The main duties of a priest are to administer the church’s sacraments — which include baptism, confession and holy communion — while also visiting the sick and providing pastoral care to parishioners. How does all that work during the COVID-19 pandemic when most priests are in the high-risk age category for contracting the deadly virus?
Read MoreAhmed Toufiq, Morocco’s minister of Islamic affairs, is leading an export of the kingdom’s Boutchichiya Sufi Islam and pushing back against the Wahhabi tradition of Saudi Arabia with its links to Salafi jihadism.
Read MoreOn. March 13, in a surprise move, the Indian government released former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and current Member of Parliament, Farooq Abdullah. He had been detained more than seven months inside his home in Kashmir, since Aug. 5, 2019 when the Indian government revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status.
Read MoreThe group delivered ibuprofen, multivitamins, gloves, masks and snacks and also aided a group of 13 pilgrims from Alabama in a 14-day quarantine near Bethlehem to protect others from coronavirus. So far, 30 people in the West Bank and 147 in Israel have been confirmed to have COVID-19 infections.
Read MoreWith the future obscured by unprecedented uncertainty — or the certainty that things will get much worse — what approach is best for counseling from a faith perspective?
Read More‘You don’t ever think that’s the last time you’re going to see somebody,’ Izzy Stevens says.
Read MoreThe Jewish holiday Purim celebrates Esther’s rescue of the Jews from genocide in 5th century Persia. Her intervention highlights the good that humans can do. While many Purim events were cancelled to protect from the spread of Coronavirus or COVID-19, this community decided the threat was small and the lessons too great to stay home.
Read More“Apollo’s Fire: O Jerusalem!” a Grammy Award-winning ensemble, brings to the stage the musical roots of each of Jerusalem’s four quarters with poetry and sacred songs from the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Arab sections of Jerusalem’s Old City from the 13th to the 17th centuries.
Read MoreIn a remote part of the Guatemalan highlands, Israeli businesses are creating jobs and wealth for Guatemalan youth. The Israeli-Latino alliance relies on the prominence of evangelical faith in Guatemalan politics and culture that sees Israel as an important ally, even as locals worry whether Israeli backpackers are a bad influence on their kids.
Read MoreThe Indian government has restored Muslim-majority Kashmir’s Internet access. Kashmiris wonder: for how long?
Read MoreEgypt, Israel and Palestine are closing several holy sites after a fleet of Greek tourists who visited them have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Meanwhile, faith groups around the world are rethinking traditions to curb the spread of the disease and protect their worshippers without straying from their religious laws.
Read MoreAmid the death and devastation brought by a tornado, a grieving Tennessee congregation still trusts in God.
Read MoreLast year, Advent Lutheran Church fed more than 8,000 people, more than 20 times the number of its congregation. While food prices are rising, their funds are declining, and New York’s hungry — battling rents rising faster than wages— keep coming.
Read MoreDavid Eubank and his wife have raised their children in some of the world’s most dangerous places. Their Christian faith calls them to it, they say.
Read MoreNearly 42 people were killed, including a Delhi cop, and more than 200 injured. The violence began when Hindu mobs clashed with Muslims in northeast Delhi protesting a new citizenship law that fast-tracks citizenship for religious minorities of all major faiths coming from some neighboring countries, except Islam.
Read MoreFaith communities and interfaith coalitions from Washington to Texas, New York to California, are dedicating portions of their property to permanent or long-term homes for the homeless. Experts on homelessness and housing say this movement could make faith communities crucial to solving California’s — and maybe the nation’s — homeless crisis.
Read MoreA new documentary explores four current examples of movements that have embraced or pushed anti-Semitic tropes and attitudes.
Read MoreThe Bethel Christian Academy case illustrates the broader fight that often pits the government and taxpayer-funded programs with religiously-affiliated schools that adhere to a doctrinal covenant opposing same-sex marriage. The state calls it discrimination, while the school argues that its religious freedom has come under attack.
Read MorePlant-based products have unleashed a meaty debate in church pews and on message boards over whether products like the Impossible Burger can or can’t be eaten during Lent and if doing so is ultimately a sin.
Read MoreAs Democrats running for president prepare for a Super Tuesday contest that could very well determine a nominee, support among some segment of American Catholics for President Donald Trump is growing. Overall, the poll found that U.S. Catholics remain sharply divided when it comes to both the president and church teachings.
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