Ablution, or wudu, is often performed before prayer and involves washing the hands, face, mouth, nostrils, arms, and feet in a certain sequence with running water. “I always travel across Africa with work. Many buildings and public spaces have no wudu facilities. This makes most Muslims uncomfortable,” said one frequent traveler.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Halloween used to be different. Very different. Before Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger, before trick-or-treating and crowded costume parties, it was All Hallows’ Eve. It was a night when candles burned for the dead and prayers rose into the dark. Families across Europe gathered in solemn silence, marked more by reverence than by revelry.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Exorcist” has always stuck out to me as a movie because of its universality, its appeal to both the religious and secular. “Exorcistic” is a byproduct of the movie’s lasting influence in media that certainly leaves a wild impression of its own. It’s worth seeing if you want something to put you into the Halloween spirit.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Two hundred years ago, on Oct. 26, 1825, New York Gov. DeWitt Clinton boarded a canal boat by the shores of Lake Erie. Amid boisterous festivities, his vessel, the Seneca Chief, embarked from Buffalo, the westernmost port of his brand-new Erie Canal.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This month marks 181 years — on Oct. 15, 1844 — since the birth of a man with a magnificent mustache. That man is Friedrich Nietzsche. So often cast as the very symbol of atheism, the German philosopher is widely misunderstood. To read him as a cheerleader for unbelief is to miss the point entirely.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many congregations have developed safer celebrations — often called “Holy-ween, “fall festivals” or similar terms — which almost always offer “trunk 'r treat” options, with families parked in church lots and children going car to car collecting candy.
Read More(REVIEW) “Black Phone 2” is good when it’s going for vibe and style. The first half, where it shows characters dealing with trauma without judging them, is Derrickson at his best. But a disappointing second half that focuses more on preaching than entertainment undermines any goodwill the film built up. And its harmful spiritual messages mean that this is a phone call there’s very little reason to take.
Read MoreTouchdowns may be scored on the field, but what goes on off it? Fans are praying, warding off evil, consulting mediums and even wondering if angels or aliens are silently shaping the fate of their favorite teams. The study, conducted by Free Bets, surveyed over 2,000 fans across all 32 NFL teams to uncover just how many of them believe in the supernatural.
Read More(OPINION) After participating in multiple protests this year opposing authoritarianism, a Christian minister reflects on how people of faith can help sustain the growing No Kings movement — with hope, humor, and moral clarity. The “No Kings” movement, thank God, has only just begun.
Read More(REVIEW) Like most mainstream, organized religions, Islam is a big tent. Corralling the various ideologies, sects, divisions, major players and developments over the course of some fourteen hundred years into a digestible narrative is no easy job, and Tolan’s effort is both daunting and admirable.
Read MoreDiwali — the annual Hindu fall “Festival of Lights” — is gaining mainstream popularity in places with large Indian and Southeast Asian immigrant populations — and businesses of all shapes and sizes are taking notice, modifying existing products or services or launching new ones to tap into the group’s sizable buying power.
Read MoreThe Constitutional Court in South Africa decided last month that husbands can adopt their wives’ surnames upon getting married, ruling that until now the law discriminated against men. While it is being celebrated as a progressive decision by some, the ruling has outraged many — with some religious and traditional leaders saying this is an assault on marriage.
Read MoreIgnoring pleas from animal rights advocates to denounce bullfighting and its close ties with Spanish Catholicism, Pope Leo XIV is aligning himself with Spain’s bishops, who remain hesitant to condemn the cruelty of the popular bloodsport. Animal rights groups see a red flag, arguing that the practice, which dates back centuries, is barbaric.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The question of whether Christianity is under attack, especially in the United States, is a complex and deeply polarizing one. Is it discrimination? Is it part of an overall decline? Is it a cultural shift? It could very well be a combination of all three.
Read MoreThe history of San Francisco Church in Valparaíso is so intertwined with the Chilean port city that when a fire burned down the building in 2013, one neighbor felt like she was losing a friend. The city owes its nickname “Pancho” to the church (men named “Francisco” are often called “Pancho” in Latin America).
Read MoreLa historia de la Iglesia San Francisco en Valparaíso está tan entrelazada con la ciudad portuaria chilena que, cuando un incendio destruyó el edificio en 2013, una vecina sintió que estaba perdiendo a un amigo.
Read More(REVIEW) “House of David” is the flagship title of the newly launched “Wonder Project,” and Season 2 is the biggest launch title for its new subscription platform. The series delivers on epic battles, complex characters and biblical themes. It recounts the ascent of the biblical figure David, who eventually becomes the most renowned and celebrated king of Israel.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If Charlie Kirk’s movement accomplishes its ambitious goals, it would rival America’s significant evangelical youth revival that erupted after World War II. “Parachurch” organizations formed during that era, like InterVarsity, The Navigators, Cru and YoungLife are all active today.
Read More(OPINION) “If you are there and you’re listening, I’d appreciate some help,” the writer prayed. The response was stone silence.
Read MoreInterest in communicating with the dead has continued to thread itself through contemporary American life. For a medium in Pennsylvania, communicating with loved ones helps bring her clients comfort. While the tradition of consulting seers and oracles is as old as the ancient Greeks, spiritualism in America really started to take off in the middle of the 19th century.
Read More
