Thanks to the organizing efforts of Muslim and Christian community leaders, living conditions are slowly improving for some of the poorest people in Indonesia.
Read More
Amid large increases in religious persecution, Muslims in Indonesia are organizing massive defensive measures to protect Indonesian religious groups.
Read More
Historically, Indonesian Muslims have worn loosely wrapped, somewhat transparent, colorful scarves. Now, the most common covering is the jilbab, an opaque square scarf which is tightly wrapped and pinned under the chin, and typically does not show any hair. For Muslims who do not wear one, it is enough to “cover their hearts.” But for *Aya and many other Muslim women, the ritual of physically covering her body is also important, as it puts the religious principle into practice — an external expression of an internal disposition.
Read More
Wearing a full and graying beard, khaki trousers and a woolen vest, 66-year-old Ya’cub ibn Yusuf, puttered around his little shop. Sufi-inspired sounds played by an Israeli musician piped from the speakers above. “Spiritual Books for Sale,” read the sign outside the door.
Read More
Thirty-four Chilean bishops are waiting Pope Francis' decision regarding their future after the recent scandal of concealment of sexual abuse. Many parishioners and church leaders in the region say the Chilean church is at its worst.
Read More
Why has a letter by the Archbishop of Delhi to all the Parish priests and religious institutions in the Archdiocese of Delhi with the subject ‘Prayer for our nation’ created a firestorm in India? The media suddenly is abuzz after several different voices across the political spectrum cry foul that the letter is meant to divide the nation on communal lines. Notably, the right wing Hindu organization’s ideologue called it a "direct attack on secularism and democracy."
Read More
Can a broadcaster be a saint? Can a priest also be a broadcaster? These are just two of the many fascinating questions that come to the fore when the name Patrick Peyton comes up. Peyton coined the now-famous slogan: “The family that prays together stays together!” Before fake news, there indeed was faith news.
Read More
If Jesus were to suddenly appear at one of the Israeli checkpoints that separates this Palestinian area from Israel, what would He think? That is a question that bedeviled the Reverend Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Christian who is the academic dean at Bethlehem Bible College.
Read More
There’s a ladder in the Old City of Jerusalem that’s perched on a stone ledge beneath the second floor window at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Known as the “immovable ladder”, it symbolizes the complications that arise when six different Christian denominations occupy one of the holiest sites in their theology. No one knows who left it there in the mid-19th century but it sits there, on a ledge above the sturdy wooden doors, a reminder of the contested ground beneath it.
Read More
Tall, built and gangly, Mazen Kenan, a 46-year-old Palestinian, towers above everyone in just about any setting. But his height is particularly commanding in the tightly packed streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, where he maneuvers easily despite the five foot-long, 50-pound wooden cross he bears on his shoulder.
Read More
Guy Consolmagno has a profound love for studying space, reading and watching science-fiction as well as Jesus and the Gospels. As director of the Vatican Observatory, he is embraced by both the scientific and the religious communities, and is in the business of shattering myths about the compatibility between science and religion.
Read More
The Ottoman empire is gone, and Turkey is now a secular state with official freedom of religion. Bells are hardly heard these days at all, though in smaller numbers the ancient Christian communities remain.
Read More
The remains of 39 Indians kidnapped and killed by the terror group ISIS are finally returned back home. The individuals remained out of government sight while they were working in the war-torn city of Mosul after they were sent there by unauthorized travel agents.
Read More
An Australian Anglican pastor, academic, and human rights activist, Mark Durie is also very critical of Islam – especially on the issue of religious liberty. He speaks of ‘moderate’ governments whose economic openness and political cooperation is lauded by the West, which turns a blind eye to their blatant restrictions on religious liberty. But Durie's concern goes beyond just the victims, to include those who let it slide.
Read More
In a rare and dramatic display of opposition to a “lifestyle-altering” legislation in recent history, hundreds of Filipino Bible-believing Christians trooped to the Senate recently and held a peaceful rally against the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression (SOGIE), also referred to as the Anti-Discrimination Bill.
Read MoreAn Anglican priest is to be honored by the Queen for his public service. Fr Francis Gardom, 84, founded a charity to provide products to poor schoolgirls in Kenya who would otherwise miss school. His work has been brought to the attention of the Queen who will bestow on him the traditional gift of ‘Maundy money’ reserved for distinguished service by pensioners.
Read More
This weekend, people of all faiths will commemorate both saints - St. Patrick and St. Joseph - by enjoying corned beef and cabbage, and topping off the meal with some zeppole for dessert. It’s all become part of the shared American experienced and America’s acceptance of immigrants and their customs.
Read More
One by one, Billy and Ruth Graham's children – Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Ned – took the pulpit in a 28,000-square-foot tent erected at the Billy Graham Library, in Charlotte, N.C. They praised their famous father, of course, but also their mother who died in 2007. The family's patriarch died with 19 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Read More
The March 4 vote in Italy swept to victory a wave of populist candidates – including Matteo Salvini of the Lega party – who campaigned heavily against immigration. As Italians, like many across Europe, become more agnostic, their politics morph. Political observers say a new generation of a more secular electorate have started to differentiate between religious obligations and political desires.
Read More
At a time when the Philippine culture is showing and allowing openness to more liberal concepts and lifestyles that are tagged as the “new normal,” there appears to be a persistent aversion to divorce from the majority of the population, primarily by members of the Catholic and Christian faith.
Read More