Posts in Religious Freedom
Elderly Christian Among 31 Sentenced In China Church Crackdown

A court in central China, issued verdicts on May 22 against 31 members of a house church fellowship in one of the largest coordinated prosecutions of Christians in recent years.

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Stage Against Hate: A Theater Keeps Jewish Culture Alive Beyond Memory And Myth

In the heart of Budapest lies a theater unlike any other. Founded 20 years ago, Gólem Theater stands as the only professional Jewish theater in Hungary. By blending humor with questions of identity, the theater seeks to engage audiences with a different side of Jewish culture.

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UN Probes Religious Violence in Nigeria: Here’s What They Should Do

(OPINION) An international investigator will visit Nigeria to assess the religious persecution occurring across the country, and there are so many issues that it’s hard to know where she should begin. Will she detail the mass kidnappings that have occurred regularly over the past decade? The religious and tribal fighting? The terrorist organizations wreaking havoc on the country?

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An Unprecedented Faith-Based Mega-Movie Season Could Sway The Culture Wars In 2027

(ANALYSIS) The way Hollywood portrays faith is changing because American culture is changing. The growing divide in these portrayals reflects the same growing divide in America. Next year may be when this clash gets its biggest arena — and we will all be watching, popcorn in hand.

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In Volatile Nigeria, A Man Converted To Christianity. His Family Wasn’t Pleased.

At the dawn of the new millennium in northern Nigeria, while a Christian man was petitioning God with his midnight prayers, his 19-year-old Muslim neighbor was calling upon Allah, also through prayer. What the Muslim teen didn’t know is that he would someday convert to Christianity, something that in the African nation can prove to be dangerous.

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‘Cast Aside The Clouds’ Shines A Light On Iran And The Bahá’í Faith

(REVIEW) A “Romeo and Juliet” style love story, “Cast Aside The Clouds” that protests how religious intolerance — such as the kind regularly levied against the Baháʼí people in Iran — threatens love by targeting innocent people for oppression.

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Ebola Outbreak Forces Postponement Of Massive Religious Pilgrimage

The Ugandan government has announced the postponement of this year’s Uganda Martyrs’ Day celebrations, scheduled for June 3, in response to an Ebola outbreak affecting both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has claimed over 130 lives thus far.

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Why 2 Saints Are At The Center Of A Church-State Legal Battle

At a time when statues are coming down, this is a case about two that are proposed to go up. A city in Massachusetts plans to erect two statues featuring Catholic saints, but some residents have said that it shows favoritism to one religion. Now, it’s up to the courts to decide what to do next in a case that could reach the Supreme Court.

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Prominent Church In East China Demolished Amid Escalating Crackdown

Only days after U.S. President Donald Trump left a Beijing summit with CCP Chairman Xi Jinping where religious freedom and jailed religious leaders were discussed, authorities in eastern China have demolished a prominent church, razing the building with large excavators.

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San Diego Mosque Shooting Shows How Online Hate Contributes To Islamophobia

(ANALYSIS) Many Muslim Americans are fearful following a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that left three worshipers dead. Investigators reportedly found hate speech and anti-Islamic writing inside the vehicle of the suspected shooters, who killed themselves soon after the attack.

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3 Killed at San Diego Mosque As Anti-Muslim Hate Surges Nationwide

The killing of three people at San Diego’s largest mosque highlighted the rise in Islamophobia that has spread across the United States over the last few years. There had been no specific threat made against the Islamic Center of San Diego, but police officials found evidence that the suspects — two teenage boys — had engaged in “generalized hate rhetoric.”

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‘Rededicate 250’: 5 Things We Learned From The Prayer Rally

(ANALYSIS) “Rededicate 250” was billed as a prayer rally celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. But the event on the National Mall also became a revealing snapshot of how faith, politics and national identity are increasingly intertwined during the Trump era.

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Hijab Disputes Expose Legal Gap In Kenya’s Faith-Based Schools

Earlier this year, a 15-year-old walked through the gates of her high school in Kenya, wearing her hijab. The student and her parents had been assured by the principal that she could continue wearing it, just as she had throughout primary school. A few weeks later, that assurance fell apart. It has become part of a broader fight regarding religious freedom in the country.

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Christian Ministry Regains Place In Ohio Foster Care After Lawsuit

Gracehaven, a Christian anti-trafficking ministry in Ohio, can continue serving young female trafficking survivors after Montgomery County settled a lawsuit over its exclusion from foster care programs. The county will pay attorneys’ fees, and the ministry retains its faith-based hiring practices.

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America’s Freedom Born From Faith: The Liberty Bell And Its Moral Foundations

The Liberty Bell symbolizes American freedom, rooted in Scripture and shaped by Pennsylvania’s Quaker ideals. Its inscription from Leviticus reflects Jewish teachings on justice and freedom, while Quaker beliefs in equality and tolerance influenced the nation’s founding principles, leaving a lasting moral framework as the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary.

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Trump’s ‘Rededicate 250’ Prayer Gathering Highlight’s US Divisions

(ANALYSIS) As the United States approaches its 250th birthday this summer, the fight over “Rededicate 250” underscores a deeper question about the future of American democracy: Can a nation that is religiously diverse maintain a shared civic identity without elevating one tradition — in this case Christianity — above all others?

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3 Pastors Killed Following Ambush In India’s Manipur State

Three Kuki-Zo Christian pastors were shot dead on May 13 after armed gunmen ambushed two vehicles travelling through Kangpokpi district in Manipur. The murders led Kuki-Zo organizations to suspect that a Naga militant faction may have carried out the attack in coordination with valley-based Meitei insurgent groups.

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Chinese Authorities Arrest 6 Christians Over Children’s Sunday School Classes

Authorities in southwest China have arrested six Christians affiliated with a local church on charges including “fraud” and unprecedented accusations of “organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order.”

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Christian Nationalism Or Just Regular Old Patriotism? Americans Can’t Agree.

In just a few days, crowds are expected to descend on Washington for an explicitly Christian event, celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary. Later this month, many churches will swap hymns for patriotic songs and dress their sanctuary in American flags, mingling patriotism and Christianity. When do these patriotic actions cross over into Christian Nationalism?

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Crossroads Podcast: Trump’s China Trip And Questions About Religious Freedom

The Big Idea for this podcast? The social-credits system shifted into high gear the year after China, in 2018, launched sweeping new regulations to crush religious activities that lacked formal government approval. Digital technology is at the heart of China’s efforts to control the beliefs of its citizens.

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