(OPINION) The moment I finished listening to the song, I sent him a voice text saying, “This could be the anthem for this young generation!” Instantly, the song sounded familiar to me, not like something new that I had to get used to. And the words were easily learned and memorized, to be sung and repeated countless times in the years ahead, as if to say, “Go ahead and call me unpopular. I will wear that title proudly!”
Read MoreGovernment-fostered misinformation and disinformation are hindering religious liberty in several places globally, USCIRF said in an August factsheet, and spreading societal religious persecution including violence. USCIRF defined misinformation as a claim that is false or inaccurate, and disinformation as a false or inaccurate claim that the government deliberately disseminates.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This extraordinary political year displays an increasingly multicultural America. Starting with Harris, she'd be the first Asian American to be president, the first with Hindu roots as signified by her name, the first female and first female African American. Despite Donald Trump’s feigned racial perplexity, her dual Black identity is equally obvious since she chose to attend Howard University and has been a member of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church for three decades.
Read MoreDuring the Cold War, an oft overlooked battle for minds unfolded on the vast stage of Africa. As colonial powers withdrew and new African nations emerged, both the United States and the Soviet Union scrambled for alliances. Author Phil Dow’s new book, “Accidental Diplomats,” catalogs the influence of American evangelical missionaries in Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read MoreRyan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, spoke recently inside the Board of Education conference room at the state Capitol complex in Oklahoma City. The interview came amid a national debate that every teacher in Oklahoma must be provided with physical copies of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The debate over a potentially less religious future for the Republican Party took center stage during discussions surrounding the Republican National Convention in July. On the first day of the festivities, Amber Rose was given a speaking slot. Is there a rising number of nonreligious Republicans that are going to take the party in a less socially conservative direction?
Read MoreIf you look up “Baptist” in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, you will find: “… a member or adherent of an evangelical Protestant denomination marked by congregational polity and baptism by immersion of believers only.” Ah, but I have heard quite a few Baptists, especially those leaning toward an Anabaptist identity, argue that the vague term “evangelical” doesn’t apply to them and some may even debate the word “Protestant.”
Read MoreIn a move widely seen as a major blow to religious freedom, the government of Rwanda has closed more than 4,000 houses of worship over the past month for various infractions that include operating in substandard structures, “unhygienic conditions,” not meeting noise pollution standards and not having formally trained preachers.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Riots have erupted across the United Kingdom over the past week as far-right groups launched attacks against hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques. A heavy security presence on Wednesday and a series of arrests across Britain has prevented a repeat of widespread rioting involving racist attacks targeting Muslims and other migrants that started late last month.
Read MoreThe Department of Justice has expressed an interest in an Arizona case involving a church that has been dealing with alleged zoning code violations for a benevolence food pantry it has operated for nearly 25 years.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Christianity, with its rich history of metaphysical claims and moral imperative, offers a bulwark against a descent into chaos — not for everyone, I know, but for a chunk of humanity. It provides a narrative that encompasses human suffering, offers redemption and asserts the inherent dignity of the individual, grounded in the image of God. Peter Thiel is aiming to bring that to the tech world.
Read MoreIn the violence-afflicted state of Manipur in India’s northeast, the Assam Rifles, a key central force, finds itself under intense scrutiny. It’s at the center of a campaign that accuses it of taking sides in the ethnic conflict between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribal groups. However, this claim might just be a smokescreen to divert attention from what could be the real issue.
Read More(ANALYSIS) These debates raged on and on because few combatants could agree on what took place, in part because that scene in the opening ceremonies were quickly removed from the official Olympics YouTube and NBC Universal accounts.
Read MoreChristian universities are dying. Several years of soaring costs, declining demographics and insufficient cash reserves have steadily driven the market into crisis. Yet, a 79-year-old private institution in North Carolina appears to be an anomaly. Carolina University’s enrollment has surged 29% this year, rising from 826 to 1,068 students.
Read MoreIn her bid to be the nation’s first female president, Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, thrusting the outspoken Minnesota Lutheran into the national spotlight. Walz, 60, brings political experience as well as suburban-and-rural appeal to the presidential race.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On July 25, a Hong Kong court dismissed Jimmy Lai’s defense’s mid-trial submission of “no case to answer” and adjourned the trial for four months until the end of November 2024, when Lai is expected to give evidence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Catholic history is full of childless women respected for their work, many of them members of religious communities. They often contributed to lasting social and cultural change. In fact, the very existence of women’s religious communities is a testament to the value Catholicism puts on childless women’s lives.
Read MoreSplinter Catholic movements within Kenya have gradually found their voice in the country’s religious scene and have maintained a steady following despite strong opposition from conservative voices in the local Catholic Church. The rise of the breakaway Catholic churches traces its roots to the May 2006 wedding of ex-Catholic priest Godfrey Shiundu to a former nun.
Read MoreEquatorial Guinea has a history of infringing on religious freedom dating back to the 1950s. The country is at it again using legislation to forcefully close numerous churches and deny thousands the freedom to worship. Six Pentecostal and evangelical churches were shut down by the government last year alone due to their failure to abide by registration regulations.
Read MoreFallout from the “Last Supper” scene during the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics spilled over into a second week after bishops from around the world — and even the Vatican — issued statements calling out the display as offensive to Christians everywhere. The Holy See said ir was “saddened” by the display, while others called on the IOC to “repudiate this blasphemous action.”
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