(ANALYSIS) I often think of religious traditions as a styrofoam cup. Each of them has a different level of water in them at any given time. However, that volume of water never stays fixed for long, because religious groups operate in a volatile environment with constant pressure to rise or fall.
Read MoreTo say the least, Indiana Fever star Sophie (“Do the Sophie”) Cunningham’s quotes about trans athletes and women’s sports has ignited a firestorm in sports, politics, social media and the elite press. In this case, the sports world includes the small, struggling WNBA.
Read More(ANALYSIS) To believe a lot of the commentary, especially on the right, you would think America is headed, if not already sinking, into a bottomless moral abyss. But a recent report tells a rather different story. If America was on an immoral path, it is now slowly correcting course. Emphasize slowly.
Read More(ANALYSIS) These days, most up-to-date churches have "praise bands," with a few skilled vocalists, guitarists, drummers and keyboardists with stacks of synthesizers. And most church members have smartphone calendars with zero room left for a choir.
Read MoreA charismatic televangelist who created a career out of her past as a career criminal and drug dealer now has a startling new revelation: Aliens harvested her eggs. Katie Souza, whose show “Healing Your Soul” airs on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Faith Broadcasting Network, told said she was a child victim of an extraterrestrial conspiracy to create alien-human hybrids.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Pentagon needs to define America’s religious categories due to chaplains’ responsibility to handle the spiritual needs of soldiers as effectively as possible. The problem is that Americans’ religious choices are pretty much uncountable.
Read More(ESSAY) At Christian colleges across the nation, a “ring by spring” is a polarizing cultural phenomenon that comes with quirky rituals. There’s the “freshman frenzy,” the “senior scramble” — and on my campus, one infamous ice breaker known as “Awk Walk.” Underneath these traditions is an inescapable anxiety: Will you meet your spouse or graduate single?
Read More(ANALYSIS) After a pastor died rescuing his children from a river, his congregation responded with remarkable compassion — supporting his family, maintaining his salary and caring for their practical needs. Their witness transformed grief into ministry, drawing others to the church and demonstrating how faithful love can become a powerful testimony.
Read MoreThe political time machine has now landed in similar journalism terrain. During this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, we discussed several important news reports, including this Religion News Service feature: “‘They’re not real pastors’: As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) For Christians working in sports, the challenge becomes even greater. Faith calls believers to engage culture without allowing society to define them. Identity comes not from applause, criticism or trending hashtags, but from Christ.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Disestablishment was not just a cornerstone of American democracy. It was also an engine for the extraordinary growth of philanthropy, which played an important role in fueling American churches’ growth and innovation.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Fewer marriages, fewer believing mothers and fewer traditions carried forward add up to a generation raised inside a custom-built crisis of meaning. America needs religious men. To endure and thrive as a civilization, it may need religious women even more. The reasons aren’t mysterious.
Read More(REVIEW) Are humans really all that different than primates? Harvard primatologist Christine Webb blends science, philosophy and legal developments to challenge humanity’s presumed supremacy over nature. Drawing on evolution, animal cognition research and Indigenous worldviews, she argues that consciousness extends beyond humans.
Read More(REVIEW) The Jewish Museum’s exhibition “Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte” highlights the pivotal role Jewish women played in Vienna’s influential design collective. Featuring nearly 200 works, the show explores how artists and patrons transformed modern art, fashion and women’s professional opportunities in the early 20th century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Back in November, I wrote a post that I knew was going to cause a stir because it answered one of the most burning questions in my mind: “How Big is the Political Divide Between Mainline Clergy and Laity?”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Instead of just focusing on a single question and making a bunch of graphs that try to figure out that causal puzzle, I am going to share a few things that I’ve learned after doing this kind of work for the last 10 years.
Read MoreA few years before Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907, a church split occurred over using an organ in worship. Those who objected to the instrumental music left the Christian Church and formed a Church of Christ. After meeting in a smaller building, the Church of Christ erected a larger one at Seventh and Beech in 1917, said Jane Roberts Lewis, whose late grandmother was a niece of Cal Maddux.
Read MoreThe bottom line: If reporters are going to cover moral and religious issues in a state like Utah, at some point they need to talk to experts on the religious element that, for many people, remain at the heart of these questions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The document tells clergy: “Medical Assistance in Dying evokes strong and opposing views amongst some persons and communities, including amongst health care providers and amongst Anglican Christians. Some Christians, including clergy, find that MAiD violates their understanding of the ethical values to which Christians are called.”
Read MoreA Florida woman who impersonated the father of a Camp Mystic flood victim to solicit donations through GoFundMe has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to online fraud.
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