(Commentary) Our review of the U.S. press coverage of claims that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK), had given his permission to clergy to bless same-sex unions has sparked rigorous debate on social media. George Conger responds with his perspective on what is causing the discord.
Read More(COMMENTARY) An article in the Guardian about Catholic resistance to relaxing a Good Friday drinks ban has no Catholic voices. What this piece does have is assumptions. It assumes what the stance of the Catholic Church might be and that all right thinking people will agree with the author’s worldview. George Conger argues that readers are left an example of agitprop, which fails the basic tests of sound journalism.
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Most people never read whole articles, and a surprising number of readers don’t make it past the first paragraph of a news story. Plenty of people share articles without ever reading them. So, how do news agencies fare with their headlines for culture war cases that make it to the Supreme Court? Alex Grass finds out.
Read More(OPINION) President Donald Trump sees his big tax-bill win on Capitol Hill was a giant – maybe even huuuuge – Christmas present for America. But many people think of Christmas as a cultural season built on gifts, travel, fun, food, and festivities more than a religious holiday.
Read More(OPINION) Lottie Moon was a pioneer missionary and educator in the late 19th Century who remained steadfast and true to her calling. She let God use her in a remarkable way during her lifetime and her work is still touching people around the world.
Read MorePope Francis elected the first ever Nordic Cardinal earlier this year. Some say Sweden´s gender equality and liberal attitude to immigration might have influenced the Pope´s decision.
Read MoreKamal Fahmi left his 35 years of formal missionary work trading it for a new cause: Religious freedom. Operating from Egypt, he founded an NGO dedicated to fight the blasphemy and apostasy laws that ironically limit the rights of Muslims.
Read MoreCatholic church bells in the Northern District of the Philippines will be ringing every night for three months to protest the alarming rise in casualties in anti-drug operations.
Read MoreNikki and Louise Draven believe that the genitalia they possess is not determinant of them as persons. They have been recognized legally as the first gender-fluid family in Great Britain.
Read MoreA handful of American mainstream news outlets have picked up the story, but unlike their European counterparts, they chose not to reprint the cartoon.
Read More(OPINION) The Daily Telegraph has leapt into a dispute between two factions of a London church. Yet the journalistic shortcomings of this article turn it into a club for traditionalists to beat modernizers.
Read MoreRabbi Sacks, who won the 2016 Templeton Prize, is convinced that religious leaders face three options in an age in which reason and materialism have failed to inspire citizens to make sacrifices on behalf of future generations.
Read MoreAs a blind child in rural Kenya, Henry Kirwa endured a lifetime of stigma, isolation, and lack of education and opportunity - until he discovered he was fast. Sustained by his Christian faith, running became his ticket to a better life, culminating in multiple Paralympic gold medals and new life as a U.N. honoree.
Read MorePolice identified the slain journalist as Leodoro Diaz, columnist of Sapol, a weekly tabloid newspaper in General Santos City
Read MoreCOMMENTARY -- Can a non-believer write religion news stories? Here is evidence that they can, and can do so with professional skill.
Read More(OPINION) A recent Pew Forum survey shows that the influence and practice of faith is slipping in lands long identified with Catholicism, those closest to the European West. Eastern Orthodoxy is rising, especially in lands in which faith and national identity blend. But the most stunning changes are happening in the Czech Republic.
Read MoreSince politics in Kenya took on a tribal dimension, church leaders have not been immune to tribal influences. Churches appear neutral on the outside, but they are partisan inside, according to a former political candidate who is now a pastor.
Read MoreTen years on from election violence that left 1,000 dead, and after the 2013 elections were marred by allegations of vote tampering, Kenya will have another chance on August 8th, 2017, to peacefully vote in the opposition or stay with the current administration.
Read MoreThe often toxic mix of religious identity mixed with politics – either real or imagined – accounts for so much of what we think of as religion news. This story ties together some of those powerful symbols.
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