(OPINION) Baylor University professor Rodney Stark passed away at his home in Woodway, Texas, on July 21, 2022. He is remembered for his alternative assumption that people employed rational choice in their religious identities, which more convincingly explained both the growth and decline of religion and ushered in a new paradigm in the scientific study of religion.
Read MoreEven before the pandemic, a church in central Ohio struggled to increase its flock, much less match the area’s rapid growth. The past few years only exacerbated the numerical concerns as the congregation — like many churches — grappled with COVID-19 restrictions, George Floyd’s murder and the nation’s political polarization.
Read MoreEvery month, Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde receives at least one question from an Orthodox Jewish woman seeking his advice on whether she can, according to Orthodox Jewish law, proceed with an abortion — a question that does not yet have a rabbinic consensus.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read More(REVIEW) Defining photographer David LaChapelle is known for his celebrity portraits and his use of surreal stages highlighted with bright colors. His work is also deeply religious, often modernizing popular Renaissance art and imagining Jesus in the present day. His exhibit “make Believe” at Fotografiska in New York is a spiritual environment to take in his work and belief.
Read More(OPINION) C.S. Lewis, in his lecture De Descriptione Temporum, noted that “somewhere between us and Jane Austen’s Persuasion in 1816 runs the chasm between Old Western Man and New Western Man — the Great Divide.” It represents a “vast change” between Jane Austen’s time and ours. That’s when he says the Western world entered a post-Christian age.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A Republican politician with presidential aspirations visits a Christian college. What happens next, in terms of the way the event is covered by the mainstream press, is predictable — during this era of niche news, with stories written to appeal to the beliefs of specific political flocks. The politician in question is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the school is Hillsdale College in Michigan.
Read MoreGlenn 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.
Read MoreReligion 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?
Read MoreA 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.
Read More(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.
Read MoreAlliance 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.
Read MoreFormer 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.
Read MoreThe 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 More(OPINION) Author Katelyn Beaty’s new book “Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church” diagnoses a problem that’s pretty much absent in mainline Protestantism, Black Protestantism (there are some glaring exceptions in the health-and-wealth world), Catholicism and other U.S. religious bodies. Why is celebrity culture so magnified in White evangelicalism?
Read More(REVIEW) The pro-life, pro-adoption movie “Lifemark” is the latest movie from big-name Christian film producers the Kendrick Brothers. The movie is sweet and wholesome — but it contains almost no conflict, which effectively ruins it as a useful faith-based film.
Read MoreCatholic 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.
Read More(OPINION) The Scriptures are far more specific about biblical virtues than about biblical justice. The doing of justice — David French calls it the “what” of politics or the specific policies Christians support — can evolve differently in different countries at different times. But the “how” of politics doesn’t evolve at all. The how requires genuine kindness and humility in all places at all times.
Read More(REVIEW) We are all consumers of news. Many have shunned the news altogether in recent years. Increasingly, Christians are those people — especially the mainstream media — because they don’t see in it the values that reflect their lives. If you’re one of those people, then a new book out now helps you understand why and how to fix it.
Read MoreA special retrospective “Dakota Modern” exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York City explores the significant of Dakota artist Oscar Howe in American art and religion.
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