Posts tagged religion
Faith And Fertility Are Linked In Utah

The bottom line: If reporters are going to cover moral and religious issues in a state like Utah, at some point they need to talk to experts on the religious element that, for many people, remain at the heart of these questions.

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‘In the Hand of Dante’ May Be Entertaining, But Ultimately Not So Divine

(REVIEW) Nick is on an adventure to secure an original manuscript of the famous poem. Unfortunately, the film’s engagement with the “Divine Comedy’s” ideas and themes turns out to be depressingly trivial.

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Inside Falun Gong: Why Does The Chinese Communist Party Want To Suppress It?

(ANALYSIS) What began as an exercise movement of primarily older adults in China’s northeast has proved to provide the largest, best-organized and most-sustained resistance to Chinese government rule since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

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Does ‘The Odyssey’ Understand Ancient Greek Religion?

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” was made for a religious landscape that looks very different from Homer’s original audience. Does the movie manage to honor the beliefs of the source material — or does it impose modern values on the ancient epic?

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The Real Reason Why Americans Aren’t Getting Married

(ANALYSIS) The secular world has engineered a brilliant liturgy of despair and its high priests come with PhDs in economics. You’re no doubt familiar with the prevailing narrative, as familiar as it is depressing. Marriage has become a luxury product, crushed by stagnant wages, soaring living costs and, in many places, a housing market where buying your first home is impossible.

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‘Sanctuary People’ Redefine What It Means To Protect Migrants

(ANALYSIS) Hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. are living in uncertain times. On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could proceed with a plan to end Temporary Protected Status — a federal program that allows people to stay in the United States when the government considers their own country unsafe — for around 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.

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Delhi’s Leaderless Protest A Direct Challenge To Hindu Nationalism

(ANALYSIS) A leaderless protest movement in New Delhi has evolved into a broader rejection of the divisive politics associated with Hindu nationalism. Sparked by a police crackdown, demonstrators have created an unusually inclusive public space where people of different faiths, castes, genders and backgrounds gather in solidarity.

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The Pope, Pixar, Parents, Pastors and ‘Toy Story 5’

(ANALYSIS) At the box office, “Toy Story 5” is nearing $1 billion in global ticket sales. The movie isn’t perfect, but some religious leaders should note what Pixar got right about parents getting involved in the digital lives of their children.

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Beyond The Abortion Debate: Embryo Personhood Moving Closer To The Political Center

(ANALYSIS) To be sure, embryo adoption occupies a small corner of U.S. fertility medicine. Few people choose to donate remaining embryos for procreative use. Nor is embryonic personhood a popular idea: Only 39% of Americans support laws declaring that human life begins at fertilization. A majority of white evangelical Protestants, Hispanic Protestants and Latter-day Saints support that view, yet majorities of these religious groups also oppose banning IVF.

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In Africa’s Last Absolute Monarchy, Christianity Blends With Tradition

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is one of Africa’s most religious nations. In fact, about 90 percent identify as Christian. However, faith in the kingdom is far from uniform. A king and queen hold absolute power, but it is used to help integrate cultures and foster inter-religious understanding.

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The Conformity Gap: What American Catholics Actually Believe And Practice

(ANALYSIS) There’s a running joke in American religious life that goes something like this: Ask 10 Catholics what the church teaches on a given issue, and you’ll get eleven different answers. It’s meant to be affectionate, a nod to the big-tent nature of a tradition that has managed to hold together nearly a billion people across wildly different cultures, languages and political contexts.

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Dropping Native American Religious Code Hides Military Needs

(ANALYSIS) The military's decision to eliminate a distinct religious code for Native American service members has sparked concern that their unique spiritual traditions and accommodation needs will become harder to identify, potentially undermining religious liberty protections, access to appropriate support and accurate representation within the armed forces.

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Crossroads Podcast: Faith At The World Cup Is Not All Smiles And Hugs

The World Cup is Planet Earth’s most-watched sporting and cultural event. No one should be surprised that it receives waves of news coverage and that religious beliefs and customs affect some of the drama and tensions. Thus, this week’s “Crossroads” podcast focused on religion news at the 2026 tournament — what was covered and what was not.

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How India’s Houses Of Worship Save Lives Amid Historic Heatwave

Across India, another brutal summer stretches into its third month, killing workers and others caught in the heat. In a country where only 30% of people can afford air conditioning, faith communities — including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs — are stepping up to provide life-saving shade and water.

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Why Conservative Commentators Changed Their Views On Islam

The way right-wing commentators talk about Islam has changed in the last few years. The same pundits who once criticized Islam are now defending it. To find out why, Matthew Peterson spoke with journalist Matthew Schmitz.

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Is The Archdiocese Of Detroit Built For A Church That No Longer Exists?

(ANALYSIS) Sometimes the doom scrolling really does pay off. I hate to admit it, but flicking through thousands of social media posts a week is a way that I can find interesting stories to write about for Graphs about Religion.

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A Religious Freedom Martyr Took Risks. A Book About Him Should, Too.

(REVIEW) Shahbaz Bhatti united religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan to bring about greater equality in the nation — until he was assassinated for his work. A new graphic novel about him is tragic and moving, but it also lacks narrative depth and character development.

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