(ANALYSIS) The Paris Grand Mosque — a cultural landmark located in the heart of the city — is celebrating its centenary. Built as a war memorial to honor Muslim soldiers killed during World War I, it was the first permanent mosque in the French capital and remains its only mosque built with a minaret and a dome.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Members of the Christian community arrived at the protest site in New Delhi alongside Hindu, Muslim and Sikh groups. The participation of religious groups and leaders is part of a broader, interfaith effort to show solidarity with youth and students demonstrating against the Indian government.
Read MoreBuddhism is experiencing a revival in northern Bangladesh as thousands of Indigenous Oraon people have embraced the faith since the mid-1990s. Supporters see it as a return to an ancient religious heritage, though the movement faces challenges, including a shortage of monks and criticism from some religious leaders.
Read MoreEven at the height of his extraordinary 2025 season at Indiana — when he won the Heisman Trophy and transformed himself from an overlooked prospect into the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft — Mendoza repeatedly pointed somewhere beyond the gridiron: God. He enters the NFL this season as a top-rated rookie quarterback not afraid to talk about his faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Hundreds of pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash were among those affected by devastating floods that struck the Nepal–Tibet border on Aug. 26. The floods destroyed the border crossing most commonly used to reach what is arguably the most revered holy mountain in the world, which sits in the Tibet autonomous region of China.
Read MoreProtestant pastors register the greatest distrust in artificial intelligence interpreting “contested” Scriptures, Barna said in its latest State of the Church release in partnership with Gloo, but few pastors would abandon the technology altogether. Only 5 percent of pastors reject AI as a tool to interpret difficult passages, researchers said, and only 10 percent want AI to proclaim which interpretation is correct.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Let me start by stating a fact that seems incomprehensible to even type out, but it undergirds almost every single graph that I produce: We don’t actually know the religious composition of the United States with any real precision. I know that sounds bizarre. The truth is that we are relying on a whole bunch of “best guesses” based on sound methodology and replication.
Read MoreChristian yoga classes in Colorado, are giving women a unique space for exercise, fellowship and spiritual reflection. Led by Charity Morine, the sessions combine movement, prayer, worship music and Scripture, helping participants release stress, confront personal struggles and deepen their relationship with God.
Read More(ANALYSIS) After watching Christopher Nolan's take on “The Odyssey,” Father Dwight Longenecker remembered a comment Steven Spielberg made in a commentary while discussing how viewers react to symbolism. The director was responding to comments that crosses in the “Saving Private Ryan” cemetery scenes suggested the hero was a Christ figure who suffered to save a lost soul.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Parton died Tuesday at 80 following a brief battle with cancer. Her death has prompted the expected celebration of an extraordinary musical career, but it also offers the chance to understand something deeper about the woman behind the rhinestones: Her generosity was not simply celebrity philanthropy. It was an expression of the Christian idea of stewardship.
Read MoreAs many dioceses in Europe and North America continue to contend with declining numbers of priests, church leaders in Kenya face the opposite problem. So many young men want to become priests that seminaries have to waitlist applicants, build more dorms and look for spots at seminaries in neighboring countries.
Read MoreThe legendary country singer, songwriter and entertainer died on Tuesday at 80. Raised in a deeply Christian family in Tennessee, she credited her faith in God for guiding her life, music and philanthropy. Her enduring legacy includes countless hit songs, films, charitable work and a message of hope.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Is it conceivable that the 2026 and 2028 election cycles will erode the Democratic Party’s lock on Jewish voters, one of the iron laws of American politics? Or instead, will Jewish Democrats increasingly turn against support for Israel? The results of the upcoming midterm elections could give us a glimpse of what’s to come.
Read More(ESSAY) Taiwanese religious culture is a unique mix of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and other Southeast Asian influences — and this blending is especially apparent at Taiwanese funerals. Now, as fewer Taiwanese folks have kids, raising pets instead, we can get a new perspective on these rites by observing the relatively new phenomenon of traditional pet funerals.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I’ve recently been with believers from another part of the world, and I was again reminded that our brothers and sisters around the world often pay a heavier price than we pay to follow Christ. I don’t want to overstate the case here, but much of North American Christianity seems to be what I call “Convenience Store Christianity.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) (ANALYSIS) The Iranian government seized control of the historic St. Peter Evangelical Church earlier this month in Tehran, despite repeated warnings from U.N. human rights experts and international Christian organizations, revealing a broader pattern of violence against religious minorities in Iran.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nepal underwent major political upheaval just a year ago, toppling the government in a fashion few could have imagined. An even more dramatic development followed. Voters handed a near-supermajority to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which was founded only four years earlier. Its senior leader, Balendra Shah, became the youngest prime minister in Nepal’s history.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of an infamous terror attack: The 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. On that Sunday morning, members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, planted dynamite on the east side of the brown brick building. The bomb went off in the midst of Sunday school, at 10:22 a.m., murdering four girls.
Read MoreThe falling birth rate across many parts of the world has become an issue that is leading educational institutions around the world to analyze its impact on enrollment. In the United States, some schools have closed their doors because they don’t have enough students. In Latin America, the “demographic cliff” is becoming just as severe.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Today, amid Japan’s shrinking population and anti-immigrant sentiment, it might be jarring to remember that there once were hopes that the island nation would be the anti-colonial leader of the world’s Muslims and that some of Asia’s Muslims dreamed of an “Islamic Republic of Japan.”
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