(OPINION) The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) is a new regional government that has become known as a defender of religious freedom and equality. The area is under particular threat, particularly neighboring Turkey.
Read More(OPINION) The Chilean government has told citizens not to visit cemeteries on All Saints Day, when Christians visit deceased friends and family. They have not advocated for similar measures for voting and other recent political celebrations.
Read More(OPINION) Middle Eastern Islamic scholars are behind mass atrocities committed by Muslims against other Muslims in Northern Nigeria, according to a Nigerian former university imam analyzing the conflict in a forthcoming report.
Read More(OPINION) As a child in an exclusive Catholic Convent run by Irish missionaries, Jennifer was always told that the bedrock of the Catholic faith had to be compassion towards others. It's what guided her through some spontaneous decisions as a broadcast journalist in India.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights seven questions that smart religion journalists will be asking on Election Night. Also, catch up on the week’s top reads and headlines in the world of religion news.
Read More(OPINION) We have resources in American political thought to help us through this tumultuous period. Anyone troubled by the prospect of violence this Election Day should reflect on the strategy behind the great victories of the Civil Rights Movement.
Read More(OPINION) The pope — as head of the church — had in three sentences changed Catholicism forever. Not so fast, said numerous on-the-record voices in the world of Catholicism.
Read More(OPINION) The Oct. 16, 2020 terrorist beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty has galvanized France and led to increased international tensions. French President Macron has portrayed the conflict not as a lone terrorist attack but as a war between Islamists and France that is a conflict of ideologies.
Read More(OPINION) Many Christians are rightfully concerned that religious groups committed to a traditional, biblical ethic of marriage will be increasingly marginalized and restricted. In response to these anxieties, many conservative religious people turn to a perceived strongman who will keep their institutions safe. Here’s why they shouldn’t.
Read More(OPINION) Tanzania’s president has ignored science in battling COVID-19, opting for prayer instead. He is strongly criticized by his challenger in Oct. 28 presidential elections.
Read More(OPINION) Jewish ritual purity baths have become a flashpoint in Israel’s struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are continuing to go and not wearing masks in the process.
Read More(OPINION) Now, more than 25 years after the rather unclear resolution of a 1994 conflict—and emerging in the notoriously painful year 2020—the Armenia/Artsakh vs. Azerbaijan conflict has flared up again. And this time—tragically—Turkey’s Islamist President Tayyip Erdogan has powerfully entered the fray.
Read More(OPINION) Trying to gauge voter enthusiasm is difficult. While Trump voters do seem generally more energized — especially among evangelicals and church-going Catholics — compared to Biden supporters, the events of the past few weeks in Washington may have shifted priorities.
Read More(OPINION) Modern Christianity tends to focus on sin — how if we believe in God and have faith that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, we will defeat death and have eternal life. In a more “spousal” reading of scripture, Metzger finds that the concepts in the Bible can be much wider.
Read More(OPINION) The United Nation’s International Day of the Girl Child uplifts young girls in countries where they are historically oppressed, many of them as religious minorities, to rise above gender-based violence, harmful practices and HIV and AIDS. This turns them away from harmful practices like child marriage.
Read MoreAt the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Democrats steered clear of Barrett’s religion, even as Republicans focused on it. This week’s Weekend Plug-in has that news, plus all the top headlines and best reads from the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Sure, we make mistakes. We have blind spots and faulty assumptions. But many of the criticisms are off the mark: they misunderstand what journalism is about; they feed a growing sense that there is no agreed upon reality and set of facts to which we can all refer; and, as a Christian I fear they reflect poorly on people who say they love the truth.
Read More(OPINION) Vandalism against Catholic churches is a news story. Period. Where is the coverage?
Read More(OPINION) Joe Biden and President Donald Trump used this year's virtual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to preach to Catholic voters in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. The event produced few headlines, coming a mere six hours before Trump announced his positive test for COVID-19.
Read More(OPINION) An uplifting story from The Washington Post about a young Nigerian boy brought hope during times of uncertainty in many religious communities. Other news sources tried to continue telling the story, but the religious angle seemed underdeveloped.
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