🚔 Family, Faith And A Finale: Why Fans Loved The TV Series ‘Blue Bloods’ 🔌

For the popular CBS drama “Blue Bloods,” the “End of Tour” — as the final episode is dubbed — brings an emotional farewell. People of faith who love the show lament its conclusion.

AI Jesus Might ‘Listen’ To Your Confession, But Can’t Absolve Your Sins

(ANALYSIS) The installation was a two-month project in religion, technology and art titled “Deus in Machina,” created at the University of Lucerne. The original Latin phrase literally means “god from the machine”; it refers to a plot device used in Greek and Roman plays, introducing a god to resolve an impossible problem or conflict facing the characters.

On Religion: God, Man And Christmas In the Cane River Valley

(ANALYSIS) Christmas is a good news, bad news situation in Pensacola, a tiny community in the Cane River Valley, high in the mountains of North Carolina. The good news is that Hurricane Helene’s flooding — which washed away almost everything at the town's crossroads — was followed by waves of volunteers and relief shipments from churches, nonprofits and businesses large and small.

What Role Did Evangelicals Play In The 2024 Republican Primary?

(ANALYSIS) Today, I am especially interested in what is happening with the Republican party in a post-Trump America. I have some data that offer a little bit of a window into who evangelicals might vote for when Trump’s name is not on the primary ballot.

Restoration and Reinvention: Breathing New Life into Uzbekistan’s Islamic Spaces

A new unique project in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan seeks to both revive and repurpose an architectural gem that survived the Soviet Union and decades of harsh weather. The Center for Contemporary Art residencies will be a unique cultural space in the heart of Tashkent. The site was built as a madrassa during the 1880s but, during the Soviet era, was used as a carpentry space.

‘No Person Knew Christ With Greater Intimacy’: There’s Something About Mary

(ANALYSIS) It’s universal for kids when they lose their way or skin their knees to call out for their parents. But from my experience as a parent, and now a grandparent, children more often cry for their mommy.

Analysis, Christianity, protestants, Women, womenMichael MetzgerDecember 7, 2024Mike Metzger, Dr. Michael Metzger, Mary, Virgin Mary, news, analysis, Christianity, God, Christmas, women, rechargeComment

Can Christians Consider Mass Deportations As Moral?

(ANALYSIS) Many Bible readings during Christmas services will recount that the infant Jesus escaped murder at the hands of paranoid King Herod because Egypt provided safe refuge to the fleeing Holy Family (per Matthew 2:13-15).

On Bodhi Day, Buddhists Commemorate Siddhartha Gautama’s Enlightenment

(ANALYSIS) Dec. 8 marks the celebration of Bodhi Day in Japanese Buddhism. Bodhi means enlightenment or awakening in Sanskrit. It commemorates the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha.

⚖️ Transgender Rights Debate Moves From The Voting Booth To SCOTUS 🔌

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti — “the most high-profile case of its term.” The case concerns a Tennessee law blocking gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.

Crossroads Podcast: Young Men Are Becoming Orthodox, But This Story Is Complex

Why are so many young men converting to Orthodoxy? Men seek the beauty and strength found in Orthodox Christianity and many are driven to convert — no matter what. The women in their lives? They may feel like they’re in the “passenger seat” of that car.

On Religion: Uncovering The Mysteries About Our Lady Of Guadalupe

(ANALYSIS) Year after year, Juan Diego's tilma is viewed by an estimated 20 million pilgrims, with more than 10 million visiting the basilica close to Dec. 12 — the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas. Around the world, throngs march in parades and sacred processions behind copies of this iconic Marian image.

Has The Episcopal Church Experienced Growth?

(ANALYSIS) The Episcopal Church has posted some new data related to the life of the church in 2023. From a purely quantitative perspective, no denomination is better than the Episcopalians. Being able to triangulate a variety of trends is the ideal way to get a complete picture of what’s happening in those churches across the United States.

Samuel Paty’s Beheading: The Limits Of Speech And Religion

Much of France is focused on the trial of eight people stemming from the 2020 beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by Abdoullah Anzorov, an 18-year-old Muslim immigrant from Chechnya. Anzorov is not on trial since he was shot dead by police after his butchery. The focus now is on those who encouraged and enabled him. This raises difficult questions about legal limits on speech, especially where religion is concerned.

Racism In The Church of England: ‘Microaggressions All The Time’

High Church parishes saw ethnic minorities as “not good enough” or unworthy. Charismatic evangelical churches were hostile towards Black leaders. And traditional rural conservative churches viewed anyone not white with suspicion, classing them as “foreign.” Only the progressive urban church was a truly welcoming and diverse space.

6 States Call Upon The ICC To Investigate The Situation Of Women In Afghanistan

(ANALYSIS) On Nov. 28, 2024, six state parties referred the “Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” to the International Criminal Court, expressing concern about the severe deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls.

Where Might US Evangelicalism Be In 2029?

(ANALYSIS) Whatever their partisan preferences, Americans can agree that the coming four years under President Donald Trump will bring major disruptions and contentions in politics. How might that affect religion?

How A Male-Dominant Church Could Save Faith-Based Films In The Future

(ANALYSIS) The genre faces a demographic cliff. The market for faith-based films has always been driven by Christian moms. And as I wrote last year, with fewer women getting married and having kids (and single women increasingly leaving Christianity), that market is inevitably going to shrink. A big shift may actually save the long-term future of faith-based films: The rise of a more masculine American church.

Olasky’s Books For December: Recalling Van Til’s Writing And Legacy

(ANALYSIS) Cornelius Van Til was a distinguished theologian who left liberal Princeton Seminary in 1929 to join the faculty of newly-formed Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for the next half-century. We are approaching the golden anniversary of what to me is his most readable book, “Christian Apologetics.” My Christmas present to readers is a quick look at it and six other Van Til books all published by P&R.

Does Religion Generate Higher Levels Of Self-Reported Well-Being?

(ANALYSIS) I’ve got some pretty fun data to work with today — it’s got a great name: “The Many-Analysts Religion Project,” and it asks a battery of religion questions from folks in 25 countries around the world. Although it was fielded in 2019, it was just added to the Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA) in the last couple of weeks.

Analysis, ReligionRyan BurgeNovember 29, 2024Graphs About Religion, Ryan Burge, Religion data, Mental health, Well-being, religion, analysisComment

On Religion: Trump, Reagan And Prayers Following Assassination Attempts

(ANALYSIS) For decades, Catholics recited this prayer after Mass, a practice continued by some Catholics and opposed by others. Thus, former President Donald Trump triggered debates by posting this prayer on social-media platforms on Sept. 29, the Catholic feast day of the archangels, in the ledad-up to Election Day.

Address

Contact

Information