Leaders of Cities Church condemned protestors who disrupted a St. Paul worship service, calling the conduct unlawful and intimidating. Pastor Jonathan Parnell addressed the incident biblically, urging perseverance. The Department of Justice began investigating, while church leaders affirmed their mission and called on authorities to protect religious freedom rights broadly.
Read More(REVIEW) Ryan Burge has created the most important and readable book right now to understand religious decline and polarization in the U.S. His message to commit your life to a shared community is one America needs right now. But it will be up to others to create and maintain the compelling shared vision that binds together the community that Burge wants.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Let’s start with a question: Have you heard leaders in your congregation discuss any of this information in a setting that will reach active members, as opposed to special events that draw the “usual suspects” in the flock (maybe 10-20% of members) that attend just about everything?
Read MoreU.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has spoken to a Minnesota pastor following a disruption by protestors during Cities Church’s morning worship service on Sunday. “Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi wrote on X late Sunday night.
Read MoreAn anti-ICE protest disrupted Sunday worship at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., with demonstrators chanting inside the sanctuary. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon streamed the incident live. Southern Baptist leaders condemned the disruption, calling it a violation of religious freedom and urging authorities to protect churches.
Read MorePerhaps not surprisingly, in a Bible Belt state such as Oklahoma, religion came up even in prison reporting — from Catholic bishops making appeals at clemency hearings to Allen, the inmate whose death I witnessed, declaring in her final statement, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Read MoreIndia recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech incidents in 2025, averaging more than three each day and overwhelmingly led by Hindu nationalist groups affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The report supports the inference that a political choice is behind the sustained scale of public incitement, which undermines both the rule of law and the idea of equal citizenship.
Read MoreViolence against Christians has reached an all-time high in 15 countries, with 388 million people facing severe persecution worldwide, Open Doors reported. Nigeria remains the deadliest nation, while Syria saw the largest single-year rise amid instability. Other dangerous parts of the world include North Korea, Somalia and Yemen.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Religious freedom in Hong Kong and Macau seems to be at the mercy of the ruling authoritarian Chinese Communist Party in People's Republic of China. Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that was banned by the People’s Republic of China in 1999, but remained active in Hong Kong and Macau, has been gradually losing its religious freedom.
Read MoreFor four million Deaf South Africans and millions across the world, a long spiritual silence has been broken. Many in the Deaf community say they yearn to connect with God, but earlier versions of the Bible, usually available in only text or audio, are inaccessible. And they cannot depend on the verbal message from the pulpit on Sundays.
Read MoreHistory nerds rejoice! An incredibly detailed land-use survey and census from the 1500s, commissioned by none other than Henry VIII, will soon be digitally available to everyone, including genealogists, educators, researchers and community groups, thanks to a new $2 million project. The historic records, published under the title “Valor Ecclesiasticus,” or Value of the Church, were the Tudor equivalent of the Domesday Book.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the things few people discuss about the “Avatar” films is how deeply “faith-based” they are. In fact, their spirituality may be one of the most influential things about the franchise in Hollywood. Since the first film graced theaters in 2009, Hollywood has followed its example in portraying religiosity on film — both for good and ill.
Read MoreTo Gwen Cummings, the late Marshall Keeble was more than a famous traveling evangelist. He was her “Pop.” Cummings shared her personal memories of Marshall and Laura Keeble, her great-grandparents who were more like grandparents to her.
Read MoreNearly six decades after a renowned evangelist’s death, hundreds of Christians lined up at a Nashville, Tennessee, church — where the son of former slaves preached his first sermon in 1897 — to see a new exhibit honoring his legacy.
Read MoreRather than answering blood with blood, many residents in one part of India turned to prayer, ritual and mutual care. This response has become as much a political statement as a spiritual one. In the days after deadly clashes took place, monks were visible in the streets. They organized food for families stranded by an imposed curfew, led quiet gatherings — and urged people to avoid retaliation.
Read MoreIt is a fraught time to lead a Christian congregation. Church leaders are navigating concerns about President Donald Trump’s second term, ongoing ICE raids, difficult conversations following Charlie Kirk’s murder — and also trying to dodge spiritual and occupational burnout along the way.
Read MoreWhile their day jobs may be different, the advice of men and women anchored in years of religious life, like nuns and priests, perhaps unsurprisingly, focuses on the same tools as laymen for navigating difficult times: Contemplation, community, empathy and solidarity with those who are often forgotten.
Read MoreThe climb to Mar Musa al-Habashi monastery is deliberate and demanding — 340 stone steps wind up a stark, treeless mountain ridge in the Qalamun region. But complete the journey, and you’ll find a community of Muslims and Christians committed to interfaith dialogue and healing their nation.
Read MoreFor many years, Uganda’s churches and affiliated NGOs depended heavily on international financing from the U.S., U.K. and European Union to run feeding programs, support clergy families and build schools and hospitals. Until last year, USAID was a major conduit for American support.
Read MoreIn a special year-end edition, Weekend Plug-in counts down the Top 10 most popular Religion Unplugged stories from the past 12 months.
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