Two Cheers for Trumpism: R.R. Reno's 'Return of the Strong Gods'

(REVIEW) R.R. Reno is one of America’s most prominent Roman Catholic public intellectuals. In his new book, he writes an eloquent but unAmerican defense of American populism.

Africa’s Young Christians Face Danger from Islamic Extremism

(OPINION) An ongoing Islamic extremist project to exterminate Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is even more brutal and more consequential for the Church than it is in the Middle East. Is anyone paying attention?

Opinion, Politics, Religion, AfricaNina SheaJanuary 29, 2020Nina Shea, Islamic State, Islamic extremism, Africa, Christians in Africa, ISIS, ISIS in Africa, radical Islam, terrorism, Primary Feature, Christianity, Islam Comment

Pilgrims visit site of Jesus’s Baptism, now cleared of landmines

One of Christianity and Judaism’s holiest sites was seeded with more than 6,500 landmines and booby traps inside churches by the Israeli military beginning in 1968.

Middle East, NewsGil ZoharJanuary 29, 2020Gil Zohar, Israel, West Banak, landmine clearance, IDF, epiphany day, epiphany, qasr al-yahud, castle of the jews, Jordan, Orthodox Christianity, secondary feature, Secondary feature, Secondary Feature, ChristianityComment

Challenging Holocaust denial is growing ever more important

(OPINION) Social media is forcing a global reckoning over disinformation. Narratives that deny or distort Holocaust history represent some of the gravest consequences of allowing “alternative history” to take root.

Opinion, EuropeEwelina U. OchabJanuary 28, 2020holocaust, Auschwitz, Nazi Germany, Jewish, Judaism, antisemitism, anti-semitism in Europe, Holocaust denial, Anti-Semitism, Ewelina U. Ochab, Holocaust Comment

The fight over gay rights is playing out in a Supreme Court case

(OPINION) Traditional religious institutions are defending their policies on sexuality in two notable cases. One is the lawsuit that is the first of its kind, and the other will see the Supreme Court rule on whether federal prohibitions against sex discrimination can be applied to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Opinion, North AmericaRichard OstlingJanuary 28, 2020Fuller Theological Seminary, American Baptist Churches USA, Supreme Court, gay rights, Nathan Brittsan, gay marriage, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Richard Ostling, Gay Rights, U.S. Supreme Court, Obama Administration, Judaism, Christianity, IslamComment

The church as a creative minority

(OPINION) There’s an ongoing debate between historians. Can civilizations be restored? Or do they invariably die? Oswald Spengler, a German historian, said all civilizations are born, grow, and then age, decline and die. No exceptions. Arnold Toynbee disagreed. Civilizations have a spiritual dimension. They can be restored. But only a creative minority can do it.

Opinion, North America, EuropeMichael MetzgerJanuary 28, 2020Mike Metzger, church, creativity, innovation in the church, Western civilization, Michael Metzger, ChristianityComment

The Catholic-Jewish tensions of Auschwitz

Before it was a place of horror and destruction, Auschwitz was a town where Catholics and Jews lived together in harmony.

Ignoring Kobe Bryant's Catholic faith results in incomplete look at his life

(OPINION) All but forgotten — as well as underreported by the news media since Sunday’s tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., that killed Bryant, his daughter and seven others — was his Catholic faith and how getting closer to it made him a better person.

North America, Primary Feature, Religion, OpinionClemente LisiJanuary 27, 2020Catholic, Christianity, Kobe Bryant, basketball, religion, opinion, Clemente Lisi, Primary Feature, primary feature, Opinion, RIP Kobe Bryant Comments

Collective Action Against Anti-Semitism Still Needed 75 Years After Auschwitz

(OPINION) This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day aims to reflect the “continued importance of collective action against antisemitism and other forms of bias to ensure respect for the dignity and human rights of all people everywhere.”

Europe, OpinionEwelina U. OchabJanuary 27, 2020antisemitism, Jewish history, Auschwitz, 75 years holocaust, Holocaust, WWII, Ewelina U. Ochab, Anti-Semitism, Judaism, anti-semitismComment

'Holy Silence' tries to get into the mind of Pope Pius XII during World War II

(REVIEW) Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the film Holy Silence focuses on the pontificate of Pius XII and whether the pope did enough to help Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II.

Secular-Only School Choice Is No Real Choice For Parents

(OPINION) A recent Supreme Court case highlights an unconstitutional ban on Montana state funding, rooted in anti-Catholic bias in the 1800’s, to religious schools that otherwise meet requirements for scholarships.

Opinion, North America, PoliticsEmilie KaoJanuary 26, 2020religious freedom, free exercise, religious school, Supreme Court, SCOTUS, Catholic schools, Justice Roberts, Emilie Kao, Secular, anti-Catholic, Christianity Comment

Trump becomes first U.S. President to attend March for Life

The president got an enthusiastic reception from anti-abortion supporters when he took the stage at the 47th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.

News, North America, Religion, Religion NewsMicah DanneyJanuary 24, 2020March for Life, abortion, pro-life, President Trump, roe v wade, Christianity, secondary feature, Primary Feature, Secondary feature, Secondary Feature, Abortion, Donald Trump, Micah DanneyComment

Frank Schaeffer is angry about abortion and evangelicals, and he's getting louder

The pro-life movement’s “traitorous prince’” is frustrated by his progressive comrades and fed up with his former cohorts on the religious right.

News, North America, Politics, Religion, WomenMicah DanneyJanuary 24, 2020Frank Schaeffer, Francis Schaeffer, abortion, Christianity, secondary feature, Secondary feature, Secondary Feature, secondary featuree, Micah Danney, Abortion, Evangelicals Comments

How the SBC sex abuse scandal turned a city hall reporter into a full-time religion writer

(OPINION) Come April, Downen’s work on the “Abuse of Faith” project could earn him and his colleagues a Pulitzer Prize. For now, it has resulted in a new gig for the former City Hall reporter. (“Weekend Plug-In” is a column by veteran religion writer Bobby Ross Jr. Look every Friday for analysis, insights and top headlines from the world of faith.)

Pro-life activism extends to issues beyond abortion

(OPINION) Human trafficking, immigration and poverty are all linked to unplanned pregnancy. Sermons are necessary methods of communication to explain what those links are and how members of the church can help.

Opinion, North AmericaTerry MattinglyJanuary 23, 2020abortion, pro-life, human trafficking, Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Florida State University, March for Life, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Psalm 139 Project, roe v wade, Terry Mattingly, Christianity, Pro-life, Activism, Abortion Comment

New technology helps archeologists identify Bible scribes

Tel Aviv University researchers used an algorithm of image processing and newly-developed machine learning techniques to establish that two scribes wrote the Samaria ostraca some 2,700 years ago.

Christians in Panama respond to cult’s ritual mass murder

After cult leaders murdered a pregnant woman and five children in Panama, Christians there were quick to condemn the violence.

South America, NewsReynaldo AragonJanuary 23, 2020Reynaldo Aragon, Mama Tadta, panama, ngabe bugle, panama city, secondary feature, Secondary feature, Secondary Feature, Catholic, ChristianityComment

Protests in India's holy Hindu city show rising interfaith solidarity

Arrests of Hindu activists protesting India’s new citizenship bill that excludes Muslims has energized Muslims and Christians who support a pluralism over what they see as attempts to make India a Hindu nation.

Examining Rudy Giuliani's complicated Catholicism

(OPINION) President Donald Trump’s impeachment is underway in the U.S. Senate, something that has dominated news coverage in recent days and will continue to do so. While Trump is at the center of the Senate trial, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a key figure in all of this as well.