(COMMENTARY) The Russian media scene presents a sobering picture for those who hold to theories of the inevitable progress of mankind. Though the collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in a decade of a press freedoms in Russia under Boris Yeltsin, with Vladimir Putin the situation has tightened. The state does not pervade all aspects of intellectual life. But where its interests are concerned - dissent is not tolerated.
Read MoreIn the wake of the UK-based Oxfam scandal in which aid workers in the Haiti earthquake aftermath exchanged aid for sex and used local prostitutes, disparate Christian voices around the world are calling for reform to the Western aid system.
Read MoreThe level of sensitization of an average Kenyan to receive and decode media messages is growing every second, leaving the journalism industry with no option but to grow. However, despite many graduates of journalism school and heavy recruitment, journalism is rocked with fundamental issues, which are choking its very potential.
Read MoreNot a formal scholar or theologian, Billy Graham was instead in many ways a purveyor of good tidings. Over and over again, he offered what he avowed to be the transformative power of personal faith in Jesus Christ. Graham made that clear and simple proclamation to an estimated 215 million people — through hundreds of crusades and evangelistic rallies over the course of his long life. He reached millions more through broadcast media.
Read More(OPINION) The mood at the recent National Prayer Breakfast was affectionate when Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans introduced House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. People keep asking how the two can be such close friends when they disagree on about "80 percent" of the issues facing America. The key, Richmond said, is to understand that faith can transcend politics.
Read MoreLike a well-scripted movie, many Kenyans who come into a windfall in the recent betting craze talk of spending their money in a way that often includes tithing. But church leaders say they want the gambling to stop or they'll take the law into their own hands.
Read More(COMMENTARY) As Christians enter the season of Lent, the church's mission is as paramount as ever – to spread the Gospel and inform parishioners, through news stories and commentary, about the politics and culture around us. The mainstream press is not the least interested in such a mission – so it has largely become the role of the religious-based press – and the communication tools of the 21st century – to fill the void.
Read More(Commentary) Our review of the U.S. press coverage of claims that Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, the president of the Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK), had given his permission to clergy to bless same-sex unions has sparked rigorous debate on social media. George Conger responds with his perspective on what is causing the discord.
Read More(COMMENTARY) For the Branch Davidians, everything hinged on Book of Revelation texts about the Seven Seals and "the Lamb," a mysterious figure who would open those seals in the Last Days. That was the infamous Branch Davidian drama summed up in one tense exchange, according to the creators of the six-part Paramount Network miniseries "Waco," which runs through Feb. 28.
Read MoreAn Interview With Claire Foster-Gilbert
Read More(COMMENTARY) “German Cardinal Endorses Homosexual Heresy” states the headline of a Sunday story in the Daily Caller. It is a wonderful headline crafted to drive readers to the religion section of the well-respected online political news portal. But is it true?
Read More(COMMENTARY) An article in the Guardian about Catholic resistance to relaxing a Good Friday drinks ban has no Catholic voices. What this piece does have is assumptions. It assumes what the stance of the Catholic Church might be and that all right thinking people will agree with the author’s worldview. George Conger argues that readers are left an example of agitprop, which fails the basic tests of sound journalism.
Read MoreA Muslim religious group has 21 days to appeal a decision to have their illegal mosque near the UK’s Olympic village demolished, despite twenty years of non-compliance.
Read MoreA heated debate continues in Sweden after a church chose to use a gender neutral pronoun when describing Jesus in an advertisement for a Christmas worship service.
Read More(COMMENTARY) "Fake news" - and the overuse of the term itself – has become so pervasive that even Pope Francis felt strong enough about it to address the phenomenon plaguing our Facebook feeds and Google searches. The added layer of technology and the changing dynamic within journalism has made this an issue that could have severely negative consequences on our political and economic systems going forward.
Read MoreThe awesome spectre of another Ebola epidemic haunts Sierra Leone, as villagers revert to traditional burial rituals.
Read MoreIs Oprah the "pope" of the religiously unaffiliated? If that label fits anyone, it would be Winfrey. "She talks about God, but for Oprah that can almost be the God of the week, the spiritual flavor of the week. … How she talks about spirituality and about truth is constantly changing. That's her gift. That's who she is. For her, that stuff will preach."
Read MoreThe Trump administration cited religious freedom as reason to crimp funds to Pakistan this month, opening a new chapter of strained relationships between two nuclear power frenemies.
Read MoreAngry uprisings flared up in 80 cities across Iran since late December, until being violently shut down by the Revolutionary Guards. The protests have deeply shaken the religious elite who rule Iran. They’ve also exposed the state’s systemic dysfunction, as well as widespread rage and resentment among Iran’s populace — most notably among the poor and disadvantaged.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Why would an annual event featuring tens of thousands of people from across the country who peacefully assemble on Washington’s National Mall in protest of an issue they care very passionately about receive little to no media coverage? That very situation plays itself out every January when it comes to the mainstream media’s handling of the March for Life, an event that brings together a cross-section of Americans in support of the rights of the unborn.
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