Legendary journalist Jerry Mitchell reflects on faith and journalism. “The church is supposed to take care of sin,” Mitchell says. “We’re not supposed to wink at it or cover it up.”
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(ANALYSIS) While Stephen Colbert retains a faithful congregation, some fans who loved his sly blend of satire and progressive Catholicism mourn his decision to preach to only half of America, said media scholar Terry Lindvall, author of "God Mocks: A History of Religious Satire from the Hebrew Prophets to Stephen Colbert,” published in 2015.
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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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(ANALYSIS) A coalition of civil society organizations announced the launch of the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, an initiative to address the impunity for the dire situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
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(ANALYSIS) Among the little-noticed aspects of the 2024 U.S. election is Muslims’ substantial 33% vote for Donald Trump — with a remarkable 42% backing from those who attend mosque weekly. That’s an increase from past elections.
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A June terrori attack, the deadliest in recent memory, sent shockwaves through Syria's dwindling Christian population, communities that have endured in this ancient land for almost two millennia. Now, many fear they are witnessing the final chapter of one of Christianity's oldest continuous presences anywhere in the world.
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The case of a high school football coach praying on the field has been in the spotlight since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling. But another football controversy first emerged in 2015, when two Christian schools made it to the state championships. The games were run by the state’s athletic association. Officials barred them from conducting a prayer over the loudspeaker before kickoff.
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As students head back to the classroom, they’re likely to see the impact of local churches in their schools this year. A Lifeway Research study found that four in five U.S. Protestant pastors identify at least one way their congregations have engaged with local public schools in the last year. Only 18% of churches say they weren’t involved with area schools.
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(ANALYSIS) My first book was entitled “The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going.” It was published — what feels like a lifetime ago — in 2021. I’m pretty proud of that little volume because it established my approach to thinking about non-religion in the United States.
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Weekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. reflects on his 35 years in full-time journalism. It started with the editor of a small-town Oklahoma newspaper taking a chance on him.
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Activist Hooman Khalili hopes to inspire Iranian women to resist abuse and terrorism through murals displayed on college campuses across the United States. The murals, he said, are meant to spark civil discourse — especially among students — and draw attention to the fight for human rights in Iran at a time when all the focus is on Gaza and Ukraine.
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(ANALYSIS) With a nod to digital life, Merriam-Webster has expanded its “influencer” definition to include a “person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.” Pope Leo XIV didn't use that term in his latest remarks on faith in the internet age, even while addressing the recent Vatican Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers.
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(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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(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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(ANALYSIS) PCA folks, it’s your moment — few denominations punch above their weight online like you do. Here’s why.
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Deion Sanders can’t — or won’t — stop talking about the Lord. Especially now. This week, Colorado’s head football coach mentioned God and faith at least three dozen times during a 40-minute news conference to discuss his private battle with bladder cancer.
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Channeling the rage on the Bluesky social-media platform, Sunny Hostin at “The View” claimed that the decision by CBS executives to cancel Stephen Colbert's “Late Show” could be the start of dangerous people "dismantling of our Constitution.” This raised questions for me, several of which were discussed during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast. For starters, who — other than President Donald Trump & Co. — were these dangerous people? Did this include millions of Americans who used to watch late-night TV and are now watching whatever they choose to watch on YouTube?
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Brent Leatherwood has resigned as president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, ending nearly nine years of service that began in 2017 as director of strategic partnerships. The ERLC Board of Trustees accepted Leatherwood’s resignation in a called meeting Thursday in Nashville, gratefully noting his character and achievements in the role he began in 2021 in an acting capacity before becoming president in 2022.
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School choice and Christian education advocates are lauding an unprecedented provision buried in the 1,116 pages of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4 by President Donald Trump. However, questions remain about the first-ever federal private school tax credit.
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The University of California agreed to pay $6.13 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the school of antisemitism in its handling of campus protests that excluded Jews from sections of the campus. Hours later, the DOJ said UCLA violated the civil rights of Jewish students, neglecting “obligations under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
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