Posts in North America
Why Joe Biden's history with Catholicism matters to voters

(COMMENTARY) The religion of presidential candidates and history with the dogma of their respective faiths — what they believe, why they believe it and, in some cases, when they changed their minds — is an issue many Americans care about.

Read More
Many journalists fail to grasp religion's role in 'Alienated America'

(COMMENTARY) Timothy Carney’s book Alienated America highlights crucial figures about Trump’s election: that the more frequently a Republican reported going to church, the less likely he was to vote for Trump.

Read More
Try these Easter eats from around the world

What would Jesus eat? Some of the world’s oldest Lenten bites, from Israel to India, are still sizzling. Others are cultural adaptions to fit the Lenten fast with local ingredients.

Read More
Meet the real-life pastor portrayed in the Easter film ‘Breakthrough’

The faith-based film, starring Chrissy Metz of ‘This Is Us’ fame, opens nationwide April 17. It’s the story of a teen who slips into an icy lake and has no pulse — until his mother prays.

Read More
Can Pete Buttigieg rally the religious left?

(COMMENTARY) Mayor Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana - an openly gay man - has soared from obscurity to a talking point about whether the religious left can unite like the religious right did around Ronald Reagan.

Read More
Disruption to U.S. religious retail brings many story leads

(COMMENTARY) The closing of the Southern Baptist Convention’s LIfeWay Christian Resources is just one example of how religious stores are grappling with what products they can or should sell and how to compete with online retailers.

Read More
Pope Benedict and Cardinal Sarah provide leadership in the age of Francis

(COMMENTARY) Again, it was conservative Catholic media that proved to be the preferred mouthpiece for Cardinal Robert Sarah and Pope Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI over the past week. Both men — with help from right-leaning news organizations — have been very vocal about the problems plaguing the church.

Read More
'Mayor Pete,' the Democratic primary and rise of 'alt-Catholics'

(COMMENTARY) While many Christians of various denominations have had to reconcile church teachings with that of who they prefer at the ballot box, the issue has not been fully explored in the mainstream press. At a time when pandering to one side is better for the bottom line, such journalistic discoveries of this grey zone are left underreported. Is covering both sides fueling political polarization?

Read More
A Jewish-Muslim legal duo is turning heads in New York City

Judge Noach Dear, an Orthodox Jew, and his court attorney Deema Azizi, a Syrian Muslim refugee, prefer to wear their religious garb - a yarmulke and hijab respectively. Their shared expressions for their faiths unites rather than divides them.

Read More
Pam Mark Hall: the Christian music singer ostracized by divorce is back at it in her 60s

Hall’s divorce came before her contemporaries Amy Grant and Sandi Patty, whose careers didn’t suffer the same way. Now, Hall hopes to inspire others in her generation who feel anxious about reaching the end of their lives and accomplishments.

Read More
Searching for Catholic symbolism in 'The Godfather'

(COMMENTARY) Amid all the immorality, crime, violence and ultimately Michael Corleone’s final despair (for anyone who could sit through The Godfather III), this isn’t just a series of mob movies. The Godfather book and movie trilogy is loaded with religious symbolism.

Read More
After mosque attacks, Christian persecution remains controversial

(COMMENTARY) Much violence and discrimination against Christians globally goes unnoticed in newspapers. This could be seen with US Vice President Mike Pence’s recent remarks - hardly reported - condemning religious persecution of both Muslims and Christians.

Read More
Muslim leader Yahya Cholil Staquf: Need to address 'problematic elements of Islamic orthodoxy' after Christchurch attack

There has been little real learning from the New Zealand mosque attack that could shape what we do in the future. However, on Mar. 24, there was a remarkable article in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph that suggests at least one way forward.

Read More
Experts examine the state of religious liberty in America

Sohrab Ahmari, current op-ed editor of the New York Post; Mark Rienzi, Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School; Rabbi Dr. Meir Y. Soloveichik of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan; and Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, the Executive Director of the Seymour Institute on Black Church and Policy Studies discussed upholding religious freedom in the US at a recent event hosted by The King’s College and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

Read More
Tony Dungy’s new book examines the 'SOUL' that goes into a winning team

(COMMENTARY) In his latest book, Soul of a Team, co-written with Nathan Whitaker, the great football coach Tony Dungy asks the question: “What separates the truly great teams from the mediocre ones?” His answer can be found in “four simple yet highly effective principles — selflessness, ownership, unity, and larger purpose.” Those four principles form the acronym S.O.U.L.

Read More
New Film 'Unplanned' Tells Former Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson's Story

A new film tells Abby Johnson’s journey from being an award-winning director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas to becoming an outspoken pro-life advocate.

Read More
Are American Evangelicals Using Russia To Fight Their Culture War?

(ANALYSIS) The most interesting figure in the culture wars today may be Patriarch Kirill from the Russian Orthodox Church, which with Russia has been promoting traditional Christian agendas on sexuality and abortion. This weekened the international non-profit World Congress of Families, founded by a Russian and an American, is hosting its annual meet to promote a pro-Christian worldview, conservative gender roles, anti-abortion policies and a hetero-normative agenda.

Read More
Actor Andrew Rannells misses an opportunity to seriously address clergy sex abuse in new book

(COMMENTARY) In his new book, actor Andrew Rannells reveals that a Catholic priest sexually assaulted him during confession and later at his home following a graduation party. Too Much is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood is where Rannells goes into detail about his childhood experiences at a Jesuit high school in Nebraska.

Read More