(ANALYSIS) The American comics industry was largely started by the children of Jewish immigrants. Like most publishing in the early 20th century, it was centered in New York, home to the country’s largest Jewish population. Though they were still a very small minority, immigration had swelled the United States’ Jewish population more than a thousandfold: from roughly 3,000 in 1820 to roughly 3,500,000 in 1920.
Read MoreWhen it comes to basic statistics, the 1960s and ‘70s were the high-water mark for liberal mainline Protestants. Pews were often full and strategic mergers — such as the process that eventually created the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1983 — led to membership totals that inspired ecclesiastical bureaucrats to dream about bold “reforms” in the future (click for a timeline of LGBTQ+ activism in the Episcopal Church).
Read MoreWhen covering a tragedy, faith almost always emerges as a part of the story. That was the case again this past weekend when a monster storm system struck the Deep South and the Plains.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The goal was to create local educational events about smartphones and digital technology that would let parents interact with representatives from Troomi and other major companies in the “minimalist” phone marketplace — such as Gabb, Bark, Pinwheel and The Light Phone. What happened next?
Read More(ANALYSIS) Even though the Empress Dowager Ling’s rule was problematic and short — resulting in her assassination — she laid the foundation for other, more successful female rulers across medieval East Asia. Empress Dowager Ling was not a warrior, but she embraced martial symbols of her own power that were available to women in Taghbach culture, not in Chinese culture.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If the saga of SWBTS does indeed have a happy ending, or at least a thriving next chapter, a good bit of the credit can be attributed to one man: Dr. David Dockery.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In recent days, a horrifying surge of violence and bloodshed has swept across Syria, leaving a civilian death toll of nearly 1,400. Most of the victims were part of the Alawite sect, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s religious community. A number of Christians who live in close proximity to Alawite communities have also been killed.
Read More(REVIEW) Encouraging women to feel disgust toward men’s sexuality also doesn’t seem like the best approach to restoring harmony between the sexes. Despite Perry’s focus on the harms of hookup culture, Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations. Culture critic Freya India points out that much of this is due to the constant fearmongering about sex and men from online influencers. The result of Perry’s book may not be healthier relationships, but fewer ones.
Read More(ANALYSIS) To many, George Berkeley is little more than a bishop — a distant historical figure whose name happens to adorn the University of California at Berkeley. A polymath of epic proportions, he sought to dissect reality itself. While Elon Musk pursues a future of technological transcendence, Berkeley strived for clarity in the present, reducing reality to its bare bones.
Read More(ANALYSIS) After two years of thinking and writing, Cameron DeLaFleu and Joe Wilson have posted their full, final version of “The Official List of 100 Movies Every Catholic Should See.” They never took a week off in this process. The goal was to put a spotlight on “films which truly reach for the Good, True, and Beautiful in their themes as well as in their technical artistic prowess.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) As Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, an important aspect of their faith is their role as stewards of God on Earth. One way Muslims do this is through the practice of Zakat, an obligatory kind of charity that’s one of the five pillars of Islam.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Sudan has filed an application instituting proceedings against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with regard to a dispute concerning alleged violations by the UAE of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) in relation to the Masalit group in Sudan, most notably in West Darfur.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Only about 30% of Americans can correctly answer basic questions about government institutions, public policy, etc. In other words, it’s a miracle that democracy works at all given just how little the average voter knows. But what happens when we throw religion in the mix?
Read MoreThis week marks the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown. Mostly, life has returned to normal. But in some ways we still seem to be struggling, our columnist notes.
Read MoreDuring a typical week, readers (or podcast listeners) send me emails or messages through various social-media platforms. Often, these people are frustrated or even angry. Most folks are not upset with me. More often than not, they are ticked off about something they have seen — or failed to see — in mainstream press coverage of the news.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the chaos, journalists have struggled to confirm statistics about fatalities, while waves of social media videos claim to show crucified Christians, Alawites and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups being beaten, militants firing machine guns into houses and committing other atrocities.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the most impactful cultural changes in 21st-century America has been the steady decline in Christian vitality, as measured by membership, baptisms versus funerals, worship attendance, practices, and perceptions. Two major new social science surveys suggest that this decline may have bottomed out — though statistics about secularizing youth give believers ample reason to worry about the future.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pilgrims would journey across continents to light candles beneath their frescoed domes, whisper prayers into the cool stone walls, and gaze upon centuries-old icons bathed in flickering candlelight. These sites are much more than buildings. They are testaments to Greece’s spiritual, cultural and historical identity. Yet today, that serenity is under attack.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Last month, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution agreeing to establish a fact-finding mission on the serious human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Using FIRE’s recent survey of a bunch of college and university students, let me show you the religious composition of Harvard and Yale, compared to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, which is the epitome of a directional university in a flyover state.
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