(OPINION) An uplifting story from The Washington Post about a young Nigerian boy brought hope during times of uncertainty in many religious communities. Other news sources tried to continue telling the story, but the religious angle seemed underdeveloped.
Read MoreUganda allowed houses of worship to reopen this week with COVID-19 guidelines like wearing masks and social distancing. Many churches and mosques had overflow lines outside and multiple services, because the government limited services to 70 people. Clergy say the rules should be adjusted for larger buildings.
Read More(REVIEW) While 83-year-old Pope Francis is in good health, that hasn’t stopped speculation over who will come next. In his new book, author George Weigel examines the problems affecting the church and what the next pope will need to do in order to address them. Think of it like a very long to-do memo for the next head of the Catholic church.
Read MoreIn 1977, an archbishop was shot dead for protesting human rights abuses. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 34 years, denounces clergy activism. But this year, several pastors have joined in political activism for an opposition party, with one even running for president. They say Uganda needs leaders who understand religious freedom and Christian values.
Read MoreMassive corruption has allowed the embezzlement and theft of funding meant to combat COVID-19 in Kenya and South Africa, prompting the countries’ Christian leaders to speak out.
Read More(OPINION) Nigerians in diaspora in the UK and America are calling for direct military involvement in peacekeeping in Northern Nigeria, as Christians increasingly bear the brunt of massacres in the region.
Read MoreIn Kenya, vital Islamic pre-burial rituals are prohibited during the coronavirus pandemic. Muslim scholars say such restrictions are justified, but that doesn’t make the pandemic easier.
Read MoreZimbabwean human rights, democracy and Christian groups are rallying behind Catholic bishops in the southern African country after leaders were attacked over the weekend by the government. Government authorities labelled the bishops “evil” after they voiced their concerns over the country’s worsening economic and human rights crisis in a pastoral letter that has given new life to the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter online protest.
Read More(OPINION) Forgiveness has been crucial throughout history to heal tensions between races after injustice and evil. It’s just as important today.
Read MoreAlthough St. Peter’s Church in Kampala had received their land through a donation, a title was never given, and the donor’s children sold the land. Thirteen people have been arrested so far in connection with the church’s demolition, which took place late at night during the government’s curfew hours for COVID-19.
Read MoreChristian leaders in Zimbabwe are cautiously optimistic that a recent government move to pay $3.5 billion compensation to white farmers violently forced off their land in 1999 to resettle black families can revive the southern African country’s struggling economy by boosting its agricultural sector.
Read MoreJim Ryun, an American Olympic runner and former Congressman from Kansas, received the Presidential Medal of Honor the same day his Kenyan rival, who illegally thwarted a race Ryun was favored to win, died. Ryun spoke to Religion Unplugged about how he forgave his rivals and the faith that inspired him to keep running, even when he showed little athletic ability as a kid.
Read MoreThe charity of American missionary Renee Bach, accused of causing more than 100 child deaths in Uganda, is now dissolved. Bach is accused of performing medical procedures without being a doctor. She settled out of court with two mothers who each lost a son.
Read MoreCOVID-19 lockdown measures have tightened in Zimbabwe, limiting gatherings, including for religious services. This brought to a complete halt some small Christian churches that had started to gather again for faith and worship activities after an earlier loosening of restrictions.
Read MoreTribal warfare in South Sudan is preventing the country’s peace process from bearing fruit, complicating a six-year civil war. Among the victims of conflict and wanton violence are women, children and Christian clergy.
Read More(REVIEW) The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates by the National Catholic Register's longtime Rome correspondent Edward Pentin delves into the lives of the cardinals most likely to follow Francis.
Read More(OPINION) Forces in Ethiopia and abroad are currently capitalizing on the appalling murder of the musician and political activist Hachalu Hundessa, which led to violent ethnic-based clashes that killed nearly 200 people this month. Political groups in Africa’s second-most-populous country have consistently paraded distorted and, at times, wholly inaccurate narratives about the democratic values Hundessa stood for.
Read More(OPINION) Recent violence and hate crimes in Ethiopia has parallels to pre-genocide Rwanda with many lessons: the further we stray from faith, the further we stray from justice.
Read MoreChurches in Kenya are slowly reopening during the coronavirus pandemic, though some church leaders think their religious freedom is coming under fire with restrictions, including a limit of one hour for a worship service and a ban on adults 58 and older and youth younger than 18.
Read MoreWhile the Black Lives Matter movement has caused controversy in religious circles because of its support for non-traditional families and Marxist philosophy, researchers who study the movement say it is spiritual even with an antipathy for organized religion. Many activists want to explore their ancestors’ African spirituality, and Black churches and mainline Protestants are also influencing the movement.
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