The World Cup is Planet Earth’s most-watched sporting and cultural event. No one should be surprised that it receives waves of news coverage and that religious beliefs and customs affect some of the drama and tensions. Thus, this week’s “Crossroads” podcast focused on religion news at the 2026 tournament — what was covered and what was not.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Singapore’s national soccer team made it to the second round of qualifiers, but fell short of making it to the FIFA World Cup again this year. Nonetheless, the spirit of the game still very runs strong through the help of church congregations. Many parishes and congregations organize games and leagues open to their members, friends and the wider public.
Read MoreThe complaint alleges there had been a “conspiracy” among private pro-Israel entities, including the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar USA, and senior Trump administration officials to target and prosecute pro-Palestinian activists. The lawsuit names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, former DHS secretary Kristi Noem and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The share of Americans who indicate that their current religious tradition is the one in which they were raised is 66%. Most people living in the United States will die with the same faith into which they were born, and that’s been true for decades. But how people switch and why they switch may be changing.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The European Evangelical Alliance, which represents some 23 million evangelical Christians on the continent, recently released an important report “European Evangelicals in Public Life: Our Identity and Contribution.” It summarizes who European evangelicals are, what they believe, and what their major stances are on current public policy issues.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When England walk onto the field to face Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals, thousands of St. George’s flags will wave inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Millions more will adorn pubs and homes across England. For many fans, the flag — which from the Late Middle Ages has been associated with Saint George — remains inseparable from soccer itself.
Read MoreFaith leaders representing more than 1,500 congregations held coordinated events in nine states, calling on election officials to protect voting rights and follow election laws ahead of the 2026 midterms this November. Organizers described the campaign as nonpartisan and focused on election integrity and ballot access.
Read MoreAntisemitism spans the political spectrum. On the far right, antisemites may support a vision of America under white supremacy. On the far left, antisemites may consider Jews oppressors and white colonialists.
Read MoreThe Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home was back in court defending its federally approved exemption to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate in a case dating to 2013 and involving three Supreme Court victories. The ministry in Pittsburgh last won its case before the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2020, when the justices said the Department of Health and Human Services acted lawfully when it granted exemptions to the contraceptive mandate to employers with religious and conscientious objections.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I feel like I got into a debate or a disagreement with someone about politics or religion on a near daily basis when I was between the ages of 13 and 25. I would fight with anyone about anything and I would often argue positions that I completely disagreed with because I just liked the intellectual gamesmanship of the whole exercise.
Read MorePastor Ezra Jin Mingri, founder of Beijing-based Zion Church, one of China’s largest and most influential unregistered Protestant congregations, has been released after nine months in detention following high-level diplomatic engagement between the United States and China. Jin arrived safely in Los Angeles in the early hours of July 4.
Read MoreAyatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral is unlike any other in the history of Iran’s Islamic Republic and the wider Middle East. The country’s longtime supreme leader was killed four months ago in U.S.-Israeli strikes, but his burial has been delayed until now, making the ceremony a rare departure from Islamic tradition.
Read More(REVIEW) At a time when religious differences are frequently portrayed as sources of division, a new book — featuring a collection of pieces from various authors — provides a thoughtful and hopeful alternative grounded in education, justice and, more importantly, mutual respect.
Read MoreThere’s that question again: How can mainstream media cover this story? Do elite journalists want to cover it? Is it cynical to thinkthat this story could, finally, end up on the front page of The New York Times if, and only if, it can be framed as yet another failure linked to Orange Man Bad?
Read More(REVIEW) The faith-based film industry is shifting from family-friendly dramas toward male-focused, patriotic stories for conservative Christian audiences. “Young Washington” reflects that evolution with strong action, but ultimately weakens its emotional impact by oversimplifying George Washington’s ambition and spiritual transformation, limiting its cultural and thematic potential.
Read MoreThe Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, proved to be just the first bloodletting in a renewed cycle of violence and recrimination. Israel responded with its destructive campaign in Gaza. Far from the theater of war, American Jews reckoned with renewed fears of antisemitism and fractures within their own communities and families.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Did the founders of the United States intend to create a Christian nation? Political leaders who addressed a prayer rally on the National Mall on May 17 seem to think so: House Speaker Mike Johnson led the crowd in rededicating) the United States of America as “one nation under God.”
Read MoreThe Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that schools may separate athletic teams based on biological sex, upholding Idaho and West Virginia laws challenged under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. The decision drew praise from the ERLC, Alliance Defending Freedom and West Virginia Baptists supporting protections for women's sports.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the end, Vance is a work in progress — as all Christians ought to be. The Veep never quite reconciled with his father before he died. But there’s a “second chance” with his long-troubled mother, now substance-free and happily part of the family circle doting on her grandkids.
Read MoreAs colonists and Native nations navigated war, alliances, disease, displacement and competing claims to land, Christian missions became intertwined with politics and survival. Some Indigenous people rejected Christianity, others adapted it to their own traditions, revealing a complex history shaped by both faith and colonial expansion in early America.
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