(ANALYSIS) Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion and Harvard University's Human Flourishing Program, along with Gallup and the Center for Open Science, released on Wednesday the first findings of their ongoing worldwide survey examining what makes for human flourishing.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the United States, April is designated as Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month and is aimed at commemorating and raising awareness about genocides that occurred in the past, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.
Read MoreEl escritor peruano Mario Vargas Llosa, laureado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 2010, falleció en Lima el 13 de abril. Críticos y seguidores han dedicado los últimos días y semanas a analizar la obra y el legado de este renombrado intelectual, político, novelista y ensayista —considerado por muchos como una de las figuras más importantes de la literatura mundial contemporánea.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature, died in Lima on April 13. His critics and followers have spent the last few days and weeks analyzing the work and legacy of this renowned intellectual, politician, novelist and essayist — arguably one of the most important figures in contemporary world literature. Vargas Llosa is often regarded as the last of the great writers from the Latin American “Boom of the 1960s.”
Read MorePolitical and religious leaders from around the world offered condolences and tributes following the death of Pope Francis on Monday. The White House’s official X account posted two photos of the pope, one with President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, and the other with Vice President J.D. Vance, with a caption that read: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis.”
Read MoreAs always, the annual U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report focused on trends in nations known for bitter religious conflicts and the persecution of religious minorities, including Christians. The list of offenders of “particular concern” included China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and others. The commission pushed to add Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam to that list.
Read MoreMany stopped attending churches in January when the sensitive locations limitations were lifted on ICE arrests — impacting churches and schools. But the end of the humanitarian parole program, and the Temporary Protected Status program in August, will together inflict a multilayered wound upon churches, families and Gospel witness.
Read MoreConditions in Afghanistan and India continued to deteriorate and remained poor in Nigeria and Vietnam, USCIRF commissioners said March 25 in its 2025 Report on International Religious Freedom, calling out countries where Christian minorities face murder, torture and other ills either sanctioned by the government or with little governmental intervention.
Read MoreIn many countries around the world, a fifth or more of adults have left the religious group in which they were raised. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced large losses from this “religious switching,” while rising numbers of adults have opted to have no affiliation, according to Pew Research Center surveys of nearly 80,000 people across 36 countries.
Read MoreA medida que se acerca el Ramadán, una comunidad sufí en Chile enfrenta los desafíos de prepararse para el ayuno en un país no musulmán. Chile, de mayoría católica, sabe poco sobre el Ramadán, el mes sagrado en el calendario lunar islámico en el que los musulmanes ayunan desde antes del amanecer hasta la puesta del sol. También se abstienen de relaciones sexuales durante el ayuno y evitan maldecir, pelear o discutir.
Read MoreAs Ramadan approaches, a Sufi community in Chile is grappling with the challenges of preparing for fasting in a non-Muslim country. Catholic-majority Chile knows little about Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic lunar calendar in which Muslims fast just before sunrise until the setting of the sun. They also abstain from sexual relations during the fast and avoid cursing, fighting or arguing.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump is calling for federal prosecutors to push for the death penalty in capital cases involving undocumented people. The move was one of dozens of executive orders the president signed on day one of his second term. The order encourages the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty and prioritizes two sets of cases: Those involving the murder of a law enforcement officer and those for crimes for which the death penalty is an option and the defendant is undocumented.
Read MoreWinning souls for Christ in Nicaragua was tough, but in a country where faith is almost an assumption, church membership and attendance doesn’t seem to be a priority, said minister César Gadea. Now, the church they planted is planting new churches. Some surveys refer to the South American nation as one of the most religious in the world.
Read MoreThe loss of a rule that prevented officials from entering churches to arrest immigrants accused of being in the U.S. illegally has hurt the Church’s witness, the National Hispanic Baptist Network said on Jan. 29 in calling for the rule’s reinstatement.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump has halted for at least 90 days a refugee admissions program that resettled 100,000 individuals fleeing persecution in fiscal year 2024, including nearly 30,000 Christians. By an executive order Monday, Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests” of the nation.
Read MoreThe book, six years in the making, vividly recreates Pope Francis’ childhood in Buenos Aires and offers few new insights into his papacy. The book is enhanced by remarkable photographs, including private and unpublished material made personally available by Francis himself. He tackles a series of topics, including the future of the church, social policy, migration and the environmental crisis.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Could it possibly have been coincidence? The very day Congress certified Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president, the Vatican announced the transfer of San Diego’s Cardinal Robert McElroy to become the politically significant archbishop of Washington, D.C. There’s no doubt Pope Francis wants McElroy to keep an eye on Trump.
Read MoreUn nuevo museo de inmigrantes, cerca de las iglesias anglicanas y luteranas del siglo XIX y los cementerios católicos y protestantes, planea convertirse en el centro de la vida cultural de la atracción más visitada de Valparaíso, el Cerro Concepción. La antigua Escuela Alemana de Valparaíso está siendo renovada para convertirse en el Museo del Inmigrante.
Read MoreA new immigrant museum near the 19th-century Anglican and Lutheran churches and Catholic and Protestant cemeteries plans to become the center of cultural life on Valparaíso’s most visited attraction, Cerro Concepción. The former German School of Valparaíso is undergoing a renovation to become the Museo del Inmigrante.
Read MoreIt may be the start of a new year, but many of the same issues and concerns will dominate the news cycle in 2025. From Pope Francis’ health from the erosion of religious freedom in many parts of the globe to the moral implications that come with the widespread use of AI, here’s what to watch for in the new year.
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