This month, thousands of Indian Hindu pilgrims are visiting the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir — a region of armed conflict between Kashmiri Muslim militants and Indian security officials — to pray at the Amarnath cave and shrine. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims are setting up shops and travel businesses to accommodate them.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Religious freedom, an old-school liberal issue now largely taken up by conservatives, is often lost in mainstream news coverage. Lost in this coverage is an issue of such importance to Roman Catholics, that it may very well be the biggest fallout to come from years of clerical sex abuse when it comes to how it affects the law.
Read More(COMMENTARY) We often hear discussion about whether religion causes violence or makes the world more violent. But maybe we should discuss if, in the absence of true religion, violence can become a religion?
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) Rodrigo Duterte has wasted no time going after clergy, particularly when the church began opposing his human rights record. His bloody war against drugs has shocked the church, but has been met largely with approval from his supporters.
Read MoreA bill to ban triple talaq, or Islamic instant divorce, is creating controversy in India. The bill could be unconstitutional in two ways: it would criminalize only Muslim men for deserting their wives and it trumps so-called personal laws meant to provide religious freedom in civil matters like marriage.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Survey results have shown that many American Catholics are ready for married priests.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Walking around Washington, D.C., is a reminder of how much religious faith and this nation’s founding are connected, in terms of personalities and big themes. God is everywhere in this country’s past and the monuments that populate this wonderful city are a reminder of it.
Read MoreAs Americans gather to celebrate Independence Day, it is worth remembering that historic Trinity Church in New York City played a significant role in the birth of America and remains the burial site of several Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton.
Read MoreChristian comic book fans see biblical influences on the origin stories of popular superheroes like Superman, Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer. Meanwhile, Christian publishers are getting into the graphic novel genre.
Read MoreThe Episcopal Church in the U.S., part of the Anglican communion and the Church of England, is too liberal on issues like same-sex marriage for many expats from Africa and the Global South. The split in views and immigration to the U.S. and Canada is prompting growth in the conservative split-off, the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), while the Episcopal Church is gradually declining.
Read MoreThe same-sex relationship affirming ministry of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Paul the Apostle represents a divide between some liberal Catholic parishes and the Vatican’s conservative teachings.
Read More(COMMENTARY) In her book On Reading Well, the Liberty University professor says that in an age of noise, confusion and intolerance – it's more important than ever for families and congregations to help believers learn to enjoy and absorb great stories from great books.
Read MoreWe spoke with award-winning photographer Kieran Dodds about his project capturing the gardens of Eden cultivated by Ethiopian churches. The conservation is an act of worship to save their forests and provide an oasis for their congregations. Listen to the full podcast or read the edited transcript here.
Read More(OPINION) Two very different French sites — Lourdes, one of the holiest in the world for Roman Catholics, and the American cemetery at Normandy — have the ability to bring visitors closer to God in very different ways.
Read MoreSaudi Arabia, China, Russia and Myanmar are the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom in 2018, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report.
Read MoreA fragile Christian alliance that supported Pres. Bolsonaro’s election to office in October is weakening amid rising unemployment, budget cuts to education, and their leader’s negative comments about women, black people and the LGBT community.
Read MoreA new survey named the Holy See’s famous museums first among its top 10 travel experiences — beating out second-place Chicago for their architectural river cruises — and the only religious tour to crack the global list.
Read MoreThe Rohingya, an ethnic minority persecuted by some Buddhist groups in Myanmar, are facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises of this century. We spoke to Yangon-based activist Sam Naeem about the evolution of their struggle so far.
Read More(COMMENTARY) On the one-year anniversary of the revelations that exposed the past misdeeds of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the story doesn’t look like it is subsiding anytime soon.
Read MoreA recent report estimates 60,000 organ transplant surgeries happen in China every year, an industry adding $1 billion a year to the economy and cracking down on religious groups seen as a threat to the Communist Party.
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