(ANALYSIS) What began as an exercise movement of primarily older adults in China’s northeast has proved to provide the largest, best-organized and most-sustained resistance to Chinese government rule since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Read MoreCan an anti-conversion law protect indigenous culture, or does it threaten religious freedom? In this documentary, Newsreel Asia producer Harshita Rathore travels to Arunachal Pradesh to understand the decades-long debate surrounding the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 1978.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A leaderless protest movement in New Delhi has evolved into a broader rejection of the divisive politics associated with Hindu nationalism. Sparked by a police crackdown, demonstrators have created an unusually inclusive public space where people of different faiths, castes, genders and backgrounds gather in solidarity.
Read MoreAs global headlines celebrated the release of one prominent Chinese minister, the wife of another pastor is pleading with the world not to forget those still jailed in China. “Zion Church has eight leaders still detained,” said Sister Su Ziming, wife of Pastor Wang Lin, who leads Beijing Zion Church alongside the recently released Pastor Ezra Jin. “Our family and the others all eagerly await reunion.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Singapore’s national soccer team made it to the second round of qualifiers, but fell short of making it to the FIFA World Cup again this year. Nonetheless, the spirit of the game still very runs strong through the help of church congregations. Many parishes and congregations organize games and leagues open to their members, friends and the wider public.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The question is no longer “Does mindfulness work?” Scientists now ask: “For whom does it work?” “Under what conditions?” “What kinds of support are needed?” To answer these, there is growing interest in screening, safety protocols and individualized approaches.
Read MoreA 70-year-old Christian artist is facing another day apart from his family and without necessary medical care after almost two years in a Chinese prison, his friends and advocates said. Gao Zhen, part of the famous artistic duo called the Gao brothers, was detained in mid-2024 for “slandering heroes and martyrs,” according to the International Federation for Human Rights.
Read MoreAcross India, another brutal summer stretches into its third month, killing workers and others caught in the heat. In a country where only 30% of people can afford air conditioning, faith communities — including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs — are stepping up to provide life-saving shade and water.
Read More(REVIEW) Shahbaz Bhatti united religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan to bring about greater equality in the nation — until he was assassinated for his work. A new graphic novel about him is tragic and moving, but it also lacks narrative depth and character development.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A new academic study argues that India has built an “infrastructure of inattention” around dowry killings — referring to legal and cultural processes that once made such deaths the focus of mass public protest but now allow such murders to pass with little public attention.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Throughout its history, Daoism never lost touch with the local traditions. Local gods and even vengeful ghosts come to be incorporated into Daoist pantheons, where they now serve to keep troublesome spirits from upsetting the community. As a result, Daoism continues to be an integral part of everyday life.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One lesson from the study is that people may apply political principles differently depending on where they see their own group in a conflict. Indian American politics therefore cannot be understood only through U.S. party identity. A person may support the Democrats in the United States and Modi in India because the two political settings place that person’s group in different positions.
Read MoreNine 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAuthorities 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.
Read MoreMore 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.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A delegation of 12 Buddhist monks recently walked across Sri Lanka along with their adopted dog Aloka. People of all faiths in Sri Lanka, who have witnessed riots and bloodbaths in the past decade, welcomed them. Apart from Buddhist monks, Christian, Muslim and Hindu leaders joined the U.S.-based delegation during their week-long peace walk across the island nation.
Read MoreEighteen 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read More(REVIEW) How did Christianity shape North Korea? A new 745-page book argues the regime built by Kim Il Sung resembles a national religion that borrows some ideas from Christianity — complete with myths, rituals and a central, quasi-divine figure — rather than a typical authoritarian state.
Read More
