(ANALYSIS) In the most talked-about film from the final year of the 20th century, “The Matrix,” a computer hacker named Neo finds that the world he lives and works in isn’t real. It’s a virtual reality, created by artificial intelligence.
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(ANALYSIS) OK, so there’s this response option to a single survey question that has intrigued me for a very long time. It’s about religious attendance. Across different surveys, the number of response options can vary. The standard is typically six increments, but others — like the General Social Survey — use eight.
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(ANALYSIS) Every fall I anticipate the winter holidays with almost childlike joy. I look forward to familiar traditions with friends and family, eggnog in my coffee, and the sense that everyone is feeling a little lighter and more connected.
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Once again, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops gathered for debates and votes with serious implications for the current occupant of the White House and his supporters.
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(REVIEW) “The Carpenter’s Son” is a horror-spun story following Joseph, played by Nicolas Cage, as he tries to raise Jesus. The film claims to ask hard questions about the biblical narrative — but it just ends up merely recapitulating simplistic modern narratives.
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(ANALYSIS) It would be a mistake to assume that everyone in these movements adheres to one viewpoint, or is interested only in stopping abortion. In reality, there are many motivations that lead to people using the phrase “pro-life.” When reporters asked Pope Leo, he said, “It’s important to look at many issues that are related to the teachings of the church.”
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A Kentucky woman who was turned down by dozens of churches of various denominations and sizes in the Bible Belt in donating formula to her hungry baby has created a TikTok sensation. Fortunately, a few said yes.
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The shrine, once crowded day and night with devotees, now stands eerily deserted. For weeks, it has remained sealed as a crime scene after a mob attack left one of his followers dead. Since August 2024, more than 100 shrines have been attacked or vandalized, according to rights groups.
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An estimated 3,300 languages have their own translation of the Scriptures. In order to improve the speed and accuracy of Bible translations into more rare languages, Avodah Connect is using AI technology. The organization recently held a webinar for those interested in learning more about how artificial intelligence is being utilized to speed up translation projects.
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(ANALYSIS) Elected on Tuesday during the bishops’ fall meeting in Baltimore on the third ballot, Coakley, who turned 70 this past May, succeeds Archbishop Timothy Broglio, promising a leadership style that balances moral conviction with pastoral sensitivity in a time of deep political and cultural polarization.
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(ANALYSIS) Some cannabis proponents baptize modern drug culture in ancient authority. This isn’t the first effort to combine cannabis with Christianity — and it won’t be the last. Proverbs warns again and again: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler.” And Ephesians drives the point home: “Do not get drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit.”
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(ANALYSIS) Bad Bunny is more than a global music phenomenon; he’s a bona fide symbol of Puerto Rico. The church choir boy turned “King of Latin Trap” has songs, style and swagger that reflect the island’s mix of pride, pain and creative resilience.
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(ANALYSIS) In recent years, litigation on certain types of religious freedom lawsuits have been practically run of the mill: prayer on school premises, for example, and government funding for students at faith-based schools.
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(ANALYSIS) My assumption was that religious folks — especially those from more conservative backgrounds — wouldn’t feel very positively about tattoos. But it’s also clear that the overall stigma around tattoos has faded tremendously over the last couple of decades.
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Reading the Bible makes Christians and others more generous with their time, talents and money, and encourages acts of brotherly love, the American Bible Society said in its latest release from the 15th annual State of the Bible.
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The bottom line: There have been important, newsworthy trends taking place on the “religious left” as well as the “secular left.”
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When she began wearing the hijab, critics accused Wafaa Al-Khudari of abandoning her sect, but now she and other Syrian women are leading the charge to ease religious tensions in their communities. The country, which recently ousted a regime, regularly experiences violent conflicts among the political and religious sects.
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The uproar over Tucker Carlson’s decision to host Nick Fuentes, a notorious Holocaust denier and white nationalist, for a friendly chat on his popular online talk show last week focused on the need to maintain a firewall between mainstream conservatives and antisemites such as Fuentes.
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Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose campaign was powered by youthful energy, a surge of new voters and a promise of unconventional change, completed his yearlong journey with a decisive victory — to be elected mayor of New York City and the first Muslim to hold the office.
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(REVIEW) Visitors to Canterbury Cathedral in the U.K. have been surprised to find that parts of the building’s majestic architecture are currently daubed with eye-catching graffiti. But this is not the work of vandals. The colorful graphics are part of a thought-provoking art installation centered on the idea of asking questions to God.
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