Five years after the pandemic upended life across the United States, a new national study shows that many churches are stabilizing — and in some cases rebounding — even as many challenges persist. In a report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, which surveyed more than 80 denominations, found that most have either maintained or increased their level of engagement.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Muslim Americans can often feel helpless in combating the hate they experience – more awareness and advocacy could reduce Islamophobia and address the mental health needs of an already vulnerable community. As the war with Iran continues, these issues will continue to persist among America’s Muslim community.
Read MoreThe Pew Research Center analysis, released on Thursday, based on surveys conducted in 24 countries, examined “religious switching” — when people adopt a different religion than the one in which they were raised. The findings reveal a complex picture within Christianity, particularly between its two largest branches: Catholicism and Protestantism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Stephen Miller’s “might makes right” worldview reflects a broader shift toward prioritizing power over understanding in global affairs. Through the tales of Nasreddin Hoja, the piece argues that curiosity, humility, and engagement with other cultures are essential — and that relying solely on strength risks blinding societies to complexity, difference and their own limitations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Adults who attend multiple congregations are more likely to be politically liberal, whereas political conservatives are more likely to always attend one congregation. Researchers also found, among other things, that evangelicals are less likely to attend multiple places of worship than Catholics.
Read MoreBoth U.S. Protestant pastors and churchgoers have a mixed view of artificial intelligence, according to a Lifeway Research study. They aren’t completely opposed to it, but they have concerns about how AI is implemented and its potential influence on Christianity.
Read More(ESSAY) On the plane and at the airport, strangers from different backgrounds offered unexpected compassion and support. Their kindness became a powerful reminder of shared humanity, transcending religion. It was a moment of revelation. Through my tears I offered my thanks and wished them a happy time. And that’s not all.
Read MoreThe state of Vermont is one step closer to passing a law that would require healthcare sharing ministries to submit an annual report to the state about its participants and finances. House Bill (HB) 585 includes a section entitled, “Annual Reporting on Health Care Sharing Plans and Arrangements.” It was originally proposed in 2025 as HB 102 by Rep. Conor Casey.
Read MoreWhile many think “primum non nocere” — “First, do no harm” — was an oath created by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, it’s actually found in a top-secret bible handed to Hollywood players when they are placed in charge of the box-office franchises that keep their operations alive.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Several years ago, Canada began a program called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). It’s a government initiative that’s beginning to reshape how Canadians are facing end-of-life situations.
Read MoreIt’s hard to discuss a war in the Middle East without mentioning religion, especially when the main players are Israel, Iran and the United States. Apparently, the most important word in this drama is not “nuclear” or “oil” -- it’s “fundamentalism.”
Read MoreEaster Vigils brought a sharp rise in U.S. Catholic conversions, nearing pre-pandemic levels in some dioceses. Yet long-term trends remain troubling: Far more Catholics leave than join, Mass attendance has plunged and institutional markers are down. The church’s future hinges on why some parishes grow while many others continue to decline.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The manosphere is a catchall term for websites, forums, blogs and influencers promoting hypermasculinity, from the belief that women and feminism are the cause of men’s problems to calls to legalize rape. Groups within it — including pickup artists, men’s rights groups and “involuntary celibate” or “incel” communities — portray themselves as victims of modernity.
Read MoreCategorizing those who do violence is a messy business. The very individuals who are called heroes, warriors and revolutionaries by some can be categorized as villains, murderers and radicals by others. But when the morality of a violent person is highly controversial or just ambiguous, we have a separate, more fuzzy term – we call them a vigilante.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When the movie “Her” debuted in 2013, its plot felt like science fiction. The protagonist, Theodore, is a jaded man with no vigor for life. He comes alive after talking daily with his AI chatbot, with whom he falls in love. Today people actually report being in relationships with AI companions.
Read MoreThey waited patiently with unlit tapers, waiting for their turn as the Holy flame passed from person-to-person, eventually illuminating the whole crowd of more than 18,000. Some participants would take their flames as far away as Greece or Romania, where the faithful were waiting to see their own miracle.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a big electoral upset, Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power — rejecting the authoritarian policies and the right-wing movement he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger. Orban, in conceding defeat, told supporters: “The responsibility and opportunity to govern were not given to us.”
Read MoreEvery year, between late May and early June, something happens on the 43-mile road to the Catholic sanctuary of Popenguine, outside Dakar, that is unremarkable in Senegal and extraordinary almost anywhere else in Africa or the world: Muslim youth walk the route alongside their Christian peers.
Read More(OPINION) Most of us can recognize and control that primitive impulse to club everything in sight in favor of safety and civilization. Between wars from way back, humans dropped the club and learned to speak, to convey meaning from sounds and symbols, and I kinda like the words-over-weapons thing we had going. You can make friends with words, only enemies with weapons.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the midst of a civil war, married couple Ernesto and Linda Fuentes fled their home country of El Salvador and headed for Philadelphia, via Mexico, in November 1983. Ernesto was an activist who dispensed food and medicine in Salvadoran refugee camps. Linda was a union organizer for banks and clothing factories.
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