(REVIEW) The new series “3 Body Problem” is a secular show that wrestles with how the failures of the secular project have threatened the modern world and wrestles compellingly with nonreligious answers on how to solve them. Hollywood has recently begun to spotlight the evils of overtly atheist regimes. This year, “3 Body Problem” takes on Maoist China.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As the UPR was looking into the situation in Afghanistan, atrocity crimes continued. On the same day as the U.N. review, a gunman stormed a mosque in Andisheh town of Guzara district in Herat province, western Afghanistan. Six people were killed in the attack. The mosque is said to have belonged to Afghanistan’s minority Shiite community.
Read MoreThe feature is framed with bad news — that progressive Catholics in the United States are experiencing pain because of the rising numbers of young priests and young adults (especially parents with, wink-wink, lots of children) seeking a more pro-Catholic Catechism approach to faith.
Read MoreA new, 400-page biography of 10-time All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw delves into his baseball success, his family life and, yes, his faith.
Read MoreFears of AI are not the only things driving public concern about the end of the world. Climate change and pandemic diseases are also well-known threats. Reporting on these challenges and dubbing them a potential “apocalypse” has become common in the media — so common, in fact, that it might go unnoticed, or may simply be written off as hyperbole.
Read MoreAn estimated 25 percent to half of the 900 to 1,000 Christians who lived in Gaza before the war have fled, and that an additional 25 percent are applying to leave. Israel’s occupation of the Rafah border crossing threatens safe passage to Egypt. Thousands of displaced Palestinians are fleeing Rafah for Deir el-Balah about 12 miles north and were straining a scant supply of fresh water.
Read MoreNeary 50 Christians have been killed in a series of militant attacks on villages in Benue, Plateau and Kaduna states in late April through early May, with dozens more wounded and displaced, according to news reports. Militant Fulani killed six Christians in southern Kaduna on May 5 in the latest in a series of attacks.
Read MoreRanjit Singh, known as the “Lion of Punjab,” was responsible for the creation of the Sikh Empire in 19th century north India. A skilled warrior and revered king, as well as the first maharajah of the Sikh people, Singh is one of the most important figures in Sikh history. Now, his life and reign as a ruler are the subject of the exhibition “Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King” at London’s The Wallace Collection.
Read MoreThe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2024 report urged the U.S. State Department to add 15 nations to the current list of egregious religious freedom violators, and recommended key policy guidance for the Biden administration. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam should be added to the 12 Countries of Particular Concern.
Read MoreThe Pulitzer Prize committee awarded a “special citation” to journalists covering the war in Gaza. In addition, “A Day in the Life of Abed Salaman: Anatomy of a Jerusalem” Tragedy by Nathan Thrall, which documents the experience of a Palestinian father whose 5-year-old son was killed in a bus crash, won the prize for general nonfiction.
Read MoreThe Russian military’s need to replenish its ranks for what appears to be a long-term war against Ukraine and its Western allies has resulted in Indian men being lured to Moscow with the promise of work, only to discover that they have been forced to enlist in the army. Russian President Vladimir Putin has even justified the invasion of Ukraine partly as a defense of the Moscow-oriented Orthodox Church.
Read MoreA new survey found 47 percent of U.S. voters believe colleges should ban pro-Palestinian protests, compared to 30 percent who say the demonstrations should be permitted. A slightly smaller number — 41 percent — would ban pro-Israel protests. The vast majority of voters — 76 percent — also said they support colleges asking police to protect campuses from violence.
Read More(REVIEW) Paul Seabright’s “The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power and People” does not take into account what’s true, but does explore well what pays. Churches compete with theaters and other entertainment venues. They also compete with each other and offer explicit or implicit inducements.
Read MoreIreland — once a bastion of Catholicism — has become a more secular, pluralistic nation. In the 2022 census, 14% of respondents reported having no religion, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. That’s a rise of nearly 100,000 people since the 2016 census. With more Irish people moving away from organized religion, nonreligious weddings, have become increasingly common.
Read MoreThe Arizona Legislature repealed on May 1 an 1864 abortion ban that would have protected life from conception, but the law could still take effect temporarily during a 90-day waiting period for the repeal to become law. In Florida, meanwhile, a six-week abortion ban became law.
Read MoreWhen a monster tornado struck a small Oklahoma town, numerous businesses and houses were destroyed. But a church’s stained-glass windows escaped with just minor damage.
Read MoreNearly 150 Baptists have fled their homes in Mexico after village leaders persecuted them because of their faith, cutting essential services and blocking entry, CSW reported. The 139 Great Commission Baptist Church members, residents of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo villages in Hidalgo, left their homes April 26 after village leaders cut off their electricity, vandalized and blocked access to some of their homes and the church, and posted guards at village entry points.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The U.N. Security Council recently heard a new report on sexual violence in conflict (conflict-related sexual violence, also referred to as CRSV) prepared by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The report, which covers the period from January to December 2023, suggests that CRSV is on the rise. If the previous years were bad, the situation only got worse.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There is something different about how sci-fi movies deal with religion and how traditionally “faith-based” films do. And that is, quite obviously, when you think about it, that these movies treat faith like fiction and fantasy, whereas faith-based fiction treats it as fact. It’s the same as how comic books like Superman treat aliens as “real,” but no one would pretend these comics are making any claims about the existence of aliens.
Read MoreMohammed Soheb is a farmer in the northern Haryana state’s Nuh district, India’s least developed region. With a majority Muslim population, Nuh had been known for Hindu-Muslim harmony until July 2023, when a nine-day spate of communal violence disrupted that harmony. The unrest seemed to fit a pattern often seen in Hindu-Muslim relations in India.
Read More
