Canada’s Bill C-9 And The Growing Threat To Religious Freedom

(ANALYSIS) What are called "hate" laws frequently violate freedom of speech, of the press and of religion. They also tend to be vague and, hence, their scope expands and governments use them to punish views that they simply do not like.

Crossroads Podcast: Jimmy Lai’s Faith Matters More Than the Headlines Admit

Hong Kong was tense and festive when I arrived for a small 1997 conference about religion coverage in global media. The reason for the odd atmosphere was obvious: In a few days, on July 1, Great Britain would yield control of that great city to the People’s Republic of China.

A Chinese Company Aims To Destroy Sacred Land In Arizona

(ANALYSIS) There are moments in our national life when a legal controversy reveals something deeper than a dispute over statutes or precedent. It exposes a fracture in our shared moral imagination — a failure to recognize what is sacred to communities whose ways of life do not mirror our own. The struggle for Oak Flat in Arizona's Tonto National Forest is one of those moments.

Nigerian Leaders Expose Systematic Persecution Of Christians

Nigerian Christian leaders verified that Christians there are persecuted for their faith, refuting a growing international narrative that violence in the deadliest country for Christians is not religion-based.

Australia’s Hanukkah Terror Attack: Could It Have Been Prevented?

(ANALYSIS) With 15 civilians and one gunman dead so far, and another 40 people injured, Australia is reeling from its worst act of terrorism on home soil. Two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish community gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at Archer Park on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.

Hanukkah Shooting Leaves 15 Dead At Australia’s Popular Bondi Beach

A Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach turned deadly on Sunday with updated reports of at least 15 dead, including a Chabad rabbi, a Holocaust survivor and a 12-year-old girl. One suspect was killed at the scene and the other was arrested, in a targeted attack on Jews that authorities are investigating as terrorism.

Pope Uses Turkey-Lebanon Trip To Advance Interfaith Dialogue

(ANALYSIS) On his recent visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV met with political and religious leaders, celebrated Mass and visited historical sites. The trip also marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which resolved core doctrinal differences, with the aim of advancing Christian unity at the time.

Quebec’s Bill 9 Pushes Secularism Further, Moves To Outlaw Public Prayer

(ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, Quebec was the most religious part of North America. Now it is home to an aggressive secularist government that, on Nov. 27, introduced a proposed law, Bill 9, that would outlaw public prayer. For several centuries, religious minorities faced discrimination and, until the 1960s, Jehovah's Witnesses were still being arrested for their refusal to salute the flag.

Inside The Small Communist Nation That Increasingly Oppresses Christians

(ANALYSIS) In Laos, Christian burials are barred from cemeteries, churches have to find improvised worship spaces, and Christians are often pressured to engage in activities that go against their religion. And with neighboring China’s new influence, it may get even worse.

4 Thanksgiving Children’s Books That Help Explain Religious Freedom

(ANALYSIS) Reading these living picture books aloud at Thanksgiving allows children to meet the story in its full shape — its beauty, its failures, its moments of generosity, and its deep contradictions. They see people whose faith guided them across an ocean, and people whose spiritual practices had been rooted in this land for generations.

Behind Armenia’s Prayer Breakfast: Arrests And A Church Under Siege

On the same day the breakfast concluded, a local news outlet reported that two Armenian opposition podcasters had been placed in pre-trial detention. Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, co-hosts of the “Imnemnimi” podcast, had been arrested over comments made in a Nov. 10 episode about National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan.

A Decade After Chibok, Nigeria Faces a New Wave of School Abductions

(ANALYSIS) It’s been over a decade since Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno, in April 2014. The abduction received international attention, with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirl being shared globally, including by Michelle Obama.

Advocates Urge Stronger US Action As Attacks Against Christians Grow In Nigeria

The U.S. designation of Nigeria as an egregious violator of religious freedoms has not gone far enough to stem violence there, top persecution watchdogs said amid an intense uptick in attacks on Christians in the African nation.

In Catholic Italy, Protestants Still Face Fascist-Era Land Restrictions

Italy’s Supreme Court ruled that an evangelical worship space, which is located in a former shop a short distance from the Vatican, does not qualify as a religious edifice due to its non-traditional appearance.

Blaming ‘Love Jihad,’ Muslim Shopkeepers Are Ousted From Indian Market

For more than a decade, Hindu businessman Balwant Rathore and his Muslim partner Mohammad Harun have run their shop together. Then, without warning, they were told to vacate their shop. Blaming “Love Jihad”, a Hindu nationalist leader’s son ordered Muslims to leave the market.

3 Latin American Nations Form Authoritarian Anti-Religion Bloc

Broadly, the three nations persistently harass religious communities through surveillance, threats of imprisonment, arbitrary detentions and arrests, control of religious messages including sermons and public attacks. The nations enact laws that unjustly restrict the activities and legal status of religious groups; practice favoritism in attempts to control messaging and deny religious freedom to prisoners.

South Africa Creates Controversial Religious Oversight Committee

Hundreds of Christians from various churches in South Africa came together recently to march to the Union Buildings, the seat of the national government, to protest the establishment of a statutory regulatory body that they say is a violation of their right to freedom of religion. It came after the government passed a law regulating the activities of churches.

Faith Leaders Thank Trump For Nigeria Action, Urge Focus On Religious Liberty

A group of faith leaders has sent a letter to President Donald Trump thanking him for his recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”

In Bangladesh, Intra-Muslim Conflict Results In Death And Destroyed Shrines

The shrine, once crowded day and night with devotees, now stands eerily deserted. For weeks, it has remained sealed as a crime scene after a mob attack left one of his followers dead. Since August 2024, more than 100 shrines have been attacked or vandalized, according to rights groups.

Moody Bible Institute Sues Chicago Public Schools Over Teaching Program

The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago because its students have been excluded from the Chicago Public Schools student-teaching program.

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