(OPINION) Despite having just 16% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for 52% of all global armed conflicts. Most of these crises have lingered for decades and many are religious conflicts with social and political undertones, making them even harder to curb. These crises have been fueled and sustained by uncontrolled arms movement across the continent.
Read MoreFor many decades, Nigeria's Muslim north has been prone to religious intolerance and violence. Kaduna, where over 20,000 people have died in different religious conflicts since the 1980s, is one of the country's most volatile states. It’s also the hub of interfaith mediation groups working to prevent violence, including a pastor and imam who used to lead violence against each other’s groups, and the region’s first women-led mediation council founded by an Irish Catholic sister.
Read MoreA recent shooting of a Catholic bishop highlights the dangers of living in South Sudan and the tenacity of clergy who refuse to leave people behind in the region, even while death threats to Christian leaders there are rising. South Sudan has been trying to implement a new peace agreement in a civil war that’s plagued them since 2011, but their national forces are up against civilian rebel groups with even more gun power. More than 50,000 people have died in war and 4 million forced to relocate since 2013.
Read More(OPINION) “White privilege” is about the distribution of material possessions and honor in this world. It is a reality that White people are better off in terms of both material riches and honor at the present moment. But this is not the type of privilege that should concern Christians, who are passers-by in this world.
Read More(OPINION) Though Christianity later became preponderant in Europe and America, the assertion that it is a White man’s religion is neither historically accurate nor theologically correct.
Read More(OPINION) This year’s Holy Week started badly in that it coincided with the kick-off of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former policeman accused of causing the death of George Floyd on May 25 last year in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is an event that opens wounds in many hearts.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the current crisis in northern Ethiopia, religion is used as a tool to misinform the international community, Ethiopian scholar Desta Heliso writes. The resulting diplomatic tensions are endangering not just the future of Ethiopia’s 110 million people, but peace in the whole Horn of Africa.
Read MoreThe government of Mozambique claims that religious fundamentalism rather than its own failures is the primary cause of a fast-escalating conflict that has killed over 2,500 people and displaced another 700,000. In March, the U.S. began training Mozambique defense forces in counter terrorism. But some journalists, researchers and clergy on the ground say that this narrative only serves the authoritarian government, accused of torturing and killing critics.
Read MoreTanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli died of a heart attack on March 17 after frequently citing prayer as the best way to ward off the coronavirus. His political opponents are claiming he died of COVID-19, there is not evidence of that claim.
Read More(OPINION) Tanzani’s president John Pombe Magufuli made global headlines for stubbornly refusing to implement World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. A Christian, he insisted that God would protect his country’s citizens and downplayed the risks of contracting and dying from COVID-19.
Read MoreThe Uganda government’s suspension of a Western-funded grant has left the survival of more than 70 organizations, including 15 state agencies, hanging in the balance. The trouble between President Yoweri Museveni and the EU started in 2020 when Museveni suspected the West of backing his rivals. Then several Western countries criticized Uganda for falling short of required standards for a free and fair election.
Read More(OPINION) Mozambique’s poorest province, Cabo Delgado, has suffered violent attacks since 2017. For the most part, no action has been taken to stop it.
Read MoreIn Africa, there are deep-seated traditional beliefs that life-threatening illnesses originate from a generational curse, witchcraft or as a punishment from God, and that seeps into some church teachings too. Kenyans with terminal illnesses talk to Religion Unplugged about how they’ve sought solace for themselves, and pastors and a psychiatrist weigh in.
Read MoreBeyond being one of Mahatma Gandhi’s — or Ghandiji’s — granddaughters, Ela Gandhi has become a symbol of social justice in her own right, living a life of quiet — and not so quiet — resistance over the last 80 years. A new book by Easterbooks, “My Time with Ela Gandhi,” chronicles the lessons learned and stories told by Gandhi throughout their friendship.
Read MorePaul Rusesabagina, whose success in saving 1,268 Tutsis and moderate Hutus fleeing a 1994 genocide was told in the Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda,” is on trial this week in Kigali, the East African nation’s capital. Supporters say the weapons trafficking allegations against him are false and that the Rwandan government illegally diverted his plane to land in Kigali.
Read MoreA rock formation in rural Kenya attracts pilgrims from a variety of Christian sects that mix Catholic and Anglican practices with traditional African paganism. Some even receive angelic messages, they say.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Recent global headlines sparked by a former BBC reporter claimed that 750 Orthodox Christians were killed in northern Ethiopia, but there is not evidence of these deaths. Moreover, international media has mischaracterized the recent crisis in Ethiopia and ignored decades of history that’s pitted federal armed forces against the powerful, well-funded Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Read MoreMichelle Amuli was a socialite, fitness trainer, online influencer and unifier in life and yet a divisive and controversial figure in her death. Popularly known as Moana in Zimbabwe, her burial rights divided her Muslim paternal and Christian maternal families. The ruling became a landmark case on how to quell the all-too-familiar battles in Zimbabwe for religious and cultural burial rites.
Read MoreA second wave of COVID-19 infections is leaving a trail of deaths and despair in many African countries with little relief in sight. Many governments have once again banned religious gatherings and religious ceremonies at funerals. Still, faith leaders have remained front and center in both spreading awareness of COVID-19 safety, cooperating with lockdown rules, helping people remain hopeful and increasing trust in vaccines expected to arrive later this year.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With 19 countries out of the total 50 listed, Africa tops the ranking of countries where Christians face the most persecution, according to a recent Open Doors report. We take a closer look at these countries and the level of persecution Christians endure inside them.
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