(ANALYSIS) Many Bible readings during Christmas services will recount that the infant Jesus escaped murder at the hands of paranoid King Herod because Egypt provided safe refuge to the fleeing Holy Family (per Matthew 2:13-15).
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in explores three key storylines after the election — again — of Donald Trump as president.
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Nearly all U.S. adults say it is important to have a president who lives a moral and ethical life, and almost half say it’s important for the president to have strong religious beliefs. Here’s a guide to this year’s presidential candidates, their religious affiliations and notable statements they’ve made about faith.
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(ANALYSIS) Behind the sensational headlines, the Sunshine State has another, far more solemn side. Not only is Florida a religious state, but according to recent rankings, it is one of the most religious states in the nation — a fact that might surprise some. Florida’s zest for the transcendent extends beyond the Bible Belt. The Cuban-American community has had an impact on the state's religious landscape.
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The nonpartisan groups reported the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers the U.S. has accepted in recent decades, including Christians and others fleeing religious persecution, and explored how U.S. presidential platform policies will impact the ability of those persecuted for their faith to find refuge here after the November elections.
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Entering into the final months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, former President Trump holds a sizable lead over Vice President Kamala Harris among evangelicals. Likely voters with evangelical beliefs are twice as likely to plan to cast their ballot for Trump than Harris (61% to 31%), according to a study from Lifeway Research. Few say they are still undecided (5%) or supporting another candidate (3%).
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Pope Francis — following his historic 12-day trip to Southeast Asia — chimed in on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, instructing U.S. Catholics to use their “conscience” when voting and to choose the “lesser evil.” The pope’s remarks came days after the very first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
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(EXPLAINER) Riots have erupted across the United Kingdom over the past week as far-right groups launched attacks against hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques. A heavy security presence on Wednesday and a series of arrests across Britain has prevented a repeat of widespread rioting involving racist attacks targeting Muslims and other migrants that started late last month.
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Venezuelan and Ukrainian immigrants were among 70 families who made a pilgrimage through Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, past dog walkers and Little Leaguers, to the church’s food pantry. Christians from a nearby high school loaded sacks of fresh vegetables, canned goods and bread into their cars or backpacks as airplanes soared overhead.
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The Borbas never expected to become missionaries to their people in a foreign land. Yet three visas and almost 10 years later, Maikon Borba had graduated from Harding with a degree in Bible and missions and moved his family 36 miles north of Miami.
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The number of Jews immigrating to Israel has dropped 43 percent in the six months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. From April to September 2023, 23,073 people moved to Israel under the Law of Return. From October 2023 to March 2024, the number dropped to 12,977.
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Pastor Manuel Castro was in tears. Sobbing, he recalled his frustration and heartbreak at having to halt Iglesia Bautista Gethsemani’s food distribution ministry after the city threatened his arrest. For 25 years, Castro said he has ministered to the spiritual and humanitarian needs of the agricultural town, near the Mexican border, including many seasonal workers with an unemployment rate of 28.1 percent.
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(EXPLAINER) India has implemented a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims, a religious minority, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Although the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed five years ago by the country’s parliament, it was not enacted at the time due to the pandemic.
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(ANALYSIS) It's clear that both American evangelicals and Catholics feel compelled to show compassion when it comes to the issue of immigration — but also think that when it comes to politics, they seek solutions that include the notion that the enforcement of America's laws is not unkind.
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(ANALYSIS) No doubt there are those who falsely claim conversion from Islam to claim asylum, and some churches may be too credulous. But such conversions are occurring and such genuine converts face violence, imprisonment and even death if returned back to many countries.
Read MoreThe Czech Republic has one of the largest number of refugees per capita of any European nation. After the beginning of the war in Ukraine, thousands moved to the Czech Republic seeking safety following Russia’s invasion. However, the amount of immigrants from Ukraine was increasing even before the war because people were in search of better jobs and to escape poverty and unemployment.
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(REVIEW) “The Persian Version,” by falling into all the familiar cliches around non-White, non-Christian immigrant families, reminds us how Western secular pluralism is not a neutral space for worldviews — but an exclusive worldview in its own right.
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Pope Francis led a prayer vigil at the Vatican to recall the plight of migrants and refugees, saying everyone is “called to be neighbors.” The service took place during the Synod on Synodality, a gathering of bishops and laypeople, and comes as large numbers of people have been forced to flee the Global South to places like the U.S. and Europe.
Read MoreSandwiched between a laundromat and an appliance shop, is the only halal store in the southeastern Washington state and central Idaho area known as The Palouse. Until June, PNW Halal Meats, LLC had been hidden away on the northeast side of town in Pullman, Washington, close to the Washington State University campus. The store was cramped with a confined parking lot, easy to miss if one wasn’t looking for it.
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(ANALYSIS) The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops assembled in Baltimore to elect a new president. Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services, tasked with overseeing Catholic ministries to members of the U.S. armed forces, was elected to lead the USCCB. What does it mean for the Catholic Church in the United States?
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