American churches are finding new ways to adapt and rebuild after facing crises like political polarization, the pandemic and even natural disasters. While some congregations struggle to stay afloat, others are embracing diversity, tough conversations and community engagement in an effort to become more resilient in the age of Trump.
Read More(ANALYSIS) MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to end racial discrimination and economic injustice — to build the “beloved community,” as he often said. But King does not fully explain the phrase’s meaning in his sermons and writings.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The date was October 4, 1997, and the MSNBC producers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., had a problem. Actually, they had several problems. The main problem was that the million or so Promise Keepers men (D.C. crowd estimates were already a highly politicized affair) gathered for the Stand in the Gap rally keep singing, praying, reading their Bibles, listening to sermons and confessing their sins.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Israel and Hamas’ new ceasefire deal promises to bring much-needed relief to the region after 15 months of brutal conflict. But a series of uncertainties continues to loom large. Many pivotal questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will determine whether this ceasefire is a genuine step towards lasting peace or merely a temporary reprieve.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When describing his life, Denzel Washington often notes a mysterious encounter on March 27, 1975, offering it as a parable about his Christian faith and his acting career.. The young Washington was in his mother's Mount Vernon, N.Y., beauty parlor, after horrible grades forced a leave of absence from Fordham University. An elderly woman, Ruth Green, who many believed had unique spiritual gifts, looked him in the eye and asked for a piece of paper.
Read MoreThe rise in land disputes involving religious institutions in Uganda has triggered a trend of demolishing of churches and mosques throughout the country, raising religious freedom concerns over safety regarding places of worship. The issue has become a major problem across the country, a trend that has intensified over the last four years.
Read More(ANALYSIS) President Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100, was eulogized last Thursday at his state funeral in Washington, D.C. in a Scripture-filled service recalling a lifetime of good deeds and spirituality. Overlooked in all the tributes to the 39th U.S. president and born again evangelical Baptist was Carter’s role in 1979 from preventing the demolition of the mausoleum of Chassidic Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It will be years before we know all the causes and contributing factors for these California fires. What I can say, though, is that local, faith-based efforts are – once again – among the first responders. They ignore the political questions and arguments about blame and are instead rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.
Read MoreKhairunissa, along with her siblings and parents, spent years living in a multi-religious and multicultural apartment in Gujarat state’s Ahmedabad city. When communal tensions and targeted violence against Muslims erupted in the Indian city on Feb. 28, 2002, her family initially felt secure, confident that their neighbors would be able to protect them.
Read MoreCzechia, known until recently as the Czech Republic following its split from Slovakia, is a stark contrast to many countries where religion shapes societal norms and family structures. Czechia used to be predominantly Catholic, but has undergone a dramatic secularization, leaving many with the question of what institution or institutions the Eastern European nation is built upon.
Read MoreGlobal Christian Relief (GCR), the watchdog group launched in 2023 when Open Doors USA reorganized, has released its first persecution report, citing top five countries persecuting Christians in select categories. The 2025 GCR Red List is marketed as a “first-ever quantifiable and verifiable index” of incidents in five key areas.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Journalists frequently cover important news stories, but miss key facts and themes that — for half of America, or thereabouts — are linked to morality or religion. Thus, these stories are haunted by “religion ghosts.”
Read MoreJared Osselaer isn’t sure how many people will need a generator or place to stay as fires continue across Los Angeles County, but Story City Church will be ready. More than 28,000 scorched acres show the devastation of the fires, with officials confirming five deaths but expecting that count to rise. Some 2,000 structures have been destroyed and 130,000 residents placed under evacuation orders.
Read More(OPINION) It is seldom that one enters a film that resonates with one own’s life. For me, “The Brutalist” is such a film. It combines the themes of the Holocaust, Israel, immigration, capitalism, architecture, and the struggles to make sense of it all. The film depicts a successful Bauhaus-trained Hungarian architect who reaches the shores of America after his incarceration in concentration camps.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Consider this post an early take on Lent 2025 or, maybe, a very late meditation on this year’s stack of New Year’s Resolutions.
Read MoreWhen Plains Baptist Church voted overwhelmingly in the 1950s to bar Blacks and “racial agitators” from membership, Jimmy Carter and a handful of his family members were the only ones opposed to the restriction.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Jan. 20, Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office. And then he will probably add the phrase “so help me God.” Those four little words are not in the Constitution, but for many Americans, the phrase has been a part of the oath ever since George Washington was said to have added it 236 years ago.
Read More(ESSAY) Over the course of our hour together, Sokyu had walked me through the 16-year journey which had taken him from a mundane life n Budapest to a Hungarian witch who claimed to see angels and healed by waving her hands over him, then finally to an 18th-century Zen monastery in the mountains of rural Japan.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Theological truths remain unchanged regardless of the date on the calendar, as do many ministry realities. The context surrounding Christians and churches, however, is constantly changing. As pastors and church leaders think about ministering to their congregations and communities in 2025, they should keep these key trends in mind.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This feature makes it clear that abortion is a painful, even tragic, reality in the lives of many women. Readers can see that in the personal experiences of the women quoted in the piece. Is abortion a positive, even “blessed” act? Or is it possible that abortion is “wrong” — or even a “sin”?
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