will dividing his estate equitably between both families.

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Spain’s Historic Church Sex Abuse Compensation Marks First Step Toward Reparation

After decades of silence, Spain and the Catholic Church have agreed on a compensation deal for victims of clergy sexual abuse. For survivors, it is a long-awaited recognition—but also a reminder that justice remains incomplete.

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Prayer Never Disappeared From Public Schools — But New Laws Could Change Role

(ANALYSIS) For decades after Supreme Court rulings barred school-sponsored prayer and Bible reading, faith remained present in public schools through student-led religious expression and community culture. Now, a series of new state laws mandating displays like the Ten Commandments are testing long-standing church-state boundaries and reigniting debate.

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Iranian Christians Are Leaning Dangerously Into Christian Nationalism

(OPINION) In their legitimate efforts to oppose tyranny, many Iranian Christians are dangerously mixing politics, nationalism and their Christian faith. Christian leaders present Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the best, or even the divinely appointed, option for Iran’s transition and churches are displaying the Iranian flag during worship services.

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9 Church Members Released As China Pursues New Charges Against Leaders

Nine members of Beijing’s Zion Church have been released on bail after more than eight months in detention, while nine remaining church leaders now face more serious criminal charges in one of China’s most closely watched religious freedom cases.

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In India, The Catholic Church Becomes An Unlikely Sanctuary For Trans People

The Chennai office and other programs are carefully presented in the language of human dignity and spiritual accompaniment, not rights advocacy. But the effect, in the current political moment, is inherently political. For trans Catholics who seek out these spaces, carrying both faith and the experience of rejection, the distinction may matter less than the fact of welcome itself.

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How Evangelicals Helped Shape Indigenous Reconciliation In Canada

(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.

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As Talarico Eyes Senate Bid, Religion Becomes A Texas Battleground

(ANALYSIS) Democrats hope Texas state legislator and Presbyterian seminarian James Talarico can win a U.S. Senate seat by appealing to religious voters. Republicans are highlighting his progressive positions on gender, sexuality, abortion, and church-state issues as evidence he is out of step with Texas conservatives.

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Chinese Police Raid Early Rain Covenant Church During Sunday Worship

Authorities in southwestern China launched a large-scale raid against Early Rain Covenant Church during its Sunday worship service on June 14, detaining dozens of believers, according to reports received by ChinaAid and a subsequent church statement.

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Amy Goodman’s Relentless Pursuit of Power, Accountability And Truth

One of America’s greatest and fearless investigative journalists, Amy Goodman, seeks the truth and reports it. Religion Unplugged sat down with her to discuss how her Jewish upbringing and its influences on her career and reporting.

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Religious Freedom Faces Growing Pressures Worldwide

A 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.

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Taiwan Prayer Gathering Highlights Plight Of Chinese Christians

More than 3,000 Christians from multiple countries gathered in person and online on June 9 for a global prayer event supporting believers facing persecution in China, where authorities have intensified pressure on house churches and clergy in recent years.

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How Christians And Muslims Promote Peace In This Nigerian Refugee Camp

Christians and Muslims used to fight over food at this internally displaced refugee camp in Nigeria. Following a key change by the camp’s leadership more than a decade ago, the families now live peacefully, befriending each other, eating meals together and raising their kids as a single community.

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18 Beijing Church Leaders Detained Without Trial In China

Eighteen pastors and church workers, including Senior Pastor Ezra Jin, remain in detention. In an interview with The Free Press published May 11, Jin’s daughter, Grace Jin Drexel, also disclosed previously unreported details of a 2021 incident in which she alleges her father was drugged. 

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The Women Of Faith Who Shaped America

During the American Revolution, women like Abigail Adams asserted moral and spiritual authority despite lacking legal rights. Through religion, household leadership and revival movements, they shaped communities and laid groundwork for later reforms in abolition, education and women’s rights.

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Elderly Christian Among 31 Sentenced In China Church Crackdown

A court in central China, issued verdicts on May 22 against 31 members of a house church fellowship in one of the largest coordinated prosecutions of Christians in recent years.

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Stage Against Hate: A Theater Keeps Jewish Culture Alive Beyond Memory And Myth

In the heart of Budapest lies a theater unlike any other. Founded 20 years ago, Gólem Theater stands as the only professional Jewish theater in Hungary. By blending humor with questions of identity, the theater seeks to engage audiences with a different side of Jewish culture.

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UN Probes Religious Violence in Nigeria: Here’s What They Should Do

(OPINION) An international investigator will visit Nigeria to assess the religious persecution occurring across the country, and there are so many issues that it’s hard to know where she should begin. Will she detail the mass kidnappings that have occurred regularly over the past decade? The religious and tribal fighting? The terrorist organizations wreaking havoc on the country?

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