(ANALYSIS) As disputes rage on over religion’s place in public schools, the Ten Commandments have become a focal point. At least a dozen states have considered proposals that would require classrooms to post the biblical laws, while three recently passed laws mandating their display starting this year.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Leo Tolstoy spent half a century avoiding arguably the most essential truth of them all: Everything comes to an end. If that’s true, which it is, what’s the point? He’d conquered every peak the world could name. “War and Peace” made him immortal. “Anna Karenina” made him rich. Critics worshipped him in tongues he didn’t even speak. Russian aristocrats name-dropped him like Scripture.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For now, it would be premature to declare that that moment has arrived. Yet it would be incautious, too, to ignore the warning signs. The latest terrorism in Jerusalem may not be the turning point. But unless the trajectory changes — unless there is a serious Israeli effort to address Palestinian grievances, rather than inflame them — the explosion everyone fears may soon become impossible to prevent.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Despite some major differences, newspapers and religion share notable similarities in their societal roles, including defining norms, creating a sense of a shared community, while maintaining rituals. These parallels are often rooted in the human need to make sense of a complex world. Over the years, Hollywood has immortalized their importance with a series of movies.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In Washington, D.C., recent events have pushed some Christian leaders to become vocal against the Trump administration. As clergy argue that federal law enforcement agencies increasingly encroach upon church property and community spaces, the result has been a growing movement of men and women who argue that enough is enough.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One thing I consider part of my job as a columnist is pointing you to opinions that are better-expressed and more revelatory that what I’d normally produce on my own. That’s the case here.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “Murderbot” has options, but only a few. Kill all the stupid humans and flee, which likely means another SecUnit would stop him and then the company would melt him down as scrap. Or play along, pretending to do the job you’ve always done but hope no one notices when you’re not all there because — you’re bingeing thousands of hours of “content” — human/bot/AI entertainment.
Read More(ANALYSIS) History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis — the 15-year-old tech prodigy known as “God’s Influencer” — the first Millennial saint. Before 80,000 pilgrims, many of them young families and digital natives, this wasn’t just a canonization. It was a prophetic moment for the Catholic Church as it grapples with its place in the 21st century.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This is a landmark year for what’s variously labeled “medical assistance in dying” (MAID), “doctor-assisted suicide,” death by choice,” “death with dignity,” “the right to die,” “euthanasia” or “mercy killing.” As this is written, Great Britain is on the brink of joining the West European nations that allow suicide under specified conditions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Is there a more loaded word in American discourse right now than “diversity”?
Read MoreThe Catholic justice said what motivated her to write a book is to shed a light on the Supreme Court’s inner workings and give a behind-the-scenes look at what the justices do. She added that while the Supreme Court may not always “get it right” in every case, she does “think Americans should trust that the court is trying to get it right.”
Read MoreAt first Zori Opanasevych thought her ministry to serve Ukrainian refugees might last a few months. But more than three years later, she’s still at it — leading the nonprofit arm of a Pentecostal church that helped more than 1,300 people fleeing the war resettle in Alaska.
Read MoreA new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If this administrative pattern continues, it risks institutionalizing practices that allow for both arbitrary denial of citizenship rights and arbitrary exemptions from legal violations. The consequences are especially grave in a country with diverse migrant histories and weak birth registration infrastructure. For many Indians without birth certificates, this could mean being subjected to unpredictable and discriminatory scrutiny.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman. But the old-fashioned church Leanne Morgan attends in her summer Netflix sitcom does have a Philippians 4:13 poster in the fellowship hall proclaiming: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) To me, there’s always been a pretty big blind spot when it comes to the study of non-religion in the United States. There are plenty of survey questions that ask about religious attendance and belief in God.
Read MoreIn the cramped lanes of Indian Administered Kashmir’s Jammu's Narwal slum, Kiryani Talab Camp, 8-year-old Noora awakens each morning to the same devastating reality: Her parents are not there to greet her. It is just one of the many stories of children who were separated from their parents a few years ago. “Things have only gotten worse,” one woman said.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Psychedelics, broadly defined, are a class of psychoactive substances that alter perception, cognition and mood through their interaction with neurotransmitters such as serotonin. As a medical anthropologist I have spent the past 25 years studying the rise of alternative approaches to mental health treatments and have specifically focused in the past four years on the impact of psychedelics on consciousness and spirituality.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As summer winds down and Americans gather with family and friends for barbecues and beach trips, the first Monday of September offers more than just a long weekend. Labor Day, often treated as the unofficial end of summer, has deeper roots. It’s a holiday born out of struggle — of marches, strikes and a nationwide push to recognize the dignity of workers.
Read MoreCracker Barrel became the latest company engulfed in a culture war after announcing a new logo — and then reversing course amid criticism from everyone from President Donald Trump to the Democratic Party.
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