Posts tagged ZengerNews
Tackling Africa’s Wildlife Crimes From The Religious Front

Religious demand for wildlife products can be just as relentless as demand for items used in traditional medicine, status symbols or investments. From African elephant ivory carved into crucifixes for Catholics to Islamic prayer beads and Coptic crosses to amulets and carvings for Buddhists and Taoists in Thailand, the list is very long.

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Vatican Stalls Return Of Stolen Treasures From Former European Colonies

A leading academic who has called for the return of precious artifacts “stolen by Pope Pius XI and his missionaries” from Indigenous First Nations communities has urged Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican Museums to “rethink their colonial mindset.” Gloria Bell said the Vatican continues to falsely “refer to everything” in their collection as a “gift.”

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How A Catholic Nonprofit Is Meeting Inmates’ Health Needs In Nigeria

There are 81,011 inmates in Nigeria’s prisons. However, inadequate healthcare remains a significant challenge, contributing to numerous health problems and affecting inmates’ overall well-being. Founded in 1992 by the Discalced Carmelite Friars in Nigeria, CAPIO addresses the health and needs of inmates across the country.

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‘No Easy Thing’: Rebuilding Hope In Conflict-Stricken Nigeria

Nigeria has allocated just 7% of its national budget this year to education, far below UNESCO's recommended 15 to 20%. Despite years of criticism over this consistent underfunding, there has been little to no change. As a result, one Christian woman has made it her mission to help the many men and women impacted by years of conflict.

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Welcome Back, Carter: Faith Helps Texas Rangers’ ‘Little Savior’ Overcome Setbacks

Evan Carter helped the Texas Rangers win the World Series in 2023. But Carter — still just 22 — has faced multiple challenges over the past two seasons. He talked to Religion Unplugged about his journey as a ballplayer and, more importantly, as a person of deep Christian faith. “Baseball is what I do, but I try and not make it, as the cliché goes, who I am,” he said.

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Religious Tensions Drive India’s Booming Bumper Sticker Economy

On India’s busy streets, vehicles adorned with Hindu symbols are more than just modes of transport — they have increasingly become mobile expressions of political and religious identity. The proliferation of these Hindu stickers has transformed everyday commuting, a phenomenon deeply intertwined with rising religious tensions.

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‘Mother Teresa of Nairobi’: How A Nun Transformed The City Into A Sanctuary Of Hope

In the heart of Nairobi’s Mukuru slum, where corrugated iron shacks gleam under the equatorial sun, Sister Mary Killeen has woven a legacy of hope. Known as the “Mother Teresa of Nairobi,” this Dublin-born Sister of Mercy has spent nearly five decades transforming lives in one of Kenya’s most impoverished areas.

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A Concert For Peace In Gaza Brings Together Jews And Palestinians

A recent concert for peace in Gaza brought together Jews and Palestinians at a Catholic church in Santiago. Some 500 people attended the concert for cello, flute and classical guitar, with two female voices, organized by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí. The archbishop, who organized the event, is a descendant of Palestinian immigrants.

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Where Sunlight Meets An Ancient Tradition: The Power Of Stonehenge

Over 6,000 years old and still a site for worship, Stonehenge remains a unique place. As the first rays of the sun shine into the Stone Circle at the recent summer solstice, thousands of worshippers gathered to celebrate, just as people have done throughout history. Druids, Wiccans and other pagan groups gathered to watch the sun’s arrival following a long winter.

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Houston’s Oldest Greek Orthodox Church Expands, Embraces Ancient Tradition

Houston’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, one of the largest Greek Orthodox communities in the nation, expects to cover each of its walls with colorful Byzantine iconography by the year 2027, hoping to continue expanding as membership grows. Formed in 1917, the Annunciation community was the city’s first organized Greek Orthodox Church.

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Ugandan Women Are Changing The Face Of Church Leadership

Many Ugandans are still waiting for that transformative change to materialize across key sectors. Some had hoped it would come through economic empowerment or expanded human rights. While the broader national transformation remains elusive, one sector — Uganda’s Anglican Church — has seen notable progress, particularly in advancing women’s leadership.

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A Hindu’s Heroism In A Muslim School: When Having Faith Means Saving Lives

When a shell slammed into a madrassa (an Islamic school) housing over 1,200 children, its caretaker, Sayyed Habib, didn’t dial the army or the police. He didn’t call emergency services. He called Pradeep Sharma, a Hindu and former lawmaker, and his best friend since ninth grade. it was an example of how people of differing faiths found it in their hearts to help one another.

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Faith Among The Ruins: How Chaplaincy Lives On at Fountains Abbey In Northern England

Finding chaplains on-site at a National Trust heritage property is not something visitors usually expect. But at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, in the north of England, it has become a regular occurrence. The Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII marked the end of Fountains Abbey as a Cistercian monastery.

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Spotlight On Catholics: Nearly Half Of US Adults Have A Connection To The Faith

While only 20% of U.S. adults currently identify as Catholic by religion, millions more hold cultural, familial or historical ties to the church. Among those who identify as Catholic by religion, levels of observance differ. Only 13% reported never or rarely engaging in any of the faith’s core practices. The vast majority — 74% — fall somewhere in between, the report said.

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US Churchgoers Report Deeper Faith Amid Growing Communities

After a half-decade marked by upheaval, many Christian communities across the United States are showing signs not only of recovery but of renewed vitality, a new study released on Monday revealed. The report looks at a large and diverse sample of American churchgoers say their faith is stronger, their churches more vibrant and their involvement more consistent than at any point.

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A Church Grows In Africa, But Where Are Its Saints?

(ANALYSIS) Compared to Europe, where many sainthood causes benefit from institutional support, funding and access to the Vatican, Africa faces unique challenges. Canonization is a complex and costly process. It requires documentation, verification of miracles and years of advocacy. Local dioceses may lack the resources to keep these causes moving forward. In the end, many African Catholics feel like their voices and stories have been left on the margins.

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Sanctuaries Of Identity: African Christians Thrive Amid Growing Diaspora Challenges

As African migration — driven largely by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities — continues to grow, churches are becoming more than just places of worship. In fact, churches have evolved into spiritual lifelines and vital community hubs that help preserve cultural identity, reinforce moral values and provide a sense of belonging far from home.

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Blades Over The Burial Mound: The Fight To Save A Sacred Northern Ireland Site

For the first time in centuries, public access to the Knock has been denied. Although the hill is widely acknowledged to be used publicly, it’s technically private land. After a group went to the summit for a winter solstice ceremony last year — honoring what many believe to be the hill’s ancient role in sun worship — they received a letter from the landowner warning they were trespassing. 

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Why Islam Grew (And Christianity Didn’t) Around The World In Just A Decade

Between 2010 and 2020, global religious affiliation shifted significantly, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. While Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, its growth lagged behind overall population growth. Christians increased by 122 million to 2.3 billion, but their share of the global population fell. At the same time, Islam saw a global surge.

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Knitting Faiths Together: Using Art And Yarn To Grow Dialogue Between Religions

Exploring interfaith dialogue using knitting is the surprising theme of a new touring event taking place around the United Kingdom. It all started when Canadian actor and artist Kirk Dunn developed a passion for knitting. The result is an interfaith look at society, how faith can bring people together for a unique show and the “commonalities and conflicts between the three Abrahamic faiths.”

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