(OPINION) The most strictly religious Jews — the mystical-oriented Hasidic followers of historic rabbinic lineages and the “mitnagdim,” Hasidism’s more intellectually focused religious critics — suffered some of the worst losses in the Holocaust. But a new survey says that by 2040, if their current growth rate persists, about a quarter of the world’s Jews will likely be Haredi.
Read MoreMark Dowdy was a band director at Morningside, the community where televangelist Jim Bakker broadcasts tapings of his show, in 2011. When he began, he hoped he would be able to do good through Bakker’s ministry — but his view quickly changed. He talked to ReligionUnplugged about his time at Morningside and what he thinks of Bakker.
Read MoreIn an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi questioned whether San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was applying a double standard by banning her from receiving Holy Communion because she supports abortion rights but not supporters of the death penalty.
Read More(OPINION) In devastating fashion, the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, has been accused of a massive cover-up of sexual sins. As evangelical followers of Jesus, because of our failings and scandals and carnality, the name of the Lord is being mocked and ridiculed. This is heartbreaking on so many levels.
Read MoreThe Catholic press — print, online and television — is one of the most active and vibrant in the United States, but the changing journalism landscape — spurred on by the internet — has made it tough for even religious media to thrive. This trend manifested itself recently with the pending closures of two highly venerated and popular Catholic news organizations: Catholic News Service and Catholic New York.
Read MoreArchbishop Salvatore Cordileone notified House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week that she is not eligible to receive Holy Communion when attending Mass in the Archdiocese of San Francisco given her support for abortion rights. Cordileone notified Pelosi of his decision on May 19 and announced it to the public in two separate letters.
Read MoreThe fatal mass shooting inside of a New York grocery store has shaken the faith of national political leaders by echoing a tragic and familiar refrain across the country — another mass shooting that appears motivated by race and hate.
Read MoreTen people died — including a relative of one church member, Patrick Patterson — in a supermarket massacre in Buffalo, New York. Patterson is a manager at the store and helped people escape during the shooting, which authorities have said was a hate crime targeting the Black community.
Read More(REVIEW) You may have never heard of the school, but that’s what makes their story an even better one. Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas has the numbers and alums to prove it is a powerhouse. Now there’s a new documentary that takes viewers into what makes this school so special.
Read MoreKansas’ Hall of Men has meetings offering beer, cigars, an open bar, some kind of “guy food” and lots of chatter around a giant wooden table. But then there are the evening prayers, icons, Bible readings and lectures about authors whose portraits hang on the walls — C.S. Lewis, Flannery O’Connor, W.H. Auden, Dorothy Sayers, Fyodor Dostoevsky, J.R.R. Tolkien and many others.
Read More(OPINION) An authentic practice furthers a happiness founded on deeper meanings, whereas an inauthentic practice may only provide fleeting pleasure or temporary relief.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and its popularization in films and cartoons have greatly shaped our perceptions of the famous cathedral and the story of Quasimodo and Notre Dame is one of many stories that have become part of our collective worldview. For that reason alone, how and why Victor Hugo portrayed the cathedral are worth a close look.
Read MoreAt the National Urban Ministry Conference’s first in-person meeting since 2020, COVID-19, new ministry initiatives and resources — including the use of government grants — dominated the discussion. Accepting government funding can be a boon to faith-based organizations but places stipulations on religious activities and evangelism.
Read MoreLast week, the last of the three criminals confessed to conspiring to defraud churches as part of a scheme they cooked up back in 2013. The news was announced by the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, which charged the three men in 2019.
Read MoreIn an interview with ReligionUnplugged.com, theoretical physicist and Templeton Prize winner Dr. Frank Wilczek said he was raised in New York City by parents with Italian and Polish backgrounds who wanted him educated in the Catholic tradition: “As a child, I took it very, very seriously and I think it had a residual influence in my later life in helping me to think big and look for the hidden meaning of things.”
Read MorePoliticians from both parties benefit from the abuse of the tax code, but they differ over who’s responsible, claiming that those on the other side are guilty of the greatest abuse. But they agree on one thing: Abuse has skyrocketed since 2010 and the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision.
Read MoreA Washington, D.C.-area law firm has filed a complaint in a Virginia district court alleging Liberty University failed to properly investigate a student’s report that she was raped by another student and retaliated against her after she made the report.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Tuesday, a preliminary draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked to Politico, revealing that the court — as of February — intended to overturn Roe v. Wade. What does the leak mean for the court and America, and how have faith voices responded?
Read MoreSikh Americans are the most disproportionately targeted group in the country, at a rate four times the national average. Anti-Sikh hate crimes hit a record high of 89 documented incidents in 2020, reflecting an 82% increase over 2019, despite an overall decrease in the number of anti-religious hate crimes.
Read More(OPINION) According to an exclusive story on Politico, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade when ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson in June. But what happens if Roe is overturned? Then we will walk straight into an impassioned, even frenzied, potentially violent ideological civil war, one that could quickly divide America into pro-life states vs. pro-abortion states.
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