(ANALYSIS) Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel will undergo a three-month restoration. The monumental fresco, completed in 1541, is famed for its dramatic imagery, bold nudes and layered Christian and pagan symbolism. A digital reproduction will be displayed to visitors during conservation work.
Read MoreWhile most “Crossroads” podcasts focus on religion angles in major news stories, this week’s episode focused, you guessed it, on a short news “brief.” The problem is that we are talking about a brief about a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod story that, if the details had been accurate, was worthy of an A1 feature.
Read MoreAs the Diocese of Jackson advances Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for sainthood, Catholics reflect on her prophetic witness. A Mississippi teacher, scholar and evangelist, she challenged the church to recognize Black faith and everyday holiness — urging believers to see saints not only in Rome’s past, but in their own families.
Read More(ANALYSIS) People love to talk about “profound” philosophers. Socrates with his questions. Nietzsche with his hammer. Marx with his systems. But George Santayana rarely gets the same reverence, despite the unsettling precision of his view of modern life. Santayana is hard to place, which may be why he is often skipped.
Read MoreThis year’s Winter Olympic Games are filled with Jewish athletes. They can be found on the hockey rink, on the slopes, sliding on bobsleds and in the figure skating competitions. Despite a robust representation in Milan-Cortina, the stereotype that Jews are bad at sports has not fully vanished.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Once again, Muslims across the globe are nearing the arrival of Ramadan — a sacred month in which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Ramadan is a time of strengthening our faith, cleansing both body and soul, counting our blessings and giving whatever we can to those less fortunate.
Read MoreLunar New Year is a widely celebrated cultural and religious festival observed across Asia and worldwide. Marking the start of a new lunar cycle, it blends ancient traditions, spiritual practices and symbolic foods that express hopes for prosperity, health and happiness while emphasizing family unity, renewal and reflection.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Love and hate seem like obvious opposites. Love, whether romantic or otherwise, involves a sense of warmth and affection for others. Hate involves feelings of disdain. Love builds up, whereas hate destroys. However, this description of love and hate treats them as merely emotions.
Read MoreWhile reading some of the outraged commentary about the spectacular staff cuts at The Washington Post, I keep thinking of the immortal words of King Theoden of Rohan, when facing dark waves of evil during the Battle of Helm’s Deep. All together now: “How did it come to this?”
Read MoreFormer Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission after rejecting Zionism during an antisemitism hearing. A recent Catholic convert, she argued the modern state of Israel holds no biblical significance, reflecting a broader shift among some American Christians away from traditional Zionist support.
Read MoreTennessee Gov. Bill Lee reflected on faith and redemption after reconnecting with singer Jelly Roll, whom he had met years earlier while speaking in prison. At a divided National Prayer Breakfast, Lee avoided politics, sharing how personal tragedy reshaped his life, as other speakers highlighted religious freedom.
Read MoreThe Pew study measured diversity by dividing the global population into seven categories — Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, followers of other religions and people with no religious affiliation — and assessing how evenly those groups are distributed within each country.
Read MoreMadhu Pandit Dasa achieved every Indian family’s goal: Obtaining a physics degree from one of the best universities in the nation. But when science couldn’t answer his quest for truth, he found it in Hinduism — and started his career as a spiritual leader. “Within six months, I got frustrated … it was against my nature,” he said.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As Christian clergy across the United States participate in ongoing protests against harsh immigration enforcement actions and further funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, many are still pondering the words of Rob Hirschfeld. On Jan. 18, 2026, Hirschfeld, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, encouraged clergy in his diocese to “prepare for a new era of martyrdom” and put their wills and affairs in order.
Read MoreOlympic biathlete Paul Schommer embraces a sport defined by extremes — grueling endurance followed by total stillness. As he prepares for his final Olympics in Milan, Schommer reflects on faith, redemption and perseverance, seeing parallels between biathlon’s challenges and life, where growth comes through adversity, focus, and grace beyond results.
Read MoreKarim Kaarar guides visitors through the church of Saint Augustine and the archaeological ruins of ancient Hippo Regius nearly every day, tracing the footsteps of Augustine, one of Christianity's most influential thinkers. But the Algerian Christian knows that in 2026, this small community will host its most significant visitor yet: Pope Leo XIV.
Read More(OPINION) As a prolific writer — both fiction and non-fiction — when an inspiration hits me, I have to follow through on the process of getting my ideas on paper (or, in these modern times, typed into the computer) or it bugs me no end. My latest effort will, eventually, be a book about how not to be “beige.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) When we’re asked, “Are you religious?” There are a number of different ways someone might justify an affirmative answer. It could be that they attend a house of worship regularly or pray frequently. It could be that they hold specific beliefs about Jesus Christ or Muhammad. Those would be behavior and belief measures of religion. But there’s a third dimension that often gets overlooked: Belonging.
Read MoreNorth Korea is right there. Standing on the observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, holding cups of coffee from the brand new Starbucks behind them, visitors gaze across the Han River to the rolling hills of the world’s most isolated, enigmatic and repressive state.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, his body will be displayed for the first time ever in February, at the Basilica of San Francesco. Millions of visitors are expected to converge in the small Tuscan town of Assisi to honor the 13th-century saint.
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