(TRAVEL) With most of the world’s population stuck at home in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, travel has come to a standstill. Springtime, and the approaching summer, are typically a time to take a flight and explore another part of the world.
Read MoreWhen the Jewish people were slaves in Egypt, God sent ten plagues to trouble Pharaoh, each one more horrible than the last. The last plague was the worst of all — a disease that felled the firstborn of every family, except in Jewish families who marked their door with lamb’s blood. This year, many Jews will rewrite the Passover story from the Book of Exodus to include an eleventh plague — COVID-19.
Read More(OPINION) Stranded on opposite sides of the U.S./Canada border, Paul Marshall and his wife united in prayer.
Read MoreAs Christians around the world embark on Holy Week and prepare for Easter, here are five movies about Jesus, both featured in theaters and on TV through the decades, that rise above the rest.
Read More(OPINION) Polling can tell us a lot about voting trends, but many pollsters are failing to ask about key religious attitudes and perceptions. That leaves Democrats in the dark about a group that will be critical in this year’s election.
Read More(REVIEW) Reel Redemption is a new documentary that breaks down the history of the complicated and sometimes contentious relationship between Hollywood and Christianity, ending with the current rise of faith-based films. The director Tyler Smith told Religion Unplugged that while people have often rightfully criticized Christian films, some of the best moments and films in the faith-based genre are overlooked by secular critics who don’t agree with the values expressed.
Read MoreAmid the COVID-19 crisis, there’s a gap between the news media and Bible-believing Christians. Our Weekend Plug-In columnist explores that and the top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreSuman Amara Ahmad has always known that her future was not hers to chart. The journey of a waqf-e-nau begins in the womb, when a mother pledges her unborn child to God. At age 15, Amara continued the pledge. “I could be sent anywhere in the world,” she says. “It’s all up to the Khalifa.”
Read More(OPINION) One researcher suggests that pastors would do well to engage congregants who attend services occasionally but step up their participation during this crisis.
Read MorePentecostals belong to an evangelical sub-group that believes that the supernatural “gifts of the Holy Spirit” are operative today. Of those who are active in politics, the best-known is televangelist Paula White, who says she led President Donald Trump to the Lord before his 2016 presidential run and is now an advisor to the White House. One prominent group, Pentecostals and Charismatics for Peace and Justice (PCPJ), is fueling a movement of charismatic scholars, religious professionals and activists who are passionate about social justice and defeating Trump in the 2020 election.
Read More(OPINION) While Italy’s newspapers have always covered news through a partisan lens, COVID-19 has led to lots of strong journalism as well as coverage of plenty of religious angles. Newsrooms across Italy have closed — with editors working from home — while reporters in the field have reported on the national lockdown’s disruption of daily life and how the contagion has ravaged communities and families.
Read More(OPINION) American Catholicism lost one of its giants following the death of 89-year-old Joseph O’Hare, a Jesuit priest who served as president of Fordham University for nearly two decades as well as the editor of America magazine.
Read MoreMore than 24 people who attended a Sunni Muslim gathering earlier this month in Delhi have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the health ministry. Some of the ruling Hindu nationalist party’s leaders and supporters have taken to social media to blame Muslims for the inevitable spread of the virus in the nation of 1.3 billion people.
Read MoreA recent poll found that two-thirds of evangelical pastors say their tithe incomes have fallen in the past two weeks, since the spread of coronavirus hit the U.S. Churches are responding with salary cuts, temporary layoffs and reorganizing budgets while filling food pantries for those stuck at home without work.
Read More(OPINION) During this pandemic, people will have to learn to do without rights that once seemed inherently given. Those include the right to assemble as millions of Americans are asked to shelter in place. What does that mean for freedom of religion?
Read MoreWith restrictions on pubic gatherings due to COVID-19, Jewish life has had to adapt. While several religious gatherings have transferred to online formats, some rituals cannot go remote.
Read More(OPINION) As our lives are forced to slow down and spend more time with our children working from home and conducting school online this spring, it’s an opportunity to embrace our own children, strengthen our own families and deepen our faith. And perhaps Fred Rogers is a perfect guide in that process for adults and children.
Read More(REVIEW) The first season of eight in the biggest crowdfunded media project of all time sticks to Biblical accounts of the life and character of Jesus while imagining how he may have spent his leisure time, prayed about his struggles and changed lives. The show’s makers have just allowed free streaming until Mar. 30 to help people quarantined by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Read MoreA bat mitzvah livestreamed, a growing virtual kaddish minyan to recite prayers and remember loved ones, a shivah service to mourn a death — digital tools are redefining what it means to be Jewish during a pandemic.
Read MoreItaly’s lockdown to combat coronavirus has suspended Masses. The Catholic church is turning to digital technology for the young to connect to local parishes. To reach an older population, they rely on conventional TV and radio programs by hosts most of the audience have never seen before.
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