(OPINION) With these words Martin Niemoller criticized our silence in the eyes of evil, silence that amounts to complicity in the crimes. These words are as relevant now as they were during War World II in the case of human rights violations in China.
Read More(OPINION) During the pandemic we should remember that what the media reports is a picture of the important and unusual things happening around us— not necessarily the everyday encouraging acts of goodness that are also a part of our reality during lockdown.
Read More
Spray nozzles called bum guns, water pots called lotas in South Asia and bidets have been keeping behinds clean for many years without toilet paper, in line with Islamic and Hindu texts urging purification of the body with water.
Read More
(REVIEW) The WORLD Magazine Editor in Chief and author of 20 books writes that the Christian faith can and should use journalism to further its aims, but the only criterion of good journalism is a good story. Religious literacy simply gets you better stories, and Olasky never says this.
Read More
The fight is the latest salvo in the ongoing war between traditional forces within American Catholicism and the LGBTQ community trying to push the church to more progressive positions on an array of social issues. The Catholic church considers sexual activity between members of the same sex to be a sin.
Read More(OPINION) The national conversation regarding religious freedom right now is largely focused on the question of public, in person gatherings for worship services. And yet, it is important to recognize that this is not the only element of the institutional religious freedom discussion that needs to be had at the moment. In the weeks to come, this column will take up in detail emerging public policies that impact the freedom of faith-based organizations.
Read More
Cohen, an 11th grader, beat 72 teenagers from 41 countries. The 14-18-year-old contestants competed remotely from their home countries. The event, broadcast on Israeli state TV, also sparked some controversy this year.
Read More(OPINION) Nobody knows how long the COVID-19 crisis will last. Simply “waiting it out” is not an option for businesses, and it’s not am option for faith communities. In order to stay relevant in this time of uncertainty, churches need to exercise the same innovation seen in the marketplace.
Read More
Institutes for training imams are common across Africa, but the Rabat-based Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams stands out because it welcomes female students to become spiritual guides. Since the late-1990s, Morocco has promoted moderate Islam to push back against radicalism at home and as an antidote to the Wahhabi tradition of Saudi Arabia with its links to Salafi jihadism. Morroco’s King Mohammed VI believes women are part of the solution.
Read More
In this week’s Weekend Plug-in, columnist Bobby Ross Jr. introduces the new president of the independent donor advocate MinistryWatch.com.
Read More
(OPINION) Most states are on a timeline to reopen businesses and lift shelter-in-place guidelines. The issue has become largely partisan, but in conservative Christian circles there is some debate about the morality of how we balance the economy and public health.
Read MoreThe coronavirus pandemic has confronted ministries with an unprecedented triple whammy: declining donations, unexpected expenses for sanitation and remaking workplaces for remote employees, and challenges in delivering their services, some of which are more needed now.
Read More(OPINION) With approximately 30 million members, Muhammadiyah is Indonesia’s and the world’s largest modernist Muslim organization. While the Indonesian government has been slow to respond to COVID-19, Muhammadiyah has drawn on the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and the Quran to advise Muslims to stay home during Ramadan celebrations, including ritual obligations some may see as essential to their faith.
Read More
(OPINION) The pandemic is adding stressors to an already stressed landscape of faith-based academic institutions. These schools will have to make hard choices about their futures, and that will require evaluating their core missions.
Read More
On April 24, the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims welcomed their most important holiday with the appearance of the new moon. Usually, they would spend 30 days fasting, studying the Quran and enjoying celebratory “iftars,” evening meals with tables full of food and homes full of family and friends. This year, none of that is happening in the usual ways.
Read MoreFor Holocaust survivors, including some who later lived under Communist rule, COVID-19 has brought a mixed bag of old traumas sparked anew, depression and anxiety, isolation and fear, but also reminders of the traits that sustained them through difficult periods in their lives.
Read More
A neighbor of the field hospital and an area activist had sharply different reactions to Franklin Graham’s organization setting up an emergency medical facility in Central Park.
Read More
(OPINION) The ever-evolving coronavirus pandemic has upended our world in ways no one could have ever expected. Journalists still don’t know where this story is going. One thing is clear. While death tolls climb and fall depending on which countries are effectively flattening the curve, the vast majority of those of us who are healthy and staying at home still have to deal with loneliness.
Read More
(OPINION) The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) launched its annual report Tuesday, recommending India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Vietnam as “countries of particular concern” engaging in severe religious freedom violations.
Read More
As lockdowns largely halt the economy, small businesses are bracing for the worst. A creative church on the East coast and a faith-based rehabilitation center on the West coast have found ways to boost local business in their COVID-19 relief efforts.
Read More