Dr. Nina Balmaceda recently finished a project focused on uncovering the story of Peace and Hope International over its first 25 years, emphasizing the spiritual dimensions of social and political renewal in Latin America. Her research has focused on the organization's spiritual understanding of love — deeply rooted in its Christian tradition — through political and social responsibility.
Read More(OPINION) I’ve long argued it’s difficult — really, next to impossible — to practice Christianity effectively without becoming (and staying) an active member of a local church congregation. Not only Christianity but the other major faiths are, by intention and maybe by definition, communal pursuits rather than solitary ones.
Read MoreThe ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is having reverberations across the globe. This was the case during last week’s elections in the United Kingdom. While the headlines heralded the Labour‘s landslide victory, some of the party’s losses resulted in gains for independent candidates who made Gaza a major campaign issue.
Read MoreA release of the Republican National Convention’s (RNC) platform reveals a potential shift in the party’s focus on a federal abortion ban. The announcement came hours after the RNC’s platform committee met on Monday.
Read MoreThe government of Uganda officially recognized the Muslim martyrs who were killed on the orders of a local king starting in 1874 — and allocated $52,926 to organize this year’s Muslim Martyrs’ Day commemorations. This is the first time Muslims in Uganda organized an official commemoration for the Muslim martyrs. In the past, only Catholics and Anglicans participated in official celebrations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Between 2006 and 2008, Nepal transitioned from a Hindu monarchy to a secular democracy. It dissolved its monarchy completely, and the former king left the palace in June 2008. He has been living ever since as a private citizen. What had religious kingship looked like in Nepal? Why was it ended — and why do some people want it back?
Read More(REVIEW) “Fleur de Lis” is a sharp-witted and endearing animated hijinks-adventure sitcom with a Christian worldview and a controversial way it’s made: using artificial intelligence. Faith-based films and TV shows are not known for their innovation. Between the running gag of faith-based knockoffs of secular content (such as “Revelation Road” being a knockoff of “Mad Max”) and otherwise playing it fairly safe with its inspirational drama formula.
Read MoreDid everyone in the religious congregation of your choice have a good “Fidelity Month”? That’s a joke, of course. There were probably more churches in America that celebrated Pride Month than those that were aware that “Fidelity Month” even exists. And pride is where it’s at, when it comes to the principalities and powers of corporate America, Big Tech, Hollywood, mainstream newsrooms and the vast majority of our elected officials from sea to shining sea.
Read MoreThe Alliance of Christians in Cuba (ACC) denounced the country’s human rights and religious freedom violations at its 2024 meeting, the third time it has done so since its 2022 founding and the latest in a string of such statements internationally. The ACC, a multi-denominational group of about 60 Christian leaders, called for the immediate release of religious prisoners and prisoners of conscience, the protected legal right for new churches to organize and function, and other rights included in Article 18 of the International Bill of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Read MoreIt was the fourth of a hot, dry July day nearly 150 years after the fact at Camp Sturgis, a frontier Army post in the 1870s, decommissioned in 1944. Today it’s known as Fort Meade and is used as an Army training ground. Officer candidates from across the nation could have taken the holiday to visit the nearby patriotic Mount Rushmore. Instead they stayed on base to play war games — Civil War-era war games.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When members of the Society of Jesus gather at Borgo Santo Spirito, their headquarters near the Vatican, they worship surrounded by the relics of Jesuit saints and works of sacred art. This includes the work of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, who the Jesuits expelled last year after investigations into allegations he sexually and emotionally abused up to 30 women in religious orders. The Vatican had excommunicated the priest in 2020, but quickly withdrew that judgment.
Read MoreMinistries continue to distance themselves from Robert Morris, founder of Gateway Church in Texas, in the wake of accusations that he sexually abused a girl for several years, starting when she was 12.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Two of the Founding Fathers shaped American views on religious freedom and the separation of church and state more than any other: Jefferson and James Madison. Yet their views have also become lightning rods for controversy as the “wall” between church and state comes under scrutiny.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today. Well into the 20th century, tragedies were mostly explained differently than now. Explanations often referenced forces such as God, fate, bad luck, blameless accidents or, in line with the U.S. liberal political tradition, individual responsibility.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When it comes to hot dogs, there’s always a nagging question in the back of my mind (and possibly yours): What are they made of, exactly? That’s why, even though I don’t keep kosher, on the rare occasion that I do eat a hot dog, I prefer a kosher brand. But now, thanks to Joey Chestnut’s endorsement of Impossible Foods’ vegan hot dog, I’m wondering if I should forsake my usual go-to, Hebrew National, for meatless.
Read More(ANALYSIS) I guess there is a question that motivates this post but it’s about as simple as it’s going to get: How is Joe Biden doing among a bunch of different religious groups? Asking about presidential approval is about as straightforward as it gets, and the question was posed in the Fall of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Read More(OPINION) Since 2016, in private conversations and in responses from newspaper readers, the question I’ve probably been asked more consistently than any other is: “How do you account for White evangelicals’ devotion to Donald Trump?” So I’ve taken stabs at answering that question. But more often than not I’ve ended up shrugging and saying, “I don’t know. I don’t get it, either.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) A Louisiana bill signed into law on June 19 requires displays of the Bible’s revered Ten Commandments in all public classrooms, even at the university level. Religious and nonreligious citizens immediately joined national lobbies in a federal court complaint that the law must be overturned for violating the U.S. Constitution’s ban on “establishment of religion” by the government.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from former reality TV star and Christian activist Josh Duggar regarding his conviction for downloading child sex abuse material. The nation’s highest court made no comment or notes on its decision to decline. Instead, the court just listed Duggar’s case as one in several petitions that were denied.
Read More(ANALYSIS) When Pope Francis addressed a group of top international comedians on June 14, he called them artists and stressed the value of their talents. To many Catholics, this meeting came as a surprise. Traditionally, the themes of detachment, sacrifice, humility and repentance appear far more frequently in religious writing and preaching than the spiritual benefits of a good laugh.
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