(ANALYSIS) If this administrative pattern continues, it risks institutionalizing practices that allow for both arbitrary denial of citizenship rights and arbitrary exemptions from legal violations. The consequences are especially grave in a country with diverse migrant histories and weak birth registration infrastructure. For many Indians without birth certificates, this could mean being subjected to unpredictable and discriminatory scrutiny.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Christians who oppose sports betting do so by applying biblical principles that discourage greed, materialism and irresponsibility. With a new NFL season upon us, concerns are also raised about the predatory nature of the gambling industry and its potential to cause addiction and harm to vulnerable people.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman. But the old-fashioned church Leanne Morgan attends in her summer Netflix sitcom does have a Philippians 4:13 poster in the fellowship hall proclaiming: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) To me, there’s always been a pretty big blind spot when it comes to the study of non-religion in the United States. There are plenty of survey questions that ask about religious attendance and belief in God.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Psychedelics, broadly defined, are a class of psychoactive substances that alter perception, cognition and mood through their interaction with neurotransmitters such as serotonin. As a medical anthropologist I have spent the past 25 years studying the rise of alternative approaches to mental health treatments and have specifically focused in the past four years on the impact of psychedelics on consciousness and spirituality.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As summer winds down and Americans gather with family and friends for barbecues and beach trips, the first Monday of September offers more than just a long weekend. Labor Day, often treated as the unofficial end of summer, has deeper roots. It’s a holiday born out of struggle — of marches, strikes and a nationwide push to recognize the dignity of workers.
Read MoreCracker Barrel became the latest company engulfed in a culture war after announcing a new logo — and then reversing course amid criticism from everyone from President Donald Trump to the Democratic Party.
Read MoreAfter each and every school shooting, the usual suspects in public life produce their familiar soundbites that draw cheers from the faithful in their various choirs in blue America and red America.
Read More(ANALYSIS) During the rituals of prayers and stories one night, Angel Studios co-founder Jeffrey Harmon's young son asked: "Dad, what does the other side of your eyeballs look like? ... Can I pull them out and look at them?” The answer was “No.” The exchange was a reminder that kids have “wild ideas,” said Harmon in a video chat with Angel Guild members who crowdfund the studio's movies.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the things that we often hear when we tell folks that we are working on a project that is studying the growing number of nones in the United States is something along the lines of, “Oh, I’m not that religious, but I consider myself highly spiritual.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) In what authorities called an “absolutely incomprehensible” act of violence, a gunman opened fire on a Catholic church during morning Mass on Wednesday — killing two children and injuring 17 others. The implications of this tragedy ripple far beyond Minneapolis. It is the latest — and among the most chilling — examples of how places once considered safe sanctuaries have become targets.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Twenty years after Katrina’s landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, the hurricane remains one of the biggest disasters in American history: 1,392 deaths, and damage of about $200 billion (in 2025 dollars). This will be a week of remembrance in New Orleans. We’ll probably hear a lot about the scope of the loss and the failures in response.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With two dramatic actions, the “Religious Right” is suddenly prodding the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its historic 2015 Obergefell decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Such a radical and unpopular switch after only 10 years might seem implausible — but a close parallel already happened in the 2022 Dobbs decision.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Every once in a while, someone would ask me how I became a pastor. I completely understand the impetus for the question, by the way. If you didn’t grow up around religion, the pathway to ministry can seem somewhat opaque. Let me just quickly lay out my story.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a moment of both theological significance and pastoral clarity, Pope Leo XIV made his most consequential intervention yet on the church’s role in the Amazon. In a recent message, the pope struck a firm tone to 90 South American bishops meeting in Bogota, Colombia — affirming the Catholic Church’s mission and offering a course correction from the recent past.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Students at elite universities tend to talk a good game when it comes to religious pluralism. Many of them show up on day one already saying all the right things about respecting different faiths. Here’s the paradox: They don’t grow from there, according to research published in The Journal of Higher Education. Students at less selective colleges, meanwhile, do develop more pluralistic attitudes.
Read MoreGeorge Schroeder loves college football. He just loves Jesus more. After over a quarter-century as a sportswriter, Schroeder found a new calling in ministry.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For decades, one name was ubiquitous in American evangelical homes: Focus on the Family. A media empire with millions of listeners and readers, its messages about parenting, marriage and politics seemed to reach every conservative Christian church and school. And one man’s name was nearly synonymous with Focus on the Family: James Dobson.
Read MoreIt helps to remember that this Lutheran denomination has lost roughly half of its members during the last 50 years and insiders have suggested that it may die by 2050.
Read More(ANALYSIS) August 22nd marks the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, a day established by the U.N. General Assembly to condemn acts of violence targeting individuals on the basis of or in the name of religion or belief.
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