(ANALYSIS) “Rededicate 250” was billed as a prayer rally celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. But the event on the National Mall also became a revealing snapshot of how faith, politics and national identity are increasingly intertwined during the Trump era.
Read MoreEarlier this year, a 15-year-old walked through the gates of her high school in Kenya, wearing her hijab. The student and her parents had been assured by the principal that she could continue wearing it, just as she had throughout primary school. A few weeks later, that assurance fell apart. It has become part of a broader fight regarding religious freedom in the country.
Read MoreGracehaven, a Christian anti-trafficking ministry in Ohio, can continue serving young female trafficking survivors after Montgomery County settled a lawsuit over its exclusion from foster care programs. The county will pay attorneys’ fees, and the ministry retains its faith-based hiring practices.
Read MoreThe Liberty Bell symbolizes American freedom, rooted in Scripture and shaped by Pennsylvania’s Quaker ideals. Its inscription from Leviticus reflects Jewish teachings on justice and freedom, while Quaker beliefs in equality and tolerance influenced the nation’s founding principles, leaving a lasting moral framework as the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary.
Read MoreThree Kuki-Zo Christian pastors were shot dead on May 13 after armed gunmen ambushed two vehicles travelling through Kangpokpi district in Manipur. The murders led Kuki-Zo organizations to suspect that a Naga militant faction may have carried out the attack in coordination with valley-based Meitei insurgent groups.
Read MoreAuthorities in southwest China have arrested six Christians affiliated with a local church on charges including “fraud” and unprecedented accusations of “organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order.”
Read MoreThe Big Idea for this podcast? The social-credits system shifted into high gear the year after China, in 2018, launched sweeping new regulations to crush religious activities that lacked formal government approval. Digital technology is at the heart of China’s efforts to control the beliefs of its citizens.
Read MoreMaria lives in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with her husband and four children, content with being farmers and living in the fields. But the 27-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified by her full name, has always faced persecution for being Christians. She isn’t alone. It’s the type of violence many in Africa have had to deal with for years.
Read MoreMilitant Fulani killed more Christians in Nigeria over the past year than any other aggressor, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said May 8 in naming the militants a nonstate violator of religious freedom.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Liberal democracies promise freedom and prosperity, yet they often struggle to answer a deeper question: What is this freedom for? When shared narratives and moral horizons fade, individuals may experience fragmentation and a loss of meaning. Politics shrinks into technocratic management.
Read MoreA retired Baptist pastor is the latest Christian convicted for religious activity in an abortion buffer zone in the United Kingdom, this time for holding a church service on the outskirts of a zone.
Read MoreReligious minorities in India are in dire straits, facing persecution, lynching and other violence, according to a U.S. watchdog group. “Every day violence and calls for violence have become routine,” said Stephen J. Rapp, Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. “Throughout this grim history, it is seldom that the perpetrators have been held to account.”
Read MoreTo fully understand Atlanta, you have to look beyond its highways and glass towers, back to the broader history of Georgia and its unusual role during colonial America. In that earlier era, a quiet but consequential force — religious diversity — helped shape a mindset that would eventually contribute to the movement for independence in 1776.
Read MoreAfter several churches and other places of worship were demolished, a public outcry forced Uganda to pause a project that aimed to clean up cities and enforce zoning regulations. But now, government officials say, the project is back on, and more unsanctioned structures might be on the chopping block.
Read More(ANALYSIS) All this has happened even as President Donald Trump has emphasized a particular idea of religious liberty throughout his second term. In his proclamation for Religious Freedom Day in 2026, he emphasized familiar ideas of Americans’ “God-given right to practice their faith, follow their conscience, and worship their God freely and without fear.” But the statement also seemed to reflect a broader project of lending government support to Christianity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Texas’ proposed K-12 reading list includes numerous Bible passages, sparking debate over religion in public schools. Supporters cite educational value, while critics argue it violates the First Amendment. Court precedents allow teaching about religion, but not promoting it—raising questions about whether the curriculum crosses constitutional boundaries.
Read MoreYazidis in northeast Syria are fleeing yet again as renewed fighting in Aleppo triggers mass displacement, reviving trauma from ISIS’s 2014 genocide. Survivors face deep psychological scars, economic hardship, and persistent insecurity, with many fearing further violence, family separation, and the gradual erosion of their community and identity through repeated upheaval.
Read More(ANALYSIS) More questions remain. Will the Vatican seek to impose doctrine, potentially provoking further resistance from the West? Or will it allow a degree of local experimentation, accepting the risk of inconsistency in the name of pastoral responsiveness? Leo’s statements on the issue suggest a preference for the former.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Muslim Americans can often feel helpless in combating the hate they experience – more awareness and advocacy could reduce Islamophobia and address the mental health needs of an already vulnerable community. As the war with Iran continues, these issues will continue to persist among America’s Muslim community.
Read MoreA Nigerian federal court convicted nearly 400 individuals on terrorism charges this month in what persecution watchdog International Christian Concern said is one of the largest criminal crackdowns in the nation’s history, but none appeared to face murder charges.
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