The annual pilgrimage is the 33rd day of Judaism's somber seven-week "counting" between Passover and Pentecost and marks the ceasing of a plague that killed 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva ( c. 50–135 CE), a sage martyred by the Romans during the genocidal persecution of the Emperor Hadrian.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) India’s Hindu nationalist and populist Bharatiya Janata Party won reelection Thursday in a sweeping parliamentary majority. Here’s what that means for religious minorities, other marginalized groups and the organizations working for their welfare.
Read MoreThe region has long been plagued by atrocities against Kashmiri Muslims, some of whom advocate for separating from India, and ethnic Kashmiri Hindus, who support India’s military occupation and takeover. Caught in the conflict is a tiny minority of Sikhs, who say their voices are not being heard.
Read More“I think we have arrived at the days of the Messiah,” Jewish community spokesman Naom Arnon said at an iftar dinner that marks the end of the day’s Ramadan fast, hosted by the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a joint Israeli-Palestinian group to promote business ties and economic cooperation in the West Bank.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Echoing papal pronouncements, a position paper and then a columnist of the Southern Baptist Convention’s seminary said that Jesus Christ appointed only male apostles. Evangelical author Beth Moore was one among many voices to push back on Twitter.
Read MoreThere can’t be talk of the future without God and faith. Depending on the speaker (or the college/university), God can often be the focal point of a commencement address. This spring has been highlighted by a few notable speeches, including Vice President Mike Pence’s at Liberty University and Peggy Noonan at Notre Dame.
Read MoreThe annual quiz was held last week in Jerusalem in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other prominent Israeli leaders. The outgoing education minister Naftali Bennett spoke about the current challenges Israel is facing in losing its people to the Diaspora.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) Matteo Salvini, who leads the League party, could take his anti-immigration stances to Brussels if opinion polls prove correct. His hardline stance on the issue has put him at odds with the Catholic church in Italy as well as with Pope Francis, who has repeatedly spoken in favor of refugees seeking asylum in Western Europe.
Read More(REVIEW) Christopher Roche’s photography exhibition in London is a collection on religious devotion around the world.
Read More(COMMENTARY) A month after the Notre Dame blaze, there continues to be little to no coverage when it comes to the rash of suspicious fires and vandalism that plagued French churches in the weeks before the Paris incident, which was quickly deemed unintentional by Parisian authorities.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) The genre became infamous in the early 90s for suicide, arson, murder and more. Were those metal heads and their successors devil worshippers? Or just creative, dark rock musicians?
Read MoreSadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a Hindu in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party accused of aiding a terrorist attack against Muslims, is contesting for a seat in parliament in a region crucial to the BJP’s victory.
Read MoreThe film premiered at New Jersey’s Montclair Film Festival this week, with Catholic late night host Stephen Colbert sitting down with the Finnish director Dome Karukoski.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The attempt by Pope Francis to finally create some accountability and transparency is well intentioned, although misguided given that it largely ignores the role of laypeople and relies primarily on clergy self-policing.
Read MoreEleven NGOs petitioned the Kenyan government and won to force a Kenyan church to remove billboards aimed at expecting mothers considering abortion.
Read More(COMMENTARY) At a time when humor is struggling with political correctness and fallout from the #MeToo movement, there’s little material for late-night hosts and stand-up comedians to work with. However, the people you’re allowed to pick on (at least from the material you see on TV) are Christians across all denominations.
Read More“I had all the reasons and justifications to join a terrorist group because of what has happened to me,” said Raghu Balachandran, a Christian who witnessed the murder of his father and brother in Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war between Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) Palestinian jihadi militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 700 rockets and mortars over the weekend, right as tens of thousands of musicians and fans are arriving to Tel Aviv for the 64th annual Eurovision festival. The move doesn’t make sense militarily, but likely aims instead to damage Israeli tourism.
Read More(OPINION) Lil Nas X released his genre-busting song, Old Town Road. Things are happening between country and hip hop that all have to do with gospel music roots.
Read MoreEvans, known for her progressive take on the faith, was only 37 when an infection quickly turned fatal. Her last blog post, about Lent and before she announced any illness, was a reminder that we will all return to dust.
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