(ANALYSIS) Ironically, 2025 was a turbulent year the world over. After so much military aggression in Ukraine, rampant starvation in Gaza and increasing violence of all kinds within the United States, people in many parts of the world were left much more despairing than hopeful for 2026.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Before Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, he asked several of his friends to continue his life’s work building what he called “beloved community.” One of the people he invited was the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet and mindfulness teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Their shared vision shows how democracy could flourish when citizens practice compassion and peaceful action.
Read MoreIndia recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech incidents in 2025, averaging more than three each day and overwhelmingly led by Hindu nationalist groups affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The report supports the inference that a political choice is behind the sustained scale of public incitement, which undermines both the rule of law and the idea of equal citizenship.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar in December, authorities misjudged them as limited economic unrest. Instead, demonstrations spread nationwide, killing thousands and drawing in ethnic minorities. The uprising exposed deep divides over change, revealing that centralized opposition visions failed to address Iran’s ethnic diversity adequately.
Read More(OPINION) Days of protest across Iran left hundreds dead as authorities imposed an unprecedented internet blackout to suppress dissent. Social media nevertheless shaped mobilization, documentation and global awareness through diaspora networks and dissident media, revealing escalating demands for regime change through the use of technology.
Read MoreHistory nerds rejoice! An incredibly detailed land-use survey and census from the 1500s, commissioned by none other than Henry VIII, will soon be digitally available to everyone, including genealogists, educators, researchers and community groups, thanks to a new $2 million project. The historic records, published under the title “Valor Ecclesiasticus,” or Value of the Church, were the Tudor equivalent of the Domesday Book.
Read More(OPINION) Christian Reconstructionism was a small but influential movement within conservative Protestantism that argued society should be governed by biblical law. Originating with R. J. Rushdoony, its ideas spread through churches, homeschooling, and dominionist networks, shaping debates over religion, politics and culture in the United States.
Read MoreThe climb to Mar Musa al-Habashi monastery is deliberate and demanding — 340 stone steps wind up a stark, treeless mountain ridge in the Qalamun region. But complete the journey, and you’ll find a community of Muslims and Christians committed to interfaith dialogue and healing their nation.
Read More(ANALYSIS) With 2025 now behind us, it was a year filled with significant developments in religion, faith and spirituality — and 2026 is likely to be just as eventful. Here are five key religion-related issues and trends to watch for over the next 12 months in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many characteristics of Shaker life and belief set them apart from other Protestants, but their name derives from one of the most obvious. Early Shakers manifested the holy spirit they believed dwelled within them by shaking violently in worship. The film “The Testament of Ann Lee” brings this movement to life for modern audiences.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For the first time since 2022, a giant Christmas tree glows over Bethlehem. Its red, green and yellow lights shimmer above Manger Square, casting warm light on the West Bank city. As thousands flood the area this time of year, the scene looks like a return to normality. The last time Bethlehem held a public Christmas celebration was before the 10/7 attacks.
Read MoreCzechia was once a harbinger of the Protestant Reformation, but now pastors face an uphill battle as the Protestant population drops below 2%.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Manger scenes displayed at Christmas usually feature an ox and an ass beside the infant Jesus. According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary placed her child in a manger “because there was no room for them in the inn.” No mere babysitters, the ox and ass harken back to the Book of Isaiah 1:3, which early Christians interpreted as a prophecy of the birth of Christ.
Read More(ANALYSIS) They drank more, slept more and had more than six weeks of celebrations.
Read MoreHong Kong was tense and festive when I arrived for a small 1997 conference about religion coverage in global media. The reason for the odd atmosphere was obvious: In a few days, on July 1, Great Britain would yield control of that great city to the People’s Republic of China.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There are moments in our national life when a legal controversy reveals something deeper than a dispute over statutes or precedent. It exposes a fracture in our shared moral imagination — a failure to recognize what is sacred to communities whose ways of life do not mirror our own. The struggle for Oak Flat in Arizona's Tonto National Forest is one of those moments.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A widespread populist rebellion against the well-educated and well-paid “elite” that has ruled culture provides the framework for actions that would have been inconceivable not long ago. Religious elites, too, face resistance and a weakened ability to overcome such disillusionment across society, and also within their own ranks.
Read More(REVIEW) A new book traces the footsteps of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem for nearly a millennium before the Crusades, and the path differs significantly from the path tour guides take travelers on today. “But do the walk as you wish, and commemorate each station however you choose. From revisiting the material to simply enjoying the walk.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a region known for its tumultuous change, one idea remained remarkably consistent for centuries: Latin America is Catholic. The region’s 500-year transformation into a Catholic stronghold seemed capped in 2013, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as the first Latin American pope. Once a missionary outpost, Latin America is now the heart of the Catholic Church.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Late in the movie “Shadowlands,” the C.S. Lewis character describes the role that books can play in real life. The famous Oxford don and author, played by Anthony Hopkins, notes, “We read books to know that we are not alone.” But Lewis never wrote those memorable words.
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