(ANALYSIS) Extraordinary. That’s the word for “Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality,” a 2024 book-of-the-year candidate written by Colorado State University historian Matthew L. Harris. He analyzes the restrictions that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints imposed upon members of Black African ancestry between 1852 and 1978, an issue that extended into the 21st century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the “Laughing Buddha” is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who lived in India about 2,500 years ago.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In early August 2024, thousands of women and women’s rights campaigners took to the streets across Iraq to protest proposed legal changes that effectively would legalize child marriage. The proposed change is to allow citizens to choose between religious authorities or civil judiciary to decide on family matters.
Read MoreDuring one of the presidential elections during my decade teaching in Washington, D.C., there was more than the usual chatter about the importance of the so-called “Catholic vote” and its impact in swing states.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It was a strange way for Oliver Anthony to mark the anniversary of the YouTube video that turned him into a country music roots phenomenon. “Rich Men North of Richmond” launched last Aug. 8, 2023. When that date rolled around a year later, Hurricane Debby was sweeping through Virginia. The creeks were rising as Anthony headed into the woods with his dogs and his smartphone to record another emotional mini-sermon.
Read MoreSome of the greatest writers ever to put pen to paper were deeply influenced by their religious beliefs. Take JRR Tolkien, for instance. He didn't merely craft a fantasy epic with “The Lord of the Rings,” but he filled it with the depth and richness of his Catholic faith. Through characters like Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn, Tolkien explored themes of sacrifice, redemption and the struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Recent weeks have seen an increase in the targeting of the Rohingya community. In June 2024, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres expressed his deep concern about escalating violence in Myanmar. According to the U.N., Myanmar’s Rakhine State has seen a spike in violence between the Myanmar military and the Arakan army. Reportedly, many of the attacks targeted the minority Muslim Rohingya community.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Every once in a while I will get an email from someone who doesn’t really fit the mold. Let me be clear that the amount of communication I get from Bernie Sanders-supporting White evangelicals is not huge. The more common sentiment is a White evangelical who sees themselves as politically moderate or really pushed out by the modern MAGA Republican Party.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The pronunciation of “Kamala” is the least interesting thing about this lovely name, which is only one of many words in Sanskrit for the radiant, fragrant, large-petaled pink lotus, or Nelumbo nucifera , that is ubiquitous in the Indian subcontinent.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The legacy of the Taliban regime — which meant to be a new Taliban 2.0 but failed on all fronts — is gender apartheid, genocide and gross human rights violations. The three years of their reign, since the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, have been filled with report after report documenting the litany of atrocities perpetrated in the country.
Read MoreIs there a more recent dataset of European religion that I haven’t analyzed yet. And the answer is yes! There is one. It just released data from a survey wave that was administered in 2023 and 2024. It’s not all of Europe, just 13 countries. It doesn’t include France, but it does have a nice representation from Western Europe, Scandinavia and a few Eastern European countries thrown in there.
Read MoreThe Baltimore Orioles hosted the team's first Faith Night promotion this week. The Orioles joined a trend of MLB franchises doing so.
Read MoreLet’s say that you know a teacher at a Catholic school that, when accepting this job, this person signed a contract in which he agreed to defend the doctrines detailed in the Catholic Catechism or, at the very least, not to oppose them in public. After several years of work, this teacher decided that gender is a social construct and that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body and began to transition into life as a woman. The school then declined to renew the teacher’s contract. Was that teacher canceled?
Read More(ESSAY) In one theme of this summer's travels, the history of Japanese Christianity, I found a different issue. This is the ignorance not only amongst foreigners but also amongst Japanese themselves of that history, particularly the long history of persecution. Some of this, especially the dire persecutions of the early seventeenth century, is better known through Shusako Endo's gripping 1966 novel “Silence.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) To the left of my standing desk sits my treasured collection of drawings that our grandchildren have given me. Our grandkids are unabashedly excited about their drawings. They should be. They remind us of how we’re made in God’s image and likeness.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In many religious traditions, precognitive experiences are considered gifts from higher powers. Prophets like Isaiah and Daniel in the Bible received visions directly from God, guiding communities with forewarnings and words of wisdom. Similarly, Islam attributes precognitive elements to the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad in the Quran, offering insights into future events and moral lessons.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Father Stephen Noll felt a sense of loss when he learned he would need a smartphone app to attend baseball games. Noll calls himself a “digital dinosaur, perhaps from the Jurassic period.” What he didn't expect, after 50 years of priesthood, was for this digital divide to affect his ministry.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Several important threads have combined over the centuries to give rise to the Holy Grail metaphor commonly used nowadays. These include elements of pre-Christian mythology, the veneration of relics in Christian tradition, and medieval literature from Great Britain and France.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This extraordinary political year displays an increasingly multicultural America. Starting with Harris, she'd be the first Asian American to be president, the first with Hindu roots as signified by her name, the first female and first female African American. Despite Donald Trump’s feigned racial perplexity, her dual Black identity is equally obvious since she chose to attend Howard University and has been a member of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church for three decades.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The debate over a potentially less religious future for the Republican Party took center stage during discussions surrounding the Republican National Convention in July. On the first day of the festivities, Amber Rose was given a speaking slot. Is there a rising number of nonreligious Republicans that are going to take the party in a less socially conservative direction?
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