Posts tagged Secondary feature
Blame It On The Stars: Astrology’s Rise In An Age Of Uncertainty

(ANALYSIS) Scroll through TikTok, browse dating profiles or sit at a cafe, and you’ll often hear people reference their astrological sign. Someone might proudly claim their Leo energy; others joke that they would never date a Scorpio.

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Alliances Serve Those Facing Homelessness And Addiction: ‘It Humanizes People’

In Trinidad, Colo., 200 miles south of Denver, Clay Mason leads a 12-member ministerial alliance. But his move from Texas to Trinidad, a city of 8,200 bisected by Interstate 25 and the Purgatoire River, was not about ministry. He and his wife, Mary, arrived in their RV eight and a half years ago to pursue nontraditional cancer treatments, which Clay believes cured him.

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Is Islamist Terrorism Making A Comeback In Bangladesh?

(ANALYSIS) As Bangladesh grapples with political instability for a year since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country following mass student-led protests in August 2024, Islamist radicals have been trying to make a comeback in this South Asian nation of 173 million people.

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‘Not Your Average Joe’: How A Coffee Shop Became A Ministry Of Belonging

Not Your Average Joe is a nonprofit organization that offers customer-facing, meaningful employment for people with disabilities. Owner Tim Herbel, a member of the Oakcrest Church of Christ, quoted Matthew 25:45, where Jesus speaks about ministering to “the least of these.” That’s how society often views people with disabilities, he said, but after working with them he has come to view them differently.

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Leadership Crisis Roils St. Catherine’s Monastery Amid Egyptian Court Dispute

The monastery is in the news again, and for unhappy reasons connected to the court decision. Under pressure from Greek Orthodox leaders internationally, the monastery's head, Archbishop Damianos, announced that he would resign as of last Friday. Meanwhile, on Sept. 8, the Synod of the  Patriarchate of Jerusalem unanimously resolved that Damianos be already deposed.

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Americans Remain Divided As More States Legalize Assisted Suicide

In the most recent Lifeway Research study, the youngest and oldest Americans are among the most likely to support physician-assisted suicide. Those 18-34 (56 percent) and 65 or older (54 percent) are more likely than those 50-64 (45 percent) to see the practice as morally acceptable. Men are also more likely to agree than women (54 percent vs. 49 percent).

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How Religious Freedom Caselaw is Shaping the Legal Landscape for Ministries

Following the expanded Free Exercise protections under these decisions, ADF continues to litigate cases on behalf of Christian ministries, arguing for the continued expansion of these protections in different contexts.

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Special Report: South African Ministries Helping Women Leave Prostitution Behind

Financial instability, high unemployment and poverty in South Africa have led some women to choose prostitution as a means of supporting their children. As South Africa moves to decriminalize prostitution, Religion Unplugged interviewed Christian ministries that preach to women involved in prostitution to explore the church’s role in restoring their dignity.

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Majority Of US Catholics View Pope Leo XIV Favorably

A large majority of American Catholics said they have a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV, even as many admit they know little about the new pontiff. A new report found that 84% of U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo positively, just months after he assumed the papacy following the death of Pope Francis in May. Only 4% reported an unfavorable view, while 11% say they have never heard of him.

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From Provocateur To Martyr: What Charlie Kirk’s Life And Death Says About Politics

(ANALYSIS) The fatal shooting of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University has drawn condemnation and renewed attention to the climate of political violence in the United States. He was one of the most visible leaders of the young conservative movement.

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Most Americans Don’t Believe God Played A Role In The Presidential Election

A majority of Americans do not believe God plays a role in presidential elections — a view that has remained consistent across several cycles, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The survey found that 49% said God does not get involved in presidential elections, while another 14% say they don’t believe in God at all. About a third said election results are part of God’s overall plan.

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These 3 States Are Pushing To Put The Ten Commandments In School

(ANALYSIS) As disputes rage on over religion’s place in public schools, the Ten Commandments have become a focal point. At least a dozen states have considered proposals that would require classrooms to post the biblical laws, while three recently passed laws mandating their display starting this year.

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Trump Vows To Defend Religious Liberty Ahead Of Nation’s 250th Birthday

In remarks at the Museum of the Bible during a meeting of his Religious Liberty Commission, President Donald Trump touted his administration’s religious liberty victories, vowed to protect prayer in public schools and announced the donation of his personal Bible to the museum.

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After Challenging Wilson, Podcast Confession Shakes Anti-Patriarchy Movement

Days after challenging Pastor Doug Wilson to a public debate, Peter Bell, producer and host of the podcast “Sons of Patriarchy,” made a social media confession that has forced a reckoning within the community he helped build around exposing abuse in patriarchal churches. Bell, whose podcast investigates Wilson’s Idaho church movement, said in a since-deleted Aug. 23 Facebook post that he struggled with pornography addiction for nearly two decades, was fired from multiple jobs for lying and experienced marital separation during his podcast’s first season last year.

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Belief Without Religion: Study Finds Spirituality Among The Religiously Unaffiliated

A new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals.

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All A’s: MLB Team Honor Broadcaster Monte Moore With Hall Of Fame Induction

If veteran broadcaster Monte Moore is doing the telling, stories swapped at the Athletics Hall of Fame induction will include baseball, family and church. The folksy voice of the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics — the MLB team’s previous homes before their current, temporary stint in West Sacramento, Calif. — will be inducted into the A’s Hall of Fame.

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Why Religious Groups Are Pushing For Psychedelics As Sacrament

(ANALYSIS) Psychedelics, broadly defined, are a class of psychoactive substances that alter perception, cognition and mood through their interaction with neurotransmitters such as serotonin. As a medical anthropologist I have spent the past 25 years studying the rise of alternative approaches to mental health treatments and have specifically focused in the past four years on the impact of psychedelics on consciousness and spirituality.

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Christians Reach Out (With Bibles And Basketball) To Albanians

Churches of Christ in Albania sponsor their own basketball league, Rebound. The Tirana team is about half Roma. They named themselves “Wings of Eagles” after Isaiah 40:31. Fushë Krujë also has a team, though some of its members joined before learning to dribble. They dubbed themselves “The Sons of Thunder,” the nicknames of apostles James and John in Mark 3:17.

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