(ANALYSIS) On his recent visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV met with political and religious leaders, celebrated Mass and visited historical sites. The trip also marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which resolved core doctrinal differences, with the aim of advancing Christian unity at the time.
Read MoreChurches and cathedrals around the U.K. hold works of art by some of the most important and exciting artists of the past 100 years. But unless you know where to look, many can be hard to find. High-profile examples include significant commissions by Elisabeth Frink, John Piper and Graham Sutherland at Coventry Cathedral.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Needless to say, these old-school, pro-First Amendment liberals are not the kind of public intellectuals that cultural and religious conservatives have, in the past, valued for their insights into public life. However, they have created a multi-media space in which all kinds of voices — including strong, vocal Christians (Paul Kingsnorth, leaps to mind) — have been able to reach millions of new readers and listeners.
Read MoreRed post boxes are one of the most well-known and iconic British symbols — but at Christmastime, they take on a very different ambiance, often virtually overnight. Posting Christmas cards becomes even more fun as you never know quite what might appear on top of the post box in many part of the U.K.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Living in a culture that largely closes down each Dec. 25, many Jews have found ways of making meaning in the day — be that sharing family time over beef and broccoli, followed by a holiday blockbuster, or working to make sure that more of their colleagues can have a family day. And those, too, are Christmas traditions.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Case for Miracles” attempts to encourage all of these groups with belief in the miraculous. Unfortunately, it tries to do too much and please too many potential audiences. The result is that, though its heart is in the right place, almost everyone, even those who agree with it, will likely go away unpersuaded and unsatisfied.
Read MoreOne of Christianity’s last strongholds in the Middle East is rapidly losing Christians, who are fleeing the country after years of wars and economic failures. Pope Leo XIV visited Lebanon earlier this month to encourage the nation’s young Catholics. But local young adults say it could be too little, too late.
Read MoreHolocaust denier Nick Fuentes appeared to acknowledge that “at least” 6 million Jews were killed in Nazi Germany, in a tense interview with broadcaster Piers Morgan on Monday. Yet, he doubled down on his past statement that Adolf Hitler was “f—ing cool” and claimed that the true “genocide” is against white Christians.
Read MoreAfter decades of falling religious affiliation and participation, key measures of religiousness in the United States have leveled off in recent years — although no revival has been detected among young people. The findings from the Pew Research Center suggest that a period of relative stability — first observed around 2020 — has continued five years after the pandemic.
Read MoreEven though Emmanuel Ngona Ngotsi was appointed by Pope Francis as the bishop of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Wamba Diocese in January 2024 and consecrated eight months later by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, he has yet to fully assume his role. Although Ngotsi is Congolese, Wamba clergy and laity still see him as an “outsider” because he is not a native of the area.
Read MoreBecause Mary herself was from the eastern Mediterranean, the subtle incorporation by Renaissance painters of abstractly rendered Arabic or Hebrew in religious art linguistically linked their sacred subjects to the region’s Biblical past as well as its bounteous wealth.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving pregnancy resource centers in New Jersey that have been fighting a legal battle to prevent the subpoena of its donor records.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the most important cyclical events in my life as a data analyst of American religion is the semi-regular release of the General Social Survey.
Read MoreWhat you choose to read matters. Only together can we can combat misinformation and uplift reporting that informs rather than inflames.
Read MoreA quarter-century ago, the millionaire businessman who brought the NBA’s original Charlotte Hornets to North Carolina’s largest city became embroiled in a sex scandal. Now he has published a book chronicling his stumbles and triumphs.
Read MoreIt was a stunning reversal of fortunes. In October, Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi’s charismatic preacher-turned-politician who once promised to “serve both God and the people,” lost his presidential re-election bid to long-time rival Peter Mutharika, who was formerly president himself from 2014 to 2020.
Read MoreResearch carried out by the Bat Conservation Trust has revealed that over 8,000 churches provide bats with a home. They are messy houseguests, and churchgoers must coexist with them. At the same time, a U.K. law prohibits removing or disturbing the winged creatures that have scared people for centuries.
Read More(OPINION) America today is a paradox: A land of both freedom and fear. For some, the journey is from fear to freedom; for others, from freedom to fear. “My way or no way” has become a mantra.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, Quebec was the most religious part of North America. Now it is home to an aggressive secularist government that, on Nov. 27, introduced a proposed law, Bill 9, that would outlaw public prayer. For several centuries, religious minorities faced discrimination and, until the 1960s, Jehovah's Witnesses were still being arrested for their refusal to salute the flag.
Read More“I’m based in Africa, where a lot of stories are underreported, so my articles help readers make sense of the world from an African point of view.”
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