Australia has a new prime minister, which is certainly news. The new prime minister, Scott Morrison, is an outspoken, politically conservative Pentecostal Christian. This mixing of religion and politics may be old-hat at this point for Americans. But it's an entirely new experience for Australians.
Read More(COMMENTARY) It wasn't a normal Sunday in Catholic pulpits across America, as priests faced flocks touched by sorrow and rage after a sickening grand-jury report packed with X-rated details about decades of sexual abuse by clergy.
Read MorePriests know what it's like to enter the pulpit facing scriptures that appear to have been torn from the headlines.That happened just the other day, with news that one of America's most powerful Catholics – retired Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. – had been accused of the sexual abuse of boys, as well as decades of seminarians. Days later the Sunday Mass lectionary featured the Prophet Jeremiah, speaking for Jehovah: "Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture."
Read MoreThe Benda family faithfully observed the rites that defined their lives inside of their second-floor apartment. Every day, they prayed together, studied together and found ways to enjoy themselves – while doing everything they could to show others there was more to life than the rules of a paranoid police state.
Read MoreDespite one of the most severe crackdowns on North Korean refugees in China in recent years, Steven Kim and his team actively search in villages for North Korean women to support them through Christian counseling and provide humanitarian support.
Read MoreAt long last, the United Methodist Church has posted detailed proposals (.pdfs here) from its emergency “Commission on a Way Forward” to address what it calls the “deepening impasse” over whether to approve actively gay clergy and same-sex weddings.
Read MoreIn Kashmir, the Amarnath Pilgrimage showcases the perfect symbol of unity and bonding between Hindus and Muslims.
Read MoreThe biggest star at this World Cup wasn't Messi, Ronaldo, or Neymar. How St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square became the symbol of #Russia2018
Read MoreA number of religious gurus in India have been recently convicted of sexual crimes. But what explains their continued influence over millions of followers?
Read MoreThanks to the organizing efforts of Muslim and Christian community leaders, living conditions are slowly improving for some of the poorest people in Indonesia.
Read MoreJustice Anthony Kennedy's 7-2 majority opinion in favor of the baker at the Masterpiece Cakeshop focused on evidence that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had demonstrated open hostility towards owner Jack Phillips and his Christian faith. Meanwhile, Phillips says he is looking forward to creating more wedding cakes, now that he is free to do so while following his Christian convictions.
Read MoreAmid large increases in religious persecution, Muslims in Indonesia are organizing massive defensive measures to protect Indonesian religious groups.
Read MoreHistorically, Indonesian Muslims have worn loosely wrapped, somewhat transparent, colorful scarves. Now, the most common covering is the jilbab, an opaque square scarf which is tightly wrapped and pinned under the chin, and typically does not show any hair. For Muslims who do not wear one, it is enough to “cover their hearts.” But for *Aya and many other Muslim women, the ritual of physically covering her body is also important, as it puts the religious principle into practice — an external expression of an internal disposition.
Read MoreThe soap opera that is Italian politics has taken a dramatic turn in recent weeks as two populist parties on opposite ends of the spectrum have decided to join forces as the Catholic Church opposes the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment that has engulfed the country over the past year.
Read MoreWearing a full and graying beard, khaki trousers and a woolen vest, 66-year-old Ya’cub ibn Yusuf, puttered around his little shop. Sufi-inspired sounds played by an Israeli musician piped from the speakers above. “Spiritual Books for Sale,” read the sign outside the door.
Read MoreAnger is timely, along with grief, as waves of #MeToo and #ChurchToo messages about sexual abuse and domestic violence have triggered a series of stunning headlines. Most have been linked to the work of Paige Patterson after news about sermons in which he critiqued a teen-aged girl's body, knocked female seminary students who weren't striving hard enough to be attractive, and advised an abused wife to stay with her husband rather than seeking legal help.
Read MoreThirty-four Chilean bishops are waiting Pope Francis' decision regarding their future after the recent scandal of concealment of sexual abuse. Many parishioners and church leaders in the region say the Chilean church is at its worst.
Read MoreWhy has a letter by the Archbishop of Delhi to all the Parish priests and religious institutions in the Archdiocese of Delhi with the subject ‘Prayer for our nation’ created a firestorm in India? The media suddenly is abuzz after several different voices across the political spectrum cry foul that the letter is meant to divide the nation on communal lines. Notably, the right wing Hindu organization’s ideologue called it a "direct attack on secularism and democracy."
Read MoreCan a broadcaster be a saint? Can a priest also be a broadcaster? These are just two of the many fascinating questions that come to the fore when the name Patrick Peyton comes up. Peyton coined the now-famous slogan: “The family that prays together stays together!” Before fake news, there indeed was faith news.
Read MorePeople living along the Gaza Strip face the constant reality and accompanying anxiety of not knowing when the red alert — a blaring siren giving a 10-second notice that a rocket launched by Hamas fighters, Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalists — will make landfall, destroying everything in its path.
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