American third parties like the American Solidarity Party are enjoying a wave of interest this election as voters become more frustrated by the two-party system and choosing between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. In a political climate where Christians often find it impossible to cast a vote without compromising at least a few of their religious convictions, the ASP hopes to convince them that they can be the answer.
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 MoreDespite a conflict with church law, a growing number of priests in Uganda are running for political office ahead of general elections in February. Many Christians in Uganda are dissatisfied with the current government’s protections for religious freedom.
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(ANALYSIS) What was a nominally a little-known conflict regarding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region — also known as Artsakh — claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan has erupted into a full-scale war with an estimated thousands of soldiers on both sides killed in intense fighting.
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 MoreDubbed Not Our Faith, the PAC’s leaders include Billy Graham’s granddaughter Jerushah Duford and former aides and advisors from both sides of the aisle. The leaders of the PAC argued Thursday that Trump has denigrated the Christian faith and harmed migrants and refugees.
Read More(OPINION) Vandalism against Catholic churches is a news story. Period. Where is the coverage?
Read MoreVice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris had a brief spat Wednesday over attacks against Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholic faith. Pence brought up Harris’s past remarks about “extreme” beliefs of the Catholic group Knights of Columbus while Harris assured listeners that as people of faith Biden and her would not knock anyone else for their faith.
Read More(OPINION) A 2020 Executive Order prioritizes international religious freedom and promotes USAID and the U.S. State Department to infuse religious freedom with foreign policy. What will these organizations continue to do to advance the United States’s notion of religious freedom in and out of its borders?
Read MoreIs religion a force in American life that pushes people to be more politically conservative or liberal? Do certain types of political partisans place a great emphasis on their spiritual life? Or do other competing identities seem to shape people more? The Democracy Fund made public a huge dataset of over 300,000 respondents and they asked them how important a number of identities were to them. When those are broken down by party affiliation, the results are fascinating.
Read More(OPINION) As Black Lives Matter persists as one of the hot topics in the media, mainstream news associations often neglect the religious angle — isolating entire groups of stakeholders within the community. This leaves us asking the question, how are people within religious communities responding to Black Lives Matter?
Read MoreOn Sunday, President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump and his closest faith advisors hosted a prayer service on Facebook Live, praying for Trump, the First Lady and several White House, campaign officials and Senators who’ve recently tested positive with COVID-19. One pastor who attended last weekend’s Supreme Court nomination event that spread the virus says he was one of the few wearing a mask.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The belief, held by many, that college education drives people away from religion is not actually supported by data. Instead, a more depressing picture emerges of a generation of young people who are disconnected, unmoored and left behind.
Read MoreBlack Lives Matter erased a page from their official website that included a controversial manifesto that’s been debated in Christian circles grappling with how to support efforts to fight racism without sacrificing Christian beliefs. Conservative Clergy of Color, a Christian ministers’ organization organized against the Black Lives Matter movement, is questioning the reason for BLM’s wording change.
Read MoreHere’s everything you need to know about Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s faith, her past statements regarding abortion and whether religion should impact judicial philosophy.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The repeal of the Johnson Amendment has become a cause celebre among the Christian right and President Trump campaigned on a promise to overturn it, but it’s more complicated than a simple executive order. And left-leaning religious groups are more likely to be politically involved than their right-leaning counterparts.
Read MoreThe newest EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll on Catholic priorities this election season finds that while former Vice President Joe Biden enjoys a 12-point margin over Donald Trump, the president continues to do best among those who regularly attend Mass on Sundays.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has prompted President Donald Trump to pledge a nominee this week. Frontrunner Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic, has a record of being anti-abortion and will certainly inflame those on the political left who fear an overturning of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
Read More(OPINION) As Election Day in November quickly approaches, how do journalists and politicians predict that certain religious groups will be voting? Will white Catholics be the next “swing religion?”
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