(ANALYSIS) Amid the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war, observers in the region and internationally continue to make assumptions about Gazan public support for Hamas. Mistaken assumptions such as those by U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, claiming that all Gazans are “antisemitic,” or those that blame Gazans for “electing Hamas” may shape debates not only on how the war is perceived, but also over relief plans for Gazans in the months ahead.
Read More(ANALYSIS) During Babe Ruth’s heyday, his fame didn’t only help baseball — but religion, too. Anti-Catholic sentiment was prevalent in the United States during Ruth’s era, and his proud demonstrations of his Catholic faith helped ameliorate that prejudice.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the crucial religion angles related to the Israel-Hamas war. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a scholar of global Islam, I teach an introduction to Islam course and include a discussion about Al-Aqsa as part of the syllabus. That’s because Al-Aqsa has deep religious significance for Muslims around the world. But it is also important to highlight its remarkable political relevance for Palestinians.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Particularly in the West, people tend to think about religion in terms of belief in a higher power, such as God. For many nones, however, spirituality does not need a god or the supernatural to address questions of purpose, meaning, belonging and well-being. While abandoning mainstream religious affiliation, many turn to alternative expressions, including secular, atheist and psychedelic churches.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many in the media continue to get this story wrong. For many, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is treated like a political story. It was a story about land. It was about colonization. It was about human rights. It may be about all those things, depending on whom you ask, but it’s also a story about Jews, Muslims and sacred sites in the Holy Lands. In other words, it’s a religion story.
Read More(ANALYSIS) What with Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine raging unabated and now Israel’s retaliation after extensive Hamas terror attacks from Gaza, it’s understandable that journalists, their audiences and politicians have paid little attention to a massive ongoing humanitarian crisis in interior Asia, where Western media lack observers on the ground.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I wanted to explore that gender gap on marriage a bit. But also I wanted to see how all of that related back to religion. I think it goes without saying that lots of people have found their current spouse at a house of worship. But is being single driving women further away from religion than unmarried men? These are questions worth some analysis and reflection.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Can the faith-based film industry shift from appealing to married women to single women? It’s highly doubtful. It would require a huge shift in talent and genre that I don’t see evidence for. Certainly, the happily-married, evangelical men who now run the faith-based film industry would be unlikely to do it.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The parallels were striking — and surely not coincidental. Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated military attack by its neighbors — Egypt and Syria — Israel was again caught by surprise.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Vatican's release of "dubia" documents underlined the importance of the historic global synod, which will address issues in church life including the ordination of women, the status of LGBTQ+ believers, clerical celibacy and changes for divorced Catholics seeking Holy Communion.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the latest on the Catholic Church’s big synod. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, more than half of Americans identified with the “mainline” Protestant churches that “have played an outsized role in America’s history,” says a Sept. 13 report from the Public Religion Research Institute. No longer, as is well known among clergy and parishioners who pay attention, scholars and religion journalists.
Read MoreIn societies where Muslims constitute a minority, the abaya takes on an added layer of significance. Muslim women can use the abaya as a means to connect with their cultural heritage. But it has also drawn criticism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Why did the Bible accept slavery? There’s been intense discussion of this never-ending issue in 2023, as we’ll see. In essence, defenders of the Bible explain that slave-holding was a fundamental aspect of society as far back as the earliest written annals we have, well before biblical times.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The public legacy of Pope Francis is secured by elite journalists who shape much of what appears in the mainstream news media. Catholics, however, may have a different view — if they read coverage in alternative news sources — given earlier scandals of the Francis era and now the Rupnik case.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Sukkot is a Jewish festival that follows right on the heels of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Judaism’s High Holy Days. The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29, 2023, lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites on Sept. 19, 2023. The eight mound complexes that received this designation are spread across central and southern Ohio and were built between the beginning of the common era and the 12th century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The growing use of AI may prompt more churches to debut AI-generated worship services. A church in Austin, Texas, for example, has put a banner out advertising a service with an AI-generated sermon. The church worship will also include an AI-generated call to worship and pastoral prayer. Yet this use of AI has prompted concerns, as these technologies are believed to disrupt authentic human presence and leadership in religious life.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in previews the Catholic Church’s upcoming synod on synodality in Rome. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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