Every year, between late May and early June, something happens on the 43-mile road to the Catholic sanctuary of Popenguine, outside Dakar, that is unremarkable in Senegal and extraordinary almost anywhere else in Africa or the world: Muslim youth walk the route alongside their Christian peers.
Read MoreTruth is, the Finland powers that be are not attacking all “biblical views.” Instead, as in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the government is saying that some “biblical views” are unacceptable in public life, while other doctrines are acceptable — such as those affirmed by progressive leaders of the nation’s official denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A year ago, King Charles III, in an Easter message that made little news, proclaimed that the love Jesus showed “when he walked the Earth reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions. ... The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world — the whole world — that He sent His son to live among us to show us how to love one another, and to lay down His own life for others in a love that proved stronger than death.”
Read MoreDad’s Place, the temporary housing shelter in Bryan, Ohio, that has been fighting for its right to operate, has finally reached a conclusion to its ongoing legal matters.
Read MoreAt least 54 Christians were killed early Easter in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, many during worship, with dozens more abducted from Evangelical Church Winning All Souls and other sites, International Christian Concern reported.
Read MoreAt least 53 Nigerians were killed in three Palm Sunday attacks in predominantly Christian communities in North Central Nigeria. Not all of the victims were Christians in the deadliest attack when at least 30 people were killed and several others hospitalized, Open Doors UK reported. But all attacks occurred in areas known to be predominantly or significantly Christian, with a Voice of the Martyrs field worker describing the Jos community as “100 percent Christian.”
Read MoreA federal appeals court should have applied a different level of scrutiny to determine whether a Colorado law infringed on a Christian counselor’s protected speech, the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 vote. Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor, argued the state’s 2019 Minor Conversion Therapy statute violated her free speech while discussing issues such as same-sex attraction.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Finland’s Supreme Court convicted Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola over a 2004 booklet on homosexuality, ordering its removal. The ruling, alongside developments in Canada and Iceland, raises concerns about expanding hate speech laws and their impact on religious expression and free speech in Europe and beyond.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Israel briefly barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, citing wartime security and triggering concerns over religious freedom. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed the decision, highlighting tensions between security measures and preserving Jerusalem’s sensitive religious status quo.
Read MoreShe walked for days through jungle mountain paths to escape the Myanmar military's campaign of terror. The medical care she needs is out of reach. What keeps her and the more than 600 people around her alive is a fragile web of church donations, local tithes and the tireless intervention of faith-based organizations — a web now stretched to breaking point.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Supreme Court recently announced a major decision in what seems like a quintessential religious freedom case: A Christian preacher charged with violating a city ordinance for sharing his faith in a public park. But outrageous as it may have been, the preacher’s arrest was not actually at the heart of this case.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In an era when religious and moral differences often feel like threats to identity, cultivating an individual ethic of pluralism may be one of the most critical civic tasks before us. Pluralism is not who we are by default. But it can be who we become — slowly, deliberately and together.
Read MoreBefore the war broke out, knowledgeable observers agreed that a vast majority of long-suffering Iranians despised the ruling theocracy’s incompetence and oppression. So a revolution now might seem as likely as in 1979, when such widespread revulsion brought down one dictator, only to be replaced by another one.
Read MoreA new report links interfaith cooperation and religious freedom to economic stability. It measures dialogue, workplace inclusion and government support — arguing that cities fostering trust and pluralism attract investment and skilled talent while reducing social tensions that could disrupt long-term economic growth.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In theory, many Christians support pacifism or non-violent resistance, but for Iranian Christians, those theories are challenged by the harsh realities of a hellish regime and an ongoing war. This question of ‘just war’ has a long history, going back to the first centuries of the church.
Read MoreMoody Bible Institute will be allowed to participate in Chicago Public Schools’ student teaching program after the college alleged religious freedom violations in being excluded. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) first said Moody couldn’t participate in the student-teacher internship unless the institute abandoned its religious-based hiring practices, but agreed to drop the requirement after Moody filed a federal lawsuit.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For millions of Iranians — especially religious minorities — the central political question is no longer simply whether the Islamic Republic can reform itself. After decades of repression, including the criminalization of peaceful religious expression and the systematic restriction of independent faith communities, the deeper question is what kind of political future could realistically secure freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all Iranians.
Read MoreEvery morning begins the same for Paul Ridlon, who also goes by Magnus de Rhuddlan. No matter the weather, he steps out of the round yurt where he lives in Portland, Maine, and lights incense at his southern altar, a tree stump topped with two crane statues and a figurine of the Egyptian god Horus.
Read MoreThe report critiqued other branches of the U.S. government that have undercut protections for religious freedom. It criticized, for example, cuts to USAID programs, since many of those programs were specifically aimed at protecting religious freedom.
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