(ANALYSIS) As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Father Stephen Noll felt a sense of loss when he learned he would need a smartphone app to attend baseball games. Noll calls himself a “digital dinosaur, perhaps from the Jurassic period.” What he didn't expect, after 50 years of priesthood, was for this digital divide to affect his ministry.
Read More(OPINION) A hero to the right and bogeyman to the left, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis has received plenty of mainstream news coverage because of his use of so-called culture war issues to push legislation. But while the Catholicism of President Joe Biden is lauded in some media circles and debated in others, DeSantis’ faith is hardly mentioned.
Read MoreIn a special year-end edition of Weekend Plug-in, the nation’s top religion writers share their top stories of 2021.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in looks at public opinion on religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations. Plus, catch up — as always — on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Is the COVID vaccine the biblical "mark of the beast"? Many odd anti-vaccination rumors with murky origins are floating around social media, alarming healthcare workers as they combat a virus that has killed 720,000 Americans and counting.
Read MoreIn life, Colin Luther Powell, the son of Jamaican Anglican immigrants, rose to become an Army general, a White House aide to four presidents and the first Black American to serve as the United States secretary of state. Powell passed away Oct. 18 at age 84 due to complications of COVID-19.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the growing focus on religious exemptions amid pressure to vaccinate more Americans to slow the spread of COVID-19. Plus, check out the week’s best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreCapitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. has reached a $220,000 settlement with the District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser in a civil case filed over the District’s restrictions on gatherings at places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreIn the midst of a deadly second coronavirus wave and medical care shortage, Moin Mastan and his team of 25 volunteers have been working round the clock to perform the last rites, cremations and burials of 40 to 50 Indians every day who have died with COVID-19 infections in the central Indian state of Maharashtra—all while fasting daily for Ramadan, a holy month in Islam for tightened devotion in spiritual reflection, worship and prayer.
Read More(OPINION) When in the foreseeable future will there be a better chance for church goers to demonstrate that they’re more than the anachronisms that the skeptics and demographic trends portray them as—that their faith can bring hope to where darkness and pain persist after the pandemic is “over”?
Read More(OPINION) What does the phrase “follow the science” mean for journalism and particularly the impact of Catholic voices in news stories? That Catholics, and traditional religious believers in general, are seen as anti-science puts them in direct contradiction with what these politicians say and want.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s order stopping California’s ban on indoor worship in most of the state, while allowing a 25 percent capacity limit and a prohibition on singing and chanting. Plus, catch up on all the top reads in the week’s religion headlines.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights efforts by Black churches to encourage members to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccines. Plus, check out all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreA second wave of COVID-19 infections is leaving a trail of deaths and despair in many African countries with little relief in sight. Many governments have once again banned religious gatherings and religious ceremonies at funerals. Still, faith leaders have remained front and center in both spreading awareness of COVID-19 safety, cooperating with lockdown rules, helping people remain hopeful and increasing trust in vaccines expected to arrive later this year.
Read MoreThe Catholic Church’s office for liturgical practices released guidelines Jan. 12 for clergy performing Ash Wednesday ceremonies next month during the coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreIn a special year-end edition of Weekend Plug-in, the nation’s top religion writers share their top stories of 2020.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in counts down the top 10 religion stories of 2020, as determined by the Religion News Association. Also: our usual Friday roundup of the top reads in the world of faith.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump calls the first COVID-19 vaccine approved by the federal government a “medical miracle.” So why are many religious people so skeptical? That’s a key question in this week’s Weekend Plug-in.
Read More(OPINION) Something truly magical happens by the end when Charlie Brown asks what the true meaning of Christmas is. Instead of more commercialism, Linus sets his friend — and everyone else — straight and delivers a truly important message.
Read More(OPINION) That Pope Francis would put his name on a book — written by a British author — criticizing the United States, its media and politics without understanding the First Amendment is a major shortfall of the project. There is also more to this book that the mainstream secular press did not highlight — like the pope’s staunch opposition to abortion.
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