Posts in News
Court Documents Show Al Mohler Handled Sills Abuse Allegation Without A Probe

Al Mohler believed a former seminary student when she told him in 2018 that a professor forced her to perform sexual acts. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, then sought to deal with the professor discreetly, sidestepping the school’s formal process to avoid an investigation.

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Crossroads Podcast: Jimmy Lai’s Faith Matters More Than the Headlines Admit

Hong 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.

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Meet Zaffar: Veteran News Reporter Finding Stories Of Hope

“My stories for Religion Unplugged are important because they offer readers a nuanced understanding of a complex region often reduced to simplistic narratives,” Iqbal said. “The website amplifies original, deeply reported stories that reveal how religion has become central to social and political developments.”  

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Pope Leo XIV Appoints Illinois Bishop To Lead NY Archdiocese Amid Challenges

(ANALYSIS) In a move that underscores the priorities of the Catholic Church in the U.S., Pope Leo XIV replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York, appointing Bishop Ronald Hicks to lead the nation’s second-largest diocese. The announcement represents both a generational and ideological shift at the helm of a historically influential U.S. archdiocese.

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A Chinese Company Aims To Destroy Sacred Land In Arizona

(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.

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New Documentary ‘Predators’ Examines When The Comfort Of Moral Certainty Is Televised

(REVIEW) What does it mean when we finds moral clarity from not just punishing criminals, but making it a spectacle? When the most reviled offenders are exposed and humiliated in public view, few feel compelled to object. After all, who would defend a child sex predator? All this is examined in a new must-see Paramount+ documentary.

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Nigerian Leaders Expose Systematic Persecution Of Christians

Nigerian Christian leaders verified that Christians there are persecuted for their faith, refuting a growing international narrative that violence in the deadliest country for Christians is not religion-based.

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Inside The Catholic Conundrum That Is Steve Bannon

(ANALYSIS) Steve Bannon is both brilliant and brutal in equal measure. A man of fierce intellect and darker instincts, he’s a practicing Catholic who talks about the culture wars and outside threats to the West. For him, politics isn’t about policy alone. It’s about purpose — a battleground where soul and state collide.

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‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Asks Questions About Christianity, But Dodges The Tough Ones

“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” has been celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. It has a 92% from critics and 94% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and Christian outlets like Christianity Today have given the film glowingly positive reviews and specifically for its representations of faith.

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ACNA Finds Probable Cause Against Archbishop, Calls For Church Trial

An official church inquiry has found probable cause the head of the Anglican Church in North America violated his ordination vows, committed sexual immorality, and gave “just cause for scandal.”” A denominational board of 10 clergy and lay people recommended that Archbishop Steve Wood be tried in a church court.

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Hanukkah After The Sydney Terror Attack: When Jewish Visibility Becomes Dangerous Again

(OPINION) The massacre in Sydney has left Jews around the world shaken and grieving. This act is far more than a heinous crime: It is a regression to darker times, when Jewish visibility itself carried mortal risk. The commandment of Hanukkah is not simply to light candles, but to light them publicly.

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Ex-Truett McConnell VP Indicted On Felony False-Statement Charges

A jury has indicted former Truett McConnell University Vice President Bradley Reynolds on three felony false-statement charges for lying to law enforcement about a years-long alleged abusive relationship with a student and former employee.

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How America’s Populist Revolt Against ‘Elites’ Affects Churches

(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.

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New Book Challenges Via Dolorosa: Scholar Reconstructs Jerusalem’s Early Pilgrim Route

(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.”

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Most Americans Stick With Childhood Faith — But 35% Say They Have Moved On

A new report released on Monday revealed that majority of Americans continue to identify with the religion in which they were raised — but more than one-third have departed from their childhood faith. The findings — put together by the Pew Research Center — draw on two major surveys.

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Australia’s Hanukkah Terror Attack: Could It Have Been Prevented?

(ANALYSIS) With 15 civilians and one gunman dead so far, and another 40 people injured, Australia is reeling from its worst act of terrorism on home soil. Two gunmen opened fire on a Jewish community gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah at Archer Park on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach.

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Vatican Returns Indigenous Items, But Draws Criticism For Labeling Them ‘Gifts’

Activists advocating for the repatriation of artifacts “stolen by Pope Pius XI and his missionaries” from First Nations communities are unhappy by Pope Leo XIV labeling of these items as a “gift” despite his agreement to return them. The Holy See said the pope “gifted to the CCCB the 62 artifacts belonging to the ethnological collections of the Vatican Museums” as “an act of ecclesial sharing.”

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How A Catholic Approach To Infertility Became A MAHA Talking Point

(ANALYSIS) Along the 2024 presidential campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to make in vitro fertilization, or IVF, free — part of his party’s wider push for a new American “baby boom.” In October, when the administration revealed its IVF proposal, many health care experts pointed out that it falls short of mandating insurance companies to cover the procedure.

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Meet Graciela Ibáñez: A Veteran Journalist Covering The Intersection Of Faith And Culture

“Religion Unplugged covers religions around the globe, giving you a broader view of faith,” she said. “In my reporting, I look for religion in art, culture and politics. Religion is more present in our lives than we sometimes think, and it can change our decisions.”

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