When Larry Norman died in 2008 there was one thing the critics – secular and religious – agreed on: The controversial singer and music maven helped create the "Contemporary Christian Music" industry. For Norman, that was not good news.
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(COMMENTARY) In part two of her look at the UK Government’s new integration strategy, Dr. Jenny Taylor examines how the ground is set in Britain for a showdown between the secular state’s need to govern its disparate peoples but without a religion to bind it together. Religio means ‘to bind’ but in the UK, despite historical precedent, the majority do not believe and the religions that there are have their own versions of transcendent accountability.
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(COMMENTARY) The British Government’s Green Paper, published on March 14, outlines a strategy that signifies a 180-degree U-turn in the direction of nearly 70 years of public policy since the Second World War. The final report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration’s own inquiry into the integration of immigrants (2017) declared last year that ‘multiculturalism ... is defunct’.
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Guy Consolmagno has a profound love for studying space, reading and watching science-fiction as well as Jesus and the Gospels. As director of the Vatican Observatory, he is embraced by both the scientific and the religious communities, and is in the business of shattering myths about the compatibility between science and religion.
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The Ottoman empire is gone, and Turkey is now a secular state with official freedom of religion. Bells are hardly heard these days at all, though in smaller numbers the ancient Christian communities remain.
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An Australian Anglican pastor, academic, and human rights activist, Mark Durie is also very critical of Islam – especially on the issue of religious liberty. He speaks of ‘moderate’ governments whose economic openness and political cooperation is lauded by the West, which turns a blind eye to their blatant restrictions on religious liberty. But Durie's concern goes beyond just the victims, to include those who let it slide.
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One by one, Billy and Ruth Graham's children – Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Ned – took the pulpit in a 28,000-square-foot tent erected at the Billy Graham Library, in Charlotte, N.C. They praised their famous father, of course, but also their mother who died in 2007. The family's patriarch died with 19 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
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The March 4 vote in Italy swept to victory a wave of populist candidates – including Matteo Salvini of the Lega party – who campaigned heavily against immigration. As Italians, like many across Europe, become more agnostic, their politics morph. Political observers say a new generation of a more secular electorate have started to differentiate between religious obligations and political desires.
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At a time when the Philippine culture is showing and allowing openness to more liberal concepts and lifestyles that are tagged as the “new normal,” there appears to be a persistent aversion to divorce from the majority of the population, primarily by members of the Catholic and Christian faith.
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Not a formal scholar or theologian, Billy Graham was instead in many ways a purveyor of good tidings. Over and over again, he offered what he avowed to be the transformative power of personal faith in Jesus Christ. Graham made that clear and simple proclamation to an estimated 215 million people — through hundreds of crusades and evangelistic rallies over the course of his long life. He reached millions more through broadcast media.
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(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.
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An Interview With Claire Foster-Gilbert
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(COMMENTARY) “German Cardinal Endorses Homosexual Heresy” states the headline of a Sunday story in the Daily Caller. It is a wonderful headline crafted to drive readers to the religion section of the well-respected online political news portal. But is it true?
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(COMMENTARY) An article in the Guardian about Catholic resistance to relaxing a Good Friday drinks ban has no Catholic voices. What this piece does have is assumptions. It assumes what the stance of the Catholic Church might be and that all right thinking people will agree with the author’s worldview. George Conger argues that readers are left an example of agitprop, which fails the basic tests of sound journalism.
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A Muslim religious group has 21 days to appeal a decision to have their illegal mosque near the UK’s Olympic village demolished, despite twenty years of non-compliance.
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The Trump administration cited religious freedom as reason to crimp funds to Pakistan this month, opening a new chapter of strained relationships between two nuclear power frenemies.
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Angry uprisings flared up in 80 cities across Iran since late December, until being violently shut down by the Revolutionary Guards. The protests have deeply shaken the religious elite who rule Iran. They’ve also exposed the state’s systemic dysfunction, as well as widespread rage and resentment among Iran’s populace — most notably among the poor and disadvantaged.
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We asked our 800+ members from around the world and our TMP Board to submit their nominations for the "Top 10 Religion Stories of 2017." We received hundreds of nominations and the following is a list of the ones that stood out the most.
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When he's not debating Christians and Muslims on social media, Atheists in Kenya President (AIK), Harrison Mumia can be found fighting his battles out in court. His fight is to prove that Kenya is a 'secular state' and that atheists should have the same rights as other religions to express their beliefs and viewpoints.
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(COMMENTARY) Several centuries after the birth of Jesus, Syrian scribes offered the names for the wise men who came to Bethlehem. Over the centuries, images of them have shaped countless Nativity scenes, church pageants and carols. Comparing the simple biblical account with many colorful "Three Kings" stories, is rather like comparing the humble, pious, 3rd century St. Nicholas of Myra with the Santa Claus found in Hollywood flicks.
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