The March 4 vote in Italy swept to victory a wave of populist candidates – including Matteo Salvini of the Lega party – who campaigned heavily against immigration. As Italians, like many across Europe, become more agnostic, their politics morph. Political observers say a new generation of a more secular electorate have started to differentiate between religious obligations and political desires.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The Russian media scene presents a sobering picture for those who hold to theories of the inevitable progress of mankind. Though the collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in a decade of a press freedoms in Russia under Boris Yeltsin, with Vladimir Putin the situation has tightened. The state does not pervade all aspects of intellectual life. But where its interests are concerned - dissent is not tolerated.
Read More(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.
Read More(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 MoreAn Interview With Claire Foster-Gilbert
Read More(COMMENTARY) “German Cardinal Endorses Homosexual Heresy” states the headline of a Sunday story in the Daily Caller. It is a wonderful headline crafted to drive readers to the religion section of the well-respected online political news portal. But is it true?
Read MoreA Muslim religious group has 21 days to appeal a decision to have their illegal mosque near the UK’s Olympic village demolished, despite twenty years of non-compliance.
Read MoreA heated debate continues in Sweden after a church chose to use a gender neutral pronoun when describing Jesus in an advertisement for a Christmas worship service.
Read More(OPINION) For an article to break free from the pack of mind-numbing junk that overwhelms journalism, the writer must have technical facility but also a sense of the background to the subject. Knowing why the story matters moves it beyond being merely amusing.
Read More(OPINION) The cynicism so many readers have towards the mainstream media arises in part from the worldview articulated by Richard Pryor -- "Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?” from his 1982 film “Live on the Sunset Strip”.
Read MoreThe radicalization of young men among Europe’s growing Muslim population and a fervent groundswell of opposition against Israel by many on the political Left are two of the central reasons behind the sharp rise in anti-Semitism across the continent.
Read MoreThere is hardly a more telling moment to epitomise the state of journalism in the Czech Republic than a short TV clip from a recent meeting of two presidents: Miloš Zeman, Czech head of state and his Russian counterpart - Vladimir Putin. “And here are more journalists?” asked Mr. Zeman in Russian at the press conference. "There are too many journalists. They should be liquidated.“
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 MoreBreathing new life into Christianity in Sweden, the Orthodox Church is also a key hub for immigrants to learn Swedish language and become integrated into Swedish society.
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 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.
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