The worlds of football and politics have intersected many times in the past. Many have gone a step further by entering politics. Some of these football greats — not shy about publicly professing their Christian faith — have also used their religious beliefs to inform their politics and run for office.
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Three members of a Church of Christ in Belgrade, Serbia, are recovering from stab wounds inflicted by a fellow church member just before Sunday worship. Meanwhile, the congregation has endured unwanted media attention and accusations of manipulation, alcoholism and operating without a license.
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Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken Catholic cleric arrested on national security charges earlier this year, and four others will stand trial starting this week in a Hong Kong courtroom. The 90-year-old activist and religious freedom fighter was arrested last May in connection with his role as administrator of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.
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Italians will vote in national elections on Sunday. If polls are correct, then history could be made once the votes are counted. Giorgia Meloni, who heads the Brothers of Italy party, could become the country’s first female prime minister since the nation became a republic in 1946. Here’s everything you need to know about her faith and politics.
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Glenn Beck, the conservative LDS Church media star, helped raise $35 million for his two charities, Mercury One and the Nazarene Fund, to pay for evacuations of Afghans amid the U.S. withdrawal of troops. The organizations are claiming they evacuated 12,000 people but have provided few details about how the money has been spent.
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Religion data scientist Ryan Burge answers why unfortunately, there’s just not a single answer to a question like: how many nones are there? Or how many Christians?
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A new novel “Corinne” is an erotic romance that follows the life of a woman who was cast out of her fundamentalist religious group and, later, is brought back in contact with them. The book was published under a pseudonym, which has raised questions about who the author of the book may be. Suggestions include Stephanie Meyer of the “Twilight” series and others.
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(ANALYSIS) With Lighten Group and RZIM shut down, important questions remain unanswered. First, how much money went from RZIM to Lighten Group? How was that money spent? How much remains? Meanwhile, American Bible Society has been plagued with turmoil for years. The organization has had five presidents in the past 10 years.
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Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal defense group, sent a letter on behalf of 2,000 “pastors, ministers of faith, and leaders of religious nonprofit organizations” asking the U.S. Senate to oppose the Respect for Marriage Act, H.R. 8404, which it said puts churches and ministries in danger of injustice.
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Former California pastor of Imperial Valley Ministries Victor Gonzalez, alleged to have locked participants inside IVM “restoration” homes and used their government benefits for personal financial gain, entered his guilty plea along with three others to one count of conspiracy to commit benefits fraud.
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The majority of Americans live with less than half of the legal protections of religious freedom available in other states, according to new research by the conservative think tank Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy. CRCD is part of First Liberty Institute, the largest nonprofit law firm in the country solely focused on religious freedom.
Read MoreMary Keitany is one of the finest athletes in the history of the world, with seven major marathon wins. She’s also a Catholic, mother, business owner and nonprofit board member who as a teen in poverty, dropped out of school to work as a housemaid. “God did amazing things for me,” she said.
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Catholic motivational speaker Chris Slattery opened EMC Frontline in 1984 as New York City’s first pregnancy center. The center aims to save unborn babies and offer free services to pregnant women and girls, especially those in poverty. But critics say organizations like EMC deceive pregnant women searching for all options, including abortion, and these clinics became the latest targets of vandalism, harassment and threats in the fight over abortion rights.
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Born in a refugee camp in eastern Sudan to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, Mariam Ibraheem says “danger lurked in every dark corner.” Disease, abuse and poverty plagued her life. In 2013, a Sharia court sentenced Ibraheem to death for marrying a Christian man. She was pregnant with her second child at the time and gave birth to Maya while shackled in prison. Her story since then has sparked international outcry and admiration.
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Yelp announced last week that it would add a notice stating that pregnancy resource centers “provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.” Google has also joined the move, announcing that it would add labels to search and map functions to identify those clinics that provide abortions and those that don’t.
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The Nairobi Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1912 to serve the Jewish diaspora doing business in Kenya. Today, most of the two dozen congregants gathered for Shabbat on Saturday mornings are Kenyan-born converts to Judaism.
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Climate scientists increasingly promote “collective efficacy,” which is how people involved in a broader social or communal movement can bring about positive change. Such social movements include churches and faith groups. Churches, like commercial and industrial buildings, waste 30% of the energy consumed according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Four former employees of Midland Christian School in Texas and a current employee who says he was demoted from his assistant principal role filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Midland and three police officers.
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(ANALYSIS) Religions and cultures across the globe are rife with dragon lore. In fact, across the vast majority of religions, there is mythic trope some scholars call “Chaoskampf.” This term, used by mythologists, refers to a pervasive motif involving a heroic character who slays a primordial chaos “monster.”
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NFTs. Online gaming. Cryptocurrency. Compassion International is exploring these and other innovations as it connects with new supporters and prepares itself for Web 3.0, the Metaverse, and beyond. With fewer Americans donating to charity, the 70-year-old, $1 billion ministry is working to find new ways to engage younger believers.
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