Some billionaires buy yachts, rocket ships or art. The owners of Hobby Lobby bought something else entirely: Biblical artifacts and manuscripts.

The Texas Campaign To Treat Islam As Something More Than A Religion

(ANALYSIS) Texas politicians, however, portray sharia as a threat to American law. That suspicion has now produced official action against the Islamic Tribunal, a Dallas-based organization that offers religious arbitration, a process where parties agree to submit disputes to a religious panel, the way any two businesses might agree to skip court and use a private arbitrator instead. Much of the tribunal’s caseload is Muslim women seeking religious divorces.

Why French Officials Placed A Muslim War Memorial In The Heart Of Paris

(ANALYSIS) The Paris Grand Mosque — a cultural landmark located in the heart of the city — is celebrating its centenary. Built as a war memorial to honor Muslim soldiers killed during World War I, it was the first permanent mosque in the French capital and remains its only mosque built with a minaret and a dome.

5 Years Of The Taliban’s Return To Power In Afghanistan: What’s Next?

(ANALYSIS) As the situation in the country continues to deteriorate, important questions must be asked about where to go from here. What is the future of Afghanistan for women and religious minorities?

India Will Not Be Divided Over Religion: Student Protests Show Interfaith Solidarity

(ANALYSIS) Members of the Christian community arrived at the protest site in New Delhi alongside Hindu, Muslim and Sikh groups. The participation of religious groups and leaders is part of a broader, interfaith effort to show solidarity with youth and students demonstrating against the Indian government.

Vance’s Faith Memoir Evidences America’s ‘Invigorated Public Christianity’

Little over a decade ago, J.D. Vance was an atheist Yale Law School graduate obsessed with pursuing achievement in private life. Today he is a United States vice president who professes faith in Christ and rejects upward mobility as a means of fulfillment. Things have changed. Vance explains the change in his book “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” released this summer.

Why We Don’t Really Know What America Believes

(ANALYSIS) Let me start by stating a fact that seems incomprehensible to even type out, but it undergirds almost every single graph that I produce: We don’t actually know the religious composition of the United States with any real precision. I know that sounds bizarre. The truth is that we are relying on a whole bunch of “best guesses” based on sound methodology and replication.

Before Greek Myths Reached Movie Theaters, They Were Weapons Of Political Satire

(ANALYSIS) Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has brought Homer’s epic tale back to the big screen. The film is the latest retelling of a story that is almost 3,000 years old. But why do these ancient Greek stories continue to captivate new generations? Nolan aside, Stephen Fry’s retelling of Greek myths in 2017 and Disney’s “Hercules” film, for example, are part of a much longer tradition of repackaging the ancient world for contemporary audiences.

What Would It Look Like To Try And Build A Utopia?

In times of unrest, our impulse is to seek solutions in painfully precise increments. But what if the only way to bring lasting change is to shoot for the stars?

How Will Democrats’ Israel Shift Affect Jewish Voters?

(ANALYSIS) Is it conceivable that the 2026 and 2028 election cycles will erode the Democratic Party’s lock on Jewish voters, one of the iron laws of American politics? Or instead, will Jewish Democrats increasingly turn against support for Israel? The results of the upcoming midterm elections could give us a glimpse of what’s to come.

When Does Criticizing Israel Become Antisemitism?: Ask Mark Ruffalo

Since the Hamas attack on Israel, the actor has frequently called out Israel’s military action in Gaza, notably wearing an Artists4Ceasefire pin to the 2024 Oscars. In 2024, he was among more than 700 SAG-AFTRA members who signed a letter demanding the actors’ union publicly call for a Gaza ceasefire and protect pro-Palestinian members from what they described as industry blacklisting.

ChinaAid Petitions For Trump’s Help In Bringing Detained Pastor Home To US

ChinaAid is seeking 100,000 signatures petitioning President Donald Trump to urge Pastor John Cao’s safe passage to the U.S. when President Xi Jinping visits Washington in September.

Why Nepal’s Political Mood Has Become Religiously Charged

(ANALYSIS) Nepal underwent major political upheaval just a year ago, toppling the government in a fashion few could have imagined. An even more dramatic development followed. Voters handed a near-supermajority to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which was founded only four years earlier. Its senior leader, Balendra Shah, became the youngest prime minister in Nepal’s history.

As Religious-Based Violence Rises, What Needs To Be Done To Stop It?

(ANALYSIS) News from around the world gives little hope for the prospects of addressing violence based on religion or belief — nations need to act now in accordance with UN policies to ensure everyone has freedom of religion.

Birmingham Bombing Wasn’t Isolated: Black Churches Were Attacked Across The South

(ANALYSIS) This Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of an infamous terror attack: The 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. On that Sunday morning, members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, planted dynamite on the east side of the brown brick building. The bomb went off in the midst of Sunday school, at 10:22 a.m., murdering four girls.

‘A Sacred Land’: India’s Religious Pluralism Has Deep Historical Roots

(ANALYSIS) India’s religious diversity has deep historical roots, reflected in the experiences of Hindu soldier Sitaram Pande and Muslim poet Mirza Ghalib. Their writings portray sacred landscapes shaped by multiple traditions while revealing identities that crossed religious boundaries, challenging contemporary claims that religious purity justifies anti-minority rhetoric or violence.

Japan’s Emerging Anti‑Immigration Sentiment Obscures Its Islamic History

(ANALYSIS) Today, amid Japan’s shrinking population and anti-immigrant sentiment, it might be jarring to remember that there once were hopes that the island nation would be the anti-colonial leader of the world’s Muslims and that some of Asia’s Muslims dreamed of an “Islamic Republic of Japan.”

Crossroads Podcast: The Missing Faith Angle In The WNBA’s Culture War Debate

To say the least, Indiana Fever star Sophie (“Do the Sophie”) Cunningham’s quotes about trans athletes and women’s sports has ignited a firestorm in sports, politics, social media and the elite press. In this case, the sports world includes the small, struggling WNBA.

Australians Increasingly Saying They Have ‘No Religion’ In Every Census

(ANALYSIS) Religion looks different in Australia. The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.

Why The Pentagon’s Count Of Religious Groups Plunged From 216 to Just 31

(ANALYSIS) The Pentagon needs to define America’s religious categories due to chaplains’ responsibility to handle the spiritual needs of soldiers as effectively as possible. The problem is that Americans’ religious choices are pretty much uncountable.

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