Posts in North America
Attendance and Giving Rebound, But Churches Still Struggling Post-Pandemic

Many U.S. churches are rebounding from the pandemic, but many challenges remain, a new report reveals. The study, funded by the Lilly Endowment and led by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, offered a snapshot of this evolving landscape.

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New York Mosques Can Broadcast Call To Prayer Without A Permit

Mosques will no longer need a permit to publicly broadcast the Muslim call to prayer under a new rule announced by New York City Mayor Eric Adams as part of an effort to foster inclusivity. Adams said the guidelines make it easier for mosques to broadcast on Fridays, a traditional Islamic holy day, and at sundown during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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Orthodox Abbess Katherine Weston Talks About Faith And Racial Reconciliation

Orthodox Christianity is gradually gaining interest among diverse ethnic groups around the world, including African Americans. Mother Katherine Weston, for example, became Orthodox in the late 1980s. She is an abbess and also the president of the Fellowship of St. Moses the Black, a nonprofit committed to training Orthodox Christians for the ministry of racial reconciliation.

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Oklahoma Church Shares Love And Christ With Afghan Refugees

The chaos at the end of a long war. The frenzy to leave a troubled homeland. The challenge of a new and different culture. Hong Kluver identifies closely with the Afghan refugees she has worked so hard to help. In their experiences, she sees herself.

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Republican Presidential Contenders Make Faith And Family A Central Issue

(ANALYSIS) What emerged from the eight candidates (Trump did not attend) on stage at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee was an often-heated two-hour debate in which they weren’t afraid to bring up faith and family as a reason why Biden’s America has been a failure.

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For Baseball Star Clayton Kershaw And His Wife, Faith Provides A Foundation

Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, talked about their faith — not to mention their family and fastballs — during the team’s Christian Faith and Family Day. Clayton and Ellen — high school sweethearts who married in 2010 — are natives of Dallas and the parents of four children: Cali Ann, Charley, Cooper and Chance. 

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Florida’s United Methodist Church Conference Approves 46 More Disaffiliations

In the latest wave of departures from the United Methodist Church, the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church voted last week to approve the disaffiliation of another 46 churches. It was the conference’s second such vote this year.

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Former Pastor Allegedly Ran $1.4 million Theft Ring to Steal From The Home Depot

Authorities arrested Robert Dell, 56, and four other associates for stealing merchandise worth more than $1.4 million from several of The Home Depot stores and then selling the merchandise on eBay under the name “Anointed Liquidator.” The virtual store has 100% approval rating and has registered more than 35,000 items sold over the past decade, according to its page on the online retailer’s website.

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Jesus At The Ballpark: Why MLB Teams Host Faith Nights

Faith nights at MLB ballparks across the nation feature Christian music, player testimonials and prayers. The theme events are part of marketing efforts to boost baseball’s ticket sales.

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Tim Keller’s Memorial Service A time to ‘thank god for his life’

(OPINION) Ask the average person what comes to mind when they think of a funeral, and I doubt they would use words like “encouraging” or “joyful.” Yet the memorial service for the Rev. Timothy Keller’s in New York could easily be called just that. The service was never one of pure grief.

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Experience the Life of Jesus with ‘The Nazarene’ Exhibit: Authentic or Hoax?

While the 2,000-year-old ossuary is seemingly genuine, the underlying issue is whether its Paleo-Hebrew inscription is the real deal or a clever fake replete with ersatz patina that was planted to fool experts.

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‘Barbie’ movie: Concerning that sermon about what it means to be a woman

(OPINION) Hollywood worships big movie franchises, so fans can expect "Barbie" sequels. One plot proposal quickly emerged from an unlikely source — Sister Mary Joseph Calore of the Society Devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Pennsylvania.

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The Unheard Voices: Men’s Untold Struggles with Post-Abortion Grief

(OPINION) Men who have been affected by abortion are a neglected voice in the abortion debate. It is an oft-repeated mantra that men need therapy — and new research shows that this may be especially true for men experiencing grief after abortion and disenfranchisement of their pain.  

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How I Escaped From The Shiny Happy People, But Still Had Survivor’s Guilt

(PERSONAL ESSAY) How did I — a child raised into that organization — break free? How can anyone break free of misguided, fundamentalist religious movements or cult-like organizations and, yet, still retain any kind of religious belief?

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End of an Era? The King’s College Halts Courses, Lays Off Faculty

The King’s College in New York City is no longer offering courses in the upcoming fall semester, laid off its entire faculty and is nearing closure according to an email from its board of trustees and updates from its accreditor.

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How will religion fare as liberal arts education shrinks in the United States?

(OPINION) Pity U.S. colleges coping with political feuds, “diversity,” declining applications and enrollments, student debt and tight budgets. Add religious and moral issues, and things get even more complex.

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Bicultural teens enjoy unity at Jóvenes (Youths) for Christ camp

Since 2016, with a year off during the pandemic, Jóvenes for Christ has provided five days of teaching, fellowship, games, worship and community service for English-speaking teens from bilingual and predominantly Hispanic Churches of Christ. Those are exactly the young people camp director JuanRaymon Rubio hopes to serve.

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Why the Catholic press and columnist Ross Douthat remain essential reading

(ANALYSIS) I have found it healthy and important to watch Fox News and read The New York Times. Both are highly influential in their respective partisan bubbles. Both impact the world around us, for better or worse, and that’s of great importance in a world were journalistic objectivity is a relic of a pre-internet world.

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How ‘Barbie’ Shows Greta Gerwig is The Wrong Choice To Direct ‘Narnia’

(FILM ESSAY) Unfortunately, Gerwig directing Narnia is a colossal mistake. Gerwig’s filmography shows that she not only doesn’t share Lewis’ worldview but actively despises it. Having her make a Narnia movie would be like Ayn Rand directing a Spider-Man movie when she doesn’t believe in self-sacrificial heroism.

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The ‘Religiosity Gap’ Remains an Important Force in Elections

(ANALYSIS) This “religiosity gap” remains relevant. A new Pew Research Center analysis noted that, in the 2022 midterms, “The gap in voting preferences by religious attendance was as wide as it's been in any of the last several elections.”

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