(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis decided to divide the church’s Synod of Bishops into two sessions, one next October and a second in October 2024, in order to “help everyone to live it as the journey of brothers and sisters who proclaim the joy of the Gospel.” What does it mean for the future of Catholicism?
Read More(REVIEW) Historian John McGreevy’s new book “Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis,” covering a period of 230 years, can only be defined as ambitious. Extremely well researched and skillfully put together, McGreevy’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in the planet’s largest Christian denomination.
Read MorePinkie Makua founded her faith-based nonprofit, Agape Flows, out of her Southern Africa Bible College dorm room to provide impoverished girls with menstrual products so they won’t miss school due to limited access to necessary hygienic items — an unconventional ministry, but a “fulfillment of pure religion.”
Read MoreFollowing a historic election, William Ruto took the oath of office as Kenya’s fifth president. Ruto is known for being a man who values prayer and brought Pentecostal zeal to his political campaign. But some citizens are concerned that he may turn Kenya into a theocracy.
Read MoreAs Zimbabwe battles a measles outbreak, government and health care officials blame religious sects whose doctrines are emphatically opposed to Western medicine.
Read MoreMary Keitany is one of the finest athletes in the history of the world, with seven major marathon wins. She’s also a Catholic, mother, business owner and nonprofit board member who as a teen in poverty, dropped out of school to work as a housemaid. “God did amazing things for me,” she said.
Read MoreBorn in a refugee camp in eastern Sudan to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, Mariam Ibraheem says “danger lurked in every dark corner.” Disease, abuse and poverty plagued her life. In 2013, a Sharia court sentenced Ibraheem to death for marrying a Christian man. She was pregnant with her second child at the time and gave birth to Maya while shackled in prison. Her story since then has sparked international outcry and admiration.
Read MoreThe Nairobi Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1912 to serve the Jewish diaspora doing business in Kenya. Today, most of the two dozen congregants gathered for Shabbat on Saturday mornings are Kenyan-born converts to Judaism.
Read MoreZannah Mustapha quit his job as a Shariah court lawyer in the mid-2000s to establish an orphanage for kids whose lives have been tragically altered by Boko Haram attacks. Today, he oversees the education of more than 2,000 orphaned students.
Read MoreGlobal South Anglicans are experiencing a "volcano of growth" and remain "at loggerheads" with the shrinking churches of the United Kingdom, North America and other Western nations. While most Global South bishops serve growing flocks — roughly 75% of active worshippers in the 77-million-member Anglican Communion — many Western bishops lead what Goodhew called "micro-dioceses" with under 1,000 active members or "mini-dioceses" with fewer than 5,000.
Read MoreAmid increased attacks against migrants, faith-based groups around South Africa are launching several projects to counter xenophobia. The interfaith community has developed a national Hate Crimes Working group that is speaking out against violent attacks and providing practical help to victims.
Read MoreFor years, Fairfax church members — including older Christians such as Harrington, Jan Johnson and Juanita Wheeler — have connected in person with immigrants through FriendSpeak. But when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown came in the spring of 2020, face-to-face studies with friends from China, El Salvador, Syria and elsewhere became impossible.
Read More(OPINION) Religious and political ethics lecturer Andrew DeCort writes extensively on the issues Ethiopia is facing with the expressed interest to be a bridge-builder. While I applaud his passion for being a bridge-builder and advocating for peace, I disagree, particularly, with his bold claim that “Christian nationalism is tearing Ethiopia apart.”
Read MoreCatholic leaders in Africa said Pope Francis’ visit to South Sudan is long awaited and could help push the political players to a settlement. The wider Catholic community in Africa is in a state of frustration over Francis’ decision to cancel and postpone his planned visit to the crises-ravaged nations of Congo and South Sudan after opting to go ahead with his trip to Canada.
Read MoreReligionUnplugged.com interviewed 11 children celebrating Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18 from Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria and India about the late president of South Africa. Mandela spent 27 years of his life incarcerated for his fight against racial discrimination against Black people by the South African apartheid government.
Read More(OPINION) A massacre occurred during a Sunday mass, but it wasn’t an ordinary Sunday — this was the great feast of Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter season. What’s more, the gunmen didn’t strike in tense northern Nigeria, where Christian communities are isolated in a majority-Muslim region. This 30-minute attack was inside St. Francis Catholic Church, located in the safer southwestern state of Ondo.
Read MoreKenyan Christians are organizing prayer caravans to quell violent hostilities during the country’s presidential campaign season. This time around, denominational leaders are remaining politically neutral in their public statements. This empowers the church to be a force for civility and peace.
Read MoreSome churches and religious organizations have adopted the government’s theme in their events and preaching. To highlight the importance of education, it has become a norm for the older generation to go to work or attend church services and business meetings wearing school uniforms. This significant event has drawn the world’s attention to South Africa since 1976.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Tom Catena, an American Catholic, has worked as a doctor for 14 years in the the Nuba Mountains in Sudan — a desolate, rebel-held area that was bombed repeatedly from 2011 until 2018 by the Khartoum government when Omar al-Bashir was president.
Read More(OPINION) On June 2, the U.S. State Department delivered its annual report to Congress on international religious freedom. The report identifies the numerous challenges to the right to freedom of religion or belief worldwide. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized some of the main findings of this in-depth research into the situation around the world.
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