(OPINION) There are several more religion stories to be told surrounding the murder of the former Washington Post op-ed writer Jamal Khashoggi.
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(ANALYSIS) A report identifies serious failings in the Equalities and Human Rights Commission revealed in its ten-year review. The stunning admission comes on top of a catalog of failures that reveal that most stakeholders do not know what the quango exists for, or what its priorities are.
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(COMMENTARY) The New York Times reported this week that the Donald Trump Administration is considering, for federal purposes, a definition that a person is male or female “based on immutable biological traits identified by or before birth,” supplemented if necessary by genetic testing. That would overturn a policy under President Barack Obama to recognize transgender identities.
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The responsibility change the current situation in Uganda rests on the journalists themselves. The government will likely never see it in their best interest to set the press free, but the journalists have the duty to serve the public. Therefore, the need for a stronger, concerted voice against abuse by government agencies must remain stronger than the opposition we face.
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(COMMENTARY) In the current news theory of everything, few numbers in American political life have received more attention than this one – 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016. Politicos have paid less attention to signs that many evangelicals cast those votes with reluctance, and some with a sense of dread.
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Author and scientist Michael Guillen warns that scientists are working to resurrect extinct species and robots have made leaps and bounds. He says Christians must take this opportunity to provide wisdom to a world so obsessed with scientific progress without considering the ramifications.
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(COMMENTARY) While it's common to believe that religion evolves slowly over time, in a linear manner, the evidence suggests that history lurches through periods of "extreme, rapid, revolutionary change, when everything is shaken and thrown up into the air," said historian Philip Jenkins. Ever 50 years or so, new patterns and cultural norms seem to appear that never could have been predicted.
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(COMMENTARY) The venerable Mormon Tabernacle Choir has announced that it is now named “The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.” Reason: President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has declared that “the importance of the name” that God “revealed for His Church,” means believers and outsiders must drop “Mormon” and use that full nine-word name.
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(COMMENTARY) Theodore McCarrick has become the iconic figure at the heart of the latest round of Catholic clergy sex scandals. Here in America, the key will be whether bishops find ways to hold each other accountable, especially with talk increasing of a federal investigation of cover-ups linked to sexual abuse.
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(COMMENTARY) The Catholic Church’s “bad guys” aren’t women, but men accused of molesting children and teens over the last few decades. Those who were victimized were children, teens and young people – all in large part males. The solution to the Catholic Church’s ills won’t come from the clergy – certainly not if Pope Francis and others protect the likes of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – but from the flock. And it will be women who will lead the way.
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(COMMENTARY) Historians know exactly what the Rev. Billy Graham said during the sermons that changed Louis Zamperini's life. And because of author Laura Hillenbrand's 75-plus interviews with the Olympian and World War II bombardier, millions of readers know what happened inside his heart during the altar call. This latest movie tells the rest of the “Unbroken” story that Hollywood neglected to tell before.
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Newspaper, magazine and broadcast reports attempting to explain the moves toward nationalist-tinged political populism in a host of European nations, and certainly the United States as well, have become a journalistic staple, which makes sense given the subject’s importance.
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(COMMENTARY) Nothing much has changed in Western reporting about Russia since 1939. A recent meeting between the Patriarchs Cyril of Moscow and Bartholomew of Constantinople over an autocephalous or independent orthodox church in Ukraine is yet another example of the fog that surrounds Russian reporting.
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Clemente Lisi was a reporter for the New York Post on September 11, 2001. He is now a journalism professor teaching students who weren’t even born by that date. Lisi reflects back on covering 9/11 and the profound impact it made on him as a journalist and native New Yorker.
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Australia has a new prime minister, which is certainly news. The new prime minister, Scott Morrison, is an outspoken, politically conservative Pentecostal Christian. This mixing of religion and politics may be old-hat at this point for Americans. But it's an entirely new experience for Australians.
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(COMMENTARY) In recent decades, LDS leaders have made several attempts – prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, for example – to distance themselves from the M-word. Now, the church's president has made another appeal for journalists, and everyone else, to avoid "Mormon" when referring to members of his church. To be blunt, he said he's on a mission from God.
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Two years after British Islamist Thomas Evans (aka Abdul Hakim) died in a hail of Kenyan military bullets, his younger brother, Michael, is still searching for answers.
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(COMMENTARY) The International Football Association Board's "Laws of the Game" – used at the FIFA World Cup – state: "Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images." This rule "applies to all equipment (including clothing) worn by players," according to IFAB guidelines. BUT Does this apply to religious symbols woven into the flags and traditions of many nations?
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America was divided, tense and angry in 1969, when Fred Rogers faced a U.S. Senate Subcommittee poised to grant President Richard Nixon his requests for deep budget cuts for public broadcasting. Rogers told the senators why he kept telling children they were unique and special. But he also talked about fear, anger and confusion – because that's what children were feeling. The senators nixed the cuts, and the Rev. Fred Rogers – an ordained Presbyterian minister – continued with his complex blend of television, child development and subtle messages about faith.
Justice Anthony Kennedy's 7-2 majority opinion in favor of the baker at the Masterpiece Cakeshop focused on evidence that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had demonstrated open hostility towards owner Jack Phillips and his Christian faith. Meanwhile, Phillips says he is looking forward to creating more wedding cakes, now that he is free to do so while following his Christian convictions.
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