Now the woman, known as Betty, is among the 98 people who fasted to death in the doomsday cult headed by Pastor Paul Mackenzie which has left Kenyans — and the world — shocked. With the Kenya Red Cross reporting more than 100 people still missing, the toll could reach 200 and beyond. From President William Ruto to church leaders and the public, Kenyans are now calling on the government to tighten laws governing the opening and operation of churches.
Read MoreWhile the bright lights shined on the biggest boxing match of the year, another thing was also on full display in the recent fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia in the form of comments before and after the match regarding faith and even religiously inspired walkout music.
Read MoreSt. Getrude’s is a Benedictine monastery in rural Idaho that was founded by Swiss nuns in the United States in 1882 and moved to Cottonwood in 1907. Today the property includes the monastery, an inn, a retreat center, gift shop and a chapel.
Read MoreSince the end of the Cold War, four Muslim-majority countries — Kazakhstan, Libya, Iran and Indonesia — have hosted the FIDE World Chess Championship. Despite the fact that hundreds of Muslim players have been ranked by FIDE over the years, the game remains controversial with many mainstream Sunni and Shia scholars disapproving of chess.
Read More‘’The town is free, but my mind is not free, and I am still traumatized and remember the pain and punishment meted on women by al-Shabaab Shariah police,” Suleqha Mahat said. Her story is an example of the kind of displacement and migration experienced by many Somalians forced to leave their home country by radical Islamists.
Read MoreAs another year of drought looms in Somalia and famine stalks many rural communities, the prayers for rain have already begun. Horn of Africa faith-based organizations are increasingly playing a prominent role in responding to potentially massive famine that has received little attention.
Read More(REVIEW) The eight-episode series “In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal” covered Jesus Morning Star, Five Oceans, The Baby Garden, and the God of Manmim cults. Comedian Esther Ku spoke with ReligionUnplugged.com about how the series unearthed an ecosystem of cults in Korea.
Read More“I do believe that there is a need for a school that is worldview minded and is a degree-granting undergraduate institution that is based in the city. I think that there is a benefit where the cultural capitals of media and finance and arts and so forth (are located). As a Kuyperian, I believe that this matters.”
Read MoreChristians like Stanislav Syniy are living in war times on adrenaline as they volunteer to provide, food, clothing and other supplies to people in need. They pray as they go, hoping for an end to a conflict that has destroyed parts of their homeland and left an estimated hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers dead.
Read MoreReuters reported that more than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations. But the new law emerging in Uganda would be the first to outlaw people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, according to Human Rights Watch.
Read MoreEarlier this month, the two-part BBC documentary “The Modi Question” was screened at Columbia University's Journalism School and Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, among others. In its most recent attempts at stifling dissent, the Indian government banned the documentary. At Columbia University, the screening was followed by a panel discussion led by progressive academics, Indian activists and journalists.
Read MoreChristian organizations, many from the West, are among the groups trying to provide aid in Southern Turkey following the Feb. 6 7.8-magnitude earthquake that is threatening 1.5 million people in the disaster zone, which includes Northwestern Syria.
Read MorePope Francis marks his 10th year on Monday as head of the Catholic church and its 1.38 billion adherents around the globe. It’s an anniversary that will be viewed differently depending on where one falls on the doctrinal spectrum. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born in Argentina and is of Italian descent, was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013. It marked the first time a pontiff from South America has held the position.
Read MoreGiving and taking dowry and lavish weddings are totally banned in this tiny hamlet of 6,000 people in central Kashmir. Local officials realized the insidious effect of high-rolling dowries on young people pursuing marriage and families.
Read MoreSupporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in Oklahoma outspent opponents by millions of dollars. Yet when the votes were counted Tuesday, the anti-marijuana side — backed by prominent faith leaders and law enforcement officials — prevailed.
Read MoreNearly five years after approving medical marijuana, voters in the Bible Belt state will decide whether to expand cannabis sales and create a legal framework to expunge pot-related criminal offenses. People of faith are divided in a referendum that is drawing national attention.
Read MoreFor a fraction of the cost of a comparable hotel in relatively expensive Bollywood, all Jews are welcome in the air-conditioned kosher guesthouse that operates thanks to the perpetual generosity of the Sir Jacob Sassoon Trusts. And the impact of the Sassoon family traces forward to 2023, when a valuable Hebrew Bible from 1,000 years ago, the Sassoon Codex, goes to auction at Sotheby’s this spring as previously reported by ReligionUnplugged.com.
Read MoreThe Codex Sassoon has 24 books divided into the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings, abbreviated as TaNaKH in Hebrew. About 15 chapters are missing, including 10 from Genesis, but it is far more complete than the Aleppo Codex. Another medieval Bible text, the Leningrad Codex, is “entirely complete,” but is more than a century younger than Sassoon 1053, Sotheby’s said.
Read MoreThe world's largest mud-brick structure is one of the most iconic structures in both Islamic and African architectural history. The community of Djenne, home to approximately 40,000 residents, sits near the Ban River. That river allowed the grand mosque to be built from a resource that is both local and sustainable: calcite-rich mud.
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced Ensign Peak Advisers Inc. and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints agreed to pay $5 million in penalties to settle charges against the investment fund operating inside the nonprofit entity of the church.
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