The bottom line: At some point, parents in traditional forms of faith are going to have to teach their children — the younger the better — that their their home is different from those in which many of their friends are being raised. That can be tough sledding, but these hard topics Will. Not. Go. Away.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There are two reasons, translations and texts, both of which have cropped up in the news of religion this year. The venerable King James Version (KJV) appeared without changes over centuries. Today, experts continually reconsider the best available evidence to improve our English Bibles.
Read MoreA Christian university in Arizona is no longer on the hook for a $37.7 million federal fine, believed to be the largest-ever financial penalty imposed on a school. Grand Canyon University (GCU), said that on May 16, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) rescinded the massive penalty proposed for the Phoenix-based school in 2023.
Read MoreTexas lawmakers banned nondisclosure clauses in sexual abuse settlement agreements May 26, following Missouri’s passage of similar legislation weeks earlier. The Texas legislature approved the final version of its bill on Memorial Day, first approving it in the House in April, before the Senate’s nod to a similar version of the bill May 15, with the House’s final approval.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court could not find five votes for either side in an appeal that would have established the first state-supported religious charter school in the nation. The 4-4 split — made possible by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s recusal — allowed to stand the lower court’s decision that it would be unconstitutional for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma City to be established with public funds.
Read MoreThe man who allegedly walked up to two Israeli embassy staffers and shot them dead Wednesday night reportedly told eyewitnesses he “did it for Gaza.” The event those staffers had just left at the Capital Jewish Museum highlighted an organization that supplied aid to Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war. And his victims had made peace-building central to their work.
Read MoreTwo Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed outside an event in Washington, D.C., around 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to local and federal officials, by a suspect who appeared to target them in what many Jewish leaders are calling an antisemitic attack. The shooting took place following an American Jewish Committee event for young Jewish professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum.
Read MoreA federal tax credit proposal would provide up to $5,000 per student in tuition assistance for yeshivas and other Jewish schools nationwide. The proposal, which has been criticized by some as a threat to religious liberty, has been hailed as "historic" by Agudath Israel.
Read MorePublishing or distributing sexually explicit material of a person without their consent is now a federal crime, and social media platforms and other websites must remove such images within 48 hours of notification.
Read MoreIndian authorities have allegedly “abandoned” — rather than deported — 40 Rohingya refugees in international waters near the Myanmar maritime border, forcing women, children and the elderly to swim to safety using life jackets. The action could be seen as a “secret rendition,” a term used to describe the covert transfer of individuals across borders without legal process.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Despite the disruptions of global economics and trade, and a couple dozen other hot disputes, let's not neglect such perennial realities as the way religion can affect politics, and vice versa. As President Donald Trump promised, this is a central aspect of his agenda, underscored by the recent establishment of the new Religious Liberty Commission.
Read MoreA week doesn’t go by without President Donald Trump talking about “needing” to acquire Greenland. As reporters rush to cover this mysterious territory, much has been said the island’s politics and melting ice — but nothing about the island’s eclectic religious mix of Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, Baha’is and Catholics.
Read MoreTwo years after gaining political independence from Britain in 1980, Zimbabwe plunged into another dark era. The government sanctioned a military operation named “Gukurahundi,” which means “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains.” More than 20,000 civilians were murdered in the 1980s — and now churches are being called on to help with the reckoning.
Read MoreMany Christian families reported living in fear — facing threats of social boycott, electricity cuts and verbal abuse. Some have left their villages or publicly disavowed their faith to avoid conflict. Others now live with the trauma of having been denied the chance to grieve with dignity. In cases where women were disrobed or attacked during mourning, the abuse was not only communal but gendered.
Read MoreNigeria’s size, population and underdeveloped infrastructure make full and accurate data on such attacks difficult to obtain, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said at a Capitol Hill hearing on religious freedom in Nigeria, but the country is the deadliest in the world for Christians.
Read MoreThat’s exactly how I feel these days when reading most mainstream news coverage of Catholic life in the age of Donald Trump. I know that it’s going to be cold, it’s going to be black and white and it’s going to stay that way until a blue, “progressive” politician seizes the White House. And I say that as a former blue-dog, pro-life Democrat who is now a #NeverTrump third-party voter.
Read More"The Damned" is a film that focuses on the human element of war, particularly faith and individual stories, during the Civil War. Unlike many modern war films, it connects viewers with characters through their personal beliefs and struggles. Director Roberto Minervini used nonprofessional actors and improvisation to create an authentic experience.
Read MoreAbout half of American Jews describe President Donald Trump as antisemitic, while only a minority think his campus crackdown is reducing antisemitism, according to a new survey. American Jews are also broadly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and fewer of them say they feel an attachment to Israel than before the current Israel-Hamas war.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The days after a pope's death are hectic, and it's a hard time for Vatican officials to examine complex, controversial documents. Nevertheless, the bishops of Germany announced — two days after Pope Francis died on April 21 — guidelines for handling blessings for same-sex couples and other "irregular" relationships. Welcome to the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.
Read MoreFor President Donald Trump’s MAGA Jewish base, the plane may be a bridge too far. Three influential Jewish voices in the MAGA movement — figures typically known for their unwavering loyalty to the GOP standard-bearer — are aghast over Trump’s decision to accept a $400 million aircraft from the government of Qatar.
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