Pope Francis — the first pontiff from the Americas, who clashed with traditional Catholics but was hailed as a reformer by progressives — died on Monday, a day after Easter, at age 88. The pope had been plagued by a series of health issues in recent years. Hours after his death was announced, the Vatican said Francis died from a stroke that put him into a coma and led to heart failure.
Read More(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.
Read More(REVIEW) In an age ruled by smartphones, “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality” arrives as a timely and stirring documentary that invites viewers to pause, reflect and reconnect — with others, with the world and with something greater than themselves. This 90-minute documentary recounts the story of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006 and now set to be canonized a saint.
Read More(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.
Read MoreFor Uganda’s Christians, the Way of the Cross is more than a ritual — it is a powerful affirmation of faith, an expression of gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice and a moment of deep collective introspection. By uniting believers across denominations and walks of life, the procession continues to embody the core message of Easter: In Christ, there is redemption, unity and the promise of eternal life.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s a straightforward part of the Easter story: The Roman governor Pontius Pilate had Jesus of Nazareth killed by his soldiers. But over the past 2,000 years, it was common for some Christians to deem Pilate almost blameless for Jesus’ death and treat Jews as responsible — a belief that has shaped the global history of antisemitism.
Read MoreOver the past decade, Passion Plays have become a feature of U.K. life. Over the past few years, the London Passion Play has lead the way when it comes to such re-enactments. The idea, however, dates back to the Middle Ages, when individual scenes would be performed at different sites around a city or town by the local guilds.
Read MoreAttempting to determine which American city is the “most Christian” is no easy task. The outcome of a new study came with some surprises. The survey, out in time for Easter, has determined that the urban center with the highest religious engagement for Christians, using a variety of metrics and factors, is New York.
Read MoreFive cases addressing religious liberty ranging from parental rights to age verification on pornographic sites will be decided when the Supreme Court announces its decisions in the coming months.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Why empower a small group of unelected, perhaps unrepresentative, people from some religious communities with official privileged access to the governor? Why treat seven people as if they could speak for the millions of religious believers in Texas? Can a Baptist properly reflect Catholic concerns, or an Orthodox Jew reflect Muslim concerns?
Read MoreAlthough a recent study reveals that Lent is largely ignored by many Christians in the United States, there is a trend among members of some conservative Protestant denominations to incorporate it in their Easter observances. Some who are members of conservative Presbyterian denominations have even taken up Lent in a break from tradition.
Read MoreTheodore McCarrick — once one of the Catholic Church's most influential figures in the United States who was later defrocked following a Vatican investigation that found he had abused both adults and minors — has died at age 94. McCarrick, who served as the archbishop of Washington from 2000 to 2006, remains one of the highest-ranking U.S. prelates accused in a sexual abuse scandal.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The bridge between Ash Wednesday and Easter is the penitential season of Lent. However, Lent is “not on the radar” for most Americans, according to a new Lifeway Research study focusing on Catholics, Protestants and the unchurched. Most who observe Lent find their own ways to mark the season, with some form of the “give up one thing for Lent” pattern as the norm.
Read MoreMost immigrants at risk of deportation are Christian, researchers deduced, with 61 percent of them Catholics. But 13 percent are evangelicals, seven percent are from other Christian groups, seven percent are from other religious groups and 12 percent have no religious affiliation.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a medievalist, I appreciate Francis’ contrasting approach: A religious leader who embraces history and scholarship, and encourages others to do the same — even as book bans and threats to academic freedom mount.
Read MoreRome has been all gussied up for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year. An extra 10 million pilgrims are forecast, adding to last year's record of 22 million. More than $8 billion has been spent to refurbish the city’s historic sites with their ancient ruins, spectacular churches and Renaissance fountains. Nothing of the like has taken place in Israel as it also awaits pilgrims.
Read MoreGrief can take many forms — the echo of a loved one’s laugh, a favorite saying or even a silly joke. It’s a belonging on a living room table, clothes you can’t quite bring yourself to donate or a domestic animal who wanders the house aimlessly after a loved one’s death.
Read MoreWhile we were recording the podcast this week, I told Lutheran Public Radio listeners that I was well aware that much of the information I was sharing was rather complex, if not downright confusing. That was kind of the point. When it comes to statistical trends in religion, we live in a very, very confusing age.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Clergy need to grasp that smartphones are raising moral and spiritual questions they cannot avoid. Postponing complex and even controversial discussions of these digital dilemmas will not make the problems disappear.
Read MoreIn many countries around the world, a fifth or more of adults have left the religious group in which they were raised. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced large losses from this “religious switching,” while rising numbers of adults have opted to have no affiliation, according to Pew Research Center surveys of nearly 80,000 people across 36 countries.
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