We Need Serious Leadership On Genocide Prevention

(ANALYSIS) In the United States, April is designated as Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month and is aimed at commemorating and raising awareness about genocides that occurred in the past, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.

Are Catholic Converts More Hardcore Than Cradle Catholics?

(ANALYSIS) Here’s a religion and politics story from the 2024 election that I hadn’t really thought about until recently: J.D. Vance, Trump’s pick for vice president, converted to Catholicism in 2019.

After Francis, What Now For The Catholic Church?

(ANALYSIS) With Pope Francis’ funeral in the rearview mirror, the focus at the Vatican shifts to the forthcoming papal conclave and the process of electing the next pontiff. The Catholic Church is bigger than one single pope, but talk of Francis’ legacy lingers as the church finds itself at a crossroads. It is also something the next pope will have to contend with.

How Are Popes And Other World Religious Leaders Chosen?

Saturday’s majestic open-air funeral for Pope Francis is now followed by election of the next pope by the College of Cardinals in a process shrouded in secrecy. Indeed, the Latin root for “conclave” means “locked room”). Its legendary status was underscored in January when the fictionalized movie thriller “Conclave” was nominated for Best Picture and other Oscars.

2024 Election Post-Mortem: How Did Evangelicals Vote?

(ANALYSIS) The breakdown of the non-White evangelical vote may tell the story of the 2024 election when it comes to religion. Republicans have historically struggled with this group of voters. But it was essentially split in 2024 — Harris 49% and Trump at 48%.

⛪️ ‘The Pope Is Dead!’: News Outlets Prepared In Advance To Cover Francis’ Passing 🔌

When the leader of the world’s estimated 1.4 billion Catholics passes, it’s always banner-headline news.

Crossroads Podcast: Pope Francis’ Legacy And The Search for His Successor

Above all, Francis preached dialogue and “synodality,” but promoted (and protected) his allies while and punishing his most powerful critics. Under his orders, the Vatican often hinted at major changes — with a vague footnote, a blunt quotation to reporters or documents that served as ecclesiastical executive orders. In the end, he appointed 108 of the 135 cardinal electors who will select the next pope.

On Religion: Surging Catholic Conversions Signal Quiet Revival in a Secular Age

(ANALYSIS) Truth is, many parishes in Europe are growing. But others are dying. As one theologian noted in a 1969 German radio interview, Catholicism was entering a time of painful decline in the modern world. But that was not the end of the story. Easter follows Good Friday.

Muere Mario Vargas Llosa: El Nobel peruano Que Enfrentó La Fe, El Poder Y Sus Propios Demonios

El escritor peruano Mario Vargas Llosa, laureado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 2010, falleció en Lima el 13 de abril. Críticos y seguidores han dedicado los últimos días y semanas a analizar la obra y el legado de este renombrado intelectual, político, novelista y ensayista —considerado por muchos como una de las figuras más importantes de la literatura mundial contemporánea.

Writer Mario Vargas Llosa Remembered: From Catholic Devotion to Defiant Agnosticism

(ANALYSIS) Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature, died in Lima on April 13. His critics and followers have spent the last few days and weeks analyzing the work and legacy of this renowned intellectual, politician, novelist and essayist — arguably one of the most important figures in contemporary world literature. Vargas Llosa is often regarded as the last of the great writers from the Latin American “Boom of the 1960s.”

Belief In An Afterlife Is Increasing In The United States

(ANALYSIS) It’s easy to label someone who never goes to church as nonreligious, but when you go one layer deeper — to the afterlife — you can see that there’s still a whole lot of people with some level of religious belief.

This Just In: Traditional Religion In The US Now ‘Obsolete’

(ANALYSIS) “Americans have lost faith in traditional religion,” announces the sweeping first sentence of a contentious book published during Holy Week: “Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America.”

The Chair In Rome Is Empty

(ANALYSIS) I was not planning on writing about Francis this morning or tomorrow. Instead, I was planning on writing about the signs pointing to what I believe is the biggest religion story in Christianity around the world.

Christianity, Catholicism, AnalysisTerry MattinglyApril 21, 2025Terry Mattingly, Pope Francis, papacy, analysis, Vatican, Christainity, Catholic ChurchComment

📝 ‘We Will Never Forget’: How Covering The Biggest Story Of My Life Changed Me 🔌

On the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, our columnist reflects on how covering the biggest story of his life changed him.

Crossroads Podcast: Ms. Aslan A Hollywood Passion Play For Our Times

For millions of Chronicles of Narnia fans, the term “Stone Table” represents a series of events that explicitly defined the Christology that C.S. Lewis placed at the heart of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” If news consumers want to understand the importance of reports about superstar Meryl Streep providing the voice of Aslan, then these dramatic Narnia moments are a good place to start. Some of these recent headlines provided a hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.

On Religion: What Counts As An ‘Easter Movie’ On American TV?

(ANALYSIS) For more than 50 years ABC — with very few exceptions — has offered “The Ten Commandments” as the network's featured film for Holy Week. In fact, nothing says “Easter” like a showdown between Moses, the 13th century BCE Hebrew prophet, and the pharaoh Ramses the Great and the gods of Egypt.

Jesus Christ Box Office Superstar: Why Faith-Based Films Are Dominating

(ANALYSIS) People might disagree whether Jesus is King, but he certainly is ruling the box office this Easter season. America loves movies and it loves Jesus. As a result, it’s s safe to say both will be with us for a very long time. You might say it’s Jesus’ world, we’re just living in it. That’s true to Christians at all times. But for now it’s also true when it comes to dominating the U.S. box office.

Amid Gender Apartheid In Afghanistan, Women Face Deportations

(ANALYSIS) In January 2025, Trump’s administration halted visa processing for refugees. All refugee travel to the U.S. was to be canceled. This included the travel of nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to resettle in America — including many women and girls who were facing serious risk upon return.

High School Students Are Growing Incredibly Antisocial

(ANALYSIS) Now we are in the phase of cellphones, screen time and socialization. The data about the social lives of high school students is incredibly bleak and honestly makes me very worried for the next generation. Let me show you what I mean by generating a handful of graphs from this great dataset called Monitoring the Future.

What Ancient Animal Fables From India Teach About Political Wisdom

(ANALYSIS) Viṣṇuśarman’s “Pañcatantra” is a striking collection of animal fables from perhaps around 300 C.E. in which birds, lions and others speak and reason as humans do. The stories are parables that teach how to negotiate sometimes brave, sometimes cruel, sometimes clever and sometimes naïve friends and enemies alike.

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