⚾️ Chicago White Sox Give Away 40,000 Pope Hats: 5 Things To Know 🔌

The Chicago White Sox gave away 40,000 miter-shaped hats Tuesday in honor of the team’s most famous fan, Pope Leo XIV. Here are five interesting facts to know about “Pope Night.”

Crossroads Podcast: The Missing Faith Angle In The WNBA’s Culture War Debate

To say the least, Indiana Fever star Sophie (“Do the Sophie”) Cunningham’s quotes about trans athletes and women’s sports has ignited a firestorm in sports, politics, social media and the elite press. In this case, the sports world includes the small, struggling WNBA.

Australians Increasingly Saying They Have ‘No Religion’ In Every Census

(ANALYSIS) Religion looks different in Australia. The first option for religious affiliation on the census is “no religion”, before Catholic, Anglican, Islam, Hinduism, other options, and a free-text field.

‘Fear And Regret’: Former Boko Haram Fighters Seek God — And A Place In Society

Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group, warps Muslim theology into an extremist ideology in order to attract young men to its ranks. Now, a unique program aims to de-radicalize former fighters through counseling and showing them how to live a peaceful Muslim life.

A Pitch For Hope: Persecuted Yazidis Build Their Own Soccer Stadium In Iraq

They’ve survived ISIS, genocides and persecution. Their homeland has been destroyed. Now the Yazidis in Iraq are rallying together to build their own soccer stadium — a symbol of resilience and hope despite their difficult past.

Why The Pentagon’s Count Of Religious Groups Plunged From 216 to Just 31

(ANALYSIS) The Pentagon needs to define America’s religious categories due to chaplains’ responsibility to handle the spiritual needs of soldiers as effectively as possible. The problem is that Americans’ religious choices are pretty much uncountable.

Christian Lawyers Aid Nigeria’s Families Targeted For Their Faith

Terrorism that began in northeast Nigeria with the founding of Boko Haram in 2002 spread to the northwest, has become common in the Middle Belt and is now spreading to southern Nigeria — leaving safe for daily living only perhaps 20 to 40 percent of Nigeria, the largest nation in Africa and the sixth most populous in the world. Nigeria is the deadliest country for believers globally.

‘Ring By Spring’: A View Into Christian College Dating Culture

(ESSAY) At Christian colleges across the nation, a “ring by spring” is a polarizing cultural phenomenon that comes with quirky rituals. There’s the “freshman frenzy,” the “senior scramble” — and on my campus, one infamous ice breaker known as “Awk Walk.” Underneath these traditions is an inescapable anxiety: Will you meet your spouse or graduate single?

‘We Don’t Feel Safe’: West Bank Christian Village Faces Escalating Attacks

On hills just east of Ramallah is the village of Taybeh. Its population has fallen to 1,200 today, while more than 80% of the town's sons and daughters now live abroad. What sets Taybeh apart from every other village in the West Bank is that all of its residents remain Christian — Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Latin — making it a symbol of a presence that is fading but refusing to disappear.

Russians Opening Churches In Africa: Is It ‘Spiritual Colonialism’?

The Russian Orthodox Church has expanded with striking speed. It is more than just a turf battle over the hearts and minds of local Orthodox priests and laypeople. To some observers, it’s part of a growing, concerning trend of Russia deepening geopolitical ties throughout Africa, and leveraging soft power to remake the continent in its own image.

For Christians, Humanity’s Place In Creation Demands Faithful Stewardship

(ANALYSIS) From polluted rivers to disappearing forests, the modern world bears the scars of human greed. Christians cannot simply point fingers at secular culture or blame industrialization while ignoring our own failures. If we believe the world is God's creation, then neglecting it goes beyond environmental policies.

📚 In Rural Idaho, BFFs Transform A Greenhouse Into A Thriving Christian School 🔌

For Charli Turner and Julie Montgomery, the idea of starting a school that could serve as a Christian mission started years ago. “We had this funny vision that we were going to take in all the lost, hurting kids,” Turner said. Finally, they’re realizing their dream in rural North Idaho.

Crossroads Podcast: Democrats Run Mainline Protestants In Midterms

The political time machine has now landed in similar journalism terrain. During this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, we discussed several important news reports, including this Religion News Service feature: “‘They’re not real pastors’: As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith.”

‘A Gift From Heaven’: Pope Leo Prepares For Warm Peru Welcome

Pope Leo, who spent two decades serving the Catholic church in Latin America, is expected to visit the diocese he led before his election in Chiclayo, a city in northwest Peru. Other stops on the 11-day trip include several cities in Uruguay and Argentina, with a full itinerary to be announced closer to the trip.

Did Ann Widdecombe Die A Political And Catholic Martyr?

(ANALYSIS) In her student days, Ann Widdecombe's first Oxford Union presentation was an attack on censorship, even if practicing free speech turned out to be risky or painful. A half-century later, the former Conservative MP and outspoken Catholic returned to the legendary debate club to address the same subject, at one point explaining why she once agreed to share a speaker's platform with an Irish Republican Army activist.

The Financial Dilemma That Wound Up Helping US Churches Thrive

(ANALYSIS) Disestablishment was not just a cornerstone of American democracy. It was also an engine for the extraordinary growth of philanthropy, which played an important role in fueling American churches’ growth and innovation.

Rising Cost Of Dying: Egyptians Struggle To Pay For Funerals

In a country with a deep history of ritual and respect for the dead, it is becoming increasingly impossible for everyday families to properly bury their loved ones. The wealthy are able to purchase premium amenities, while working class residents are unable to afford basic services at all. “Where am I supposed to take the body?” one man asked.

The Enduring Legacy Of Kashmir’s Poet‑Saints Who Built Bridges Between Faiths

(ANALYSIS) Kashmir remains one of the world’s most contentious geopolitical flash points. What is overlooked in this coverage is Kashmir’s immense artistic, intellectual and spiritual heritage, one shaped by centuries of interreligious and intercultural exchange.

Why This Shiite Muslim Pilgrimage Site Brings Millions To Iraq Each Year

(ANALYSIS) Every year, millions of pilgrims walk from the deserts of southern Iraq to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world. In 2026, pilgrims will converge on Karbala on Aug. 5.

Why America Should Fear The Decline Of Religious Women

(ANALYSIS) Fewer marriages, fewer believing mothers and fewer traditions carried forward add up to a generation raised inside a custom-built crisis of meaning. America needs religious men. To endure and thrive as a civilization, it may need religious women even more. The reasons aren’t mysterious.

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