(ANALYSIS) Darren Aronofsky’s most formative encounter with Haredi Jews may have come when he was an 18-year-old in Israel at the Kotel. It was there at the wall, he told film journalist Andrea Chase, he met a group of Hasidim who introduced him to the Jewish mysticism he’d go on to use to award-winning effect in his debut feature, “Pi.”
Read MoreConservative advocate Charlie Kirk was killed by a gunman at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk is the co-founder and president of Turning Point USA, a non-profit aimed at spreading conservative principles on high school and college campuses.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Every decade or so, it's common to see news reports about pastors leaving pulpits in search of less stressful work. Consider the 2024 Hartford Institute for Religion Research poll in which more than half said they have considered quitting. According to 2022 polling by the Barna Institute, the main causes for anxiety were strong job stress (56%), followed by feeling isolated (43%).
Read MoreA majority of Americans do not believe God plays a role in presidential elections — a view that has remained consistent across several cycles, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The survey found that 49% said God does not get involved in presidential elections, while another 14% say they don’t believe in God at all. About a third said election results are part of God’s overall plan.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As disputes rage on over religion’s place in public schools, the Ten Commandments have become a focal point. At least a dozen states have considered proposals that would require classrooms to post the biblical laws, while three recently passed laws mandating their display starting this year.
Read More(REVIEW) “Guns & Moses” is a rare film that succeeds both as compelling entertainment and as a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of faith. It’s a model that shows how believers can examine all aspects of life through their faith and art — including those they'd prefer to keep in a concealed carry. The film expertly tells a story that is emotionally satisfying from a faith standpoint.
Read MoreIn remarks at the Museum of the Bible during a meeting of his Religious Liberty Commission, President Donald Trump touted his administration’s religious liberty victories, vowed to protect prayer in public schools and announced the donation of his personal Bible to the museum.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Despite some major differences, newspapers and religion share notable similarities in their societal roles, including defining norms, creating a sense of a shared community, while maintaining rituals. These parallels are often rooted in the human need to make sense of a complex world. Over the years, Hollywood has immortalized their importance with a series of movies.
Read MoreDays after challenging Pastor Doug Wilson to a public debate, Peter Bell, producer and host of the podcast “Sons of Patriarchy,” made a social media confession that has forced a reckoning within the community he helped build around exposing abuse in patriarchal churches. Bell, whose podcast investigates Wilson’s Idaho church movement, said in a since-deleted Aug. 23 Facebook post that he struggled with pornography addiction for nearly two decades, was fired from multiple jobs for lying and experienced marital separation during his podcast’s first season last year.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In Washington, D.C., recent events have pushed some Christian leaders to become vocal against the Trump administration. As clergy argue that federal law enforcement agencies increasingly encroach upon church property and community spaces, the result has been a growing movement of men and women who argue that enough is enough.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This is a landmark year for what’s variously labeled “medical assistance in dying” (MAID), “doctor-assisted suicide,” death by choice,” “death with dignity,” “the right to die,” “euthanasia” or “mercy killing.” As this is written, Great Britain is on the brink of joining the West European nations that allow suicide under specified conditions.
Read MoreThe Catholic justice said what motivated her to write a book is to shed a light on the Supreme Court’s inner workings and give a behind-the-scenes look at what the justices do. She added that while the Supreme Court may not always “get it right” in every case, she does “think Americans should trust that the court is trying to get it right.”
Read MoreThe only synagogue ever designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright looks like a sanctuary pulled from scripture and pinned to a leafy street corner in Philadelphia. This is Beth Sholom, a shul shaped like a mountain — literally — 110 feet high and wrapped in 1,500 glass panels. Wright wanted it to evoke Sinai — not just a memory of revelation, but the possibility of one.
Read MoreA new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals.
Read MoreA 38-year-old man who called himself the “Angel of Death” allegedly threatened to carry out an attack on a Southern California monastery after driving there from Alabama, authorities said.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Christians who oppose sports betting do so by applying biblical principles that discourage greed, materialism and irresponsibility. With a new NFL season upon us, concerns are also raised about the predatory nature of the gambling industry and its potential to cause addiction and harm to vulnerable people.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman. But the old-fashioned church Leanne Morgan attends in her summer Netflix sitcom does have a Philippians 4:13 poster in the fellowship hall proclaiming: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Read MoreIf veteran broadcaster Monte Moore is doing the telling, stories swapped at the Athletics Hall of Fame induction will include baseball, family and church. The folksy voice of the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics — the MLB team’s previous homes before their current, temporary stint in West Sacramento, Calif. — will be inducted into the A’s Hall of Fame.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Psychedelics, broadly defined, are a class of psychoactive substances that alter perception, cognition and mood through their interaction with neurotransmitters such as serotonin. As a medical anthropologist I have spent the past 25 years studying the rise of alternative approaches to mental health treatments and have specifically focused in the past four years on the impact of psychedelics on consciousness and spirituality.
Read MoreAfter each and every school shooting, the usual suspects in public life produce their familiar soundbites that draw cheers from the faithful in their various choirs in blue America and red America.
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