(OPINION) Imagine if Zeus, Poseidon, Hera or others lived in the U.S. today. How would the ancient gods and goddesses identify in modern politics and culture? Their wisdom and weaknesses fit into the modern religious and secular landscape surprisingly well.
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(OPINION) Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan’s decision to convert the ancient Christian church Hagia Sophia into a mosque is indicative of his dislike of Christians. However, the building still remains a safe space for Christians worldwide.
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(OPINION) An Israeli Jewish journalist proposes a solution to offending monuments that’s straight out of the Old Testament.
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From the Bahamas to the Midwest, South and East Coast of the U.S, here’s how different houses of worship are handling the decision to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic or reach their communities online amid concerns of rising mental health problems during a lockdown and high unemployment.
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An unbelievable story of reunion after 40 years is being hailed as an example of religious harmony in India. A Muslim truck driver found a mentally disabled Hindu woman on the side of the road near his village and gave her shelter. He and his family searched for her relatives, until finally during a COVID-19 lockdown, a breakthrough in the mystery came.
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(OPINION) The media and the American public are engaging in bigger debates than ever about cancel culture, marking a tumultuous time in culture and for the news media.
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(OPINION) Baseball is deeply ingrained in American life, from the ritualistic way viewers consume the sport to the faith of the individual players. Bryan Steverson, author of "Baseball: A Special Gift from God," talks about the spiritual role of baseball.
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A popular Hindu pilgrimage to a cave where Lord Shiva is believed to have dwelled has been a display of Hindu-Muslim unity. That is changing this year, as the Indian government allows pilgrims to travel to the Muslim-majority region despite a COVID-19 lockdown that ensures mosques stay shut.
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Harding University alumnus Jackson House began a petition to remove the name of George S. Benson’s name from the school’s chapel. The school’s president announced that they will keep the name on the chapel, but that the school will take efforts to amplify Black voices on campus.
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Thousands of Catholic organizations in the U.S. received over $1.4 billion in small business paycheck protection loans under a religious exemption that qualifies them. The church says the loans have protected more hundreds of thousands of jobs in the social services sector, in which the church is the largest non-government employer.
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Alt-right Twitter users created the hashtag #JewishPrivilege to spread anti-Semitic messages, and the hashtag surged to the top trending phrase in the U.S. Sunday night. Jews soon began to populate the hashtag with stories from the Holocaust, recent hate crimes and crime records showing rising cases of anti-Semitism in the U.S.
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(OPINION) Recent Supreme Court decisions have dealt heavily with LGBTQ rights and religious exemptions for these rights. It presents mainstream journalists with a test: to manage fair coverage of religious traditions that resist both same-sex relationships and gender identity as a replacement for DNA biology.
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Many Christians in America first think of Jesus as white, thanks to a widely reproduced Christ portrait from the 1940s. In the calls to tear down offensive statues, activists have called to “cancel white Jesus.” But the tradition of painting Jesus inaccurately isn’t just limited to America. Many images throughout art history have interpreted Jesus in a way that reflects their own culture.
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The devotion to Saint Anthony in Mhow is very rich and dates as far back as when the British arrived in 1818. The construction of an army base about a mile from the village drew workers from across the country. Many of them were Tamil Catholics.
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(OPINION) The July 8 Supreme Court decision allows religious institutions to choose teachers who align with their spiritual commitments. This is especially important for minority faiths like Judaism and Islam.
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(REVIEW) Jimmy Dykes’ new book isn’t just one long series of motivational speeches. Instead, he focuses on how people can strengthen their relationships with one another — the perfect recipe for any team’s success — along with serving God.
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While the Black Lives Matter movement has caused controversy in religious circles because of its support for non-traditional families and Marxist philosophy, researchers who study the movement say it is spiritual even with an antipathy for organized religion. Many activists want to explore their ancestors’ African spirituality, and Black churches and mainline Protestants are also influencing the movement.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in explores news coverage of churches as superspreaders of the coronavirus, plus top reads on a megachurch investigation, a Washington, D.C., church’s history and the faith angle on Kanye West’s potential White House bid.
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The Little Sisters of the Poor claimed victory at the U.S. Supreme Court July 8 after the Court upheld 7-2 the Trump administration’s contraceptive exemption. This allows healthcare providers to opt-out of providing birth control with religious or moral objections.
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At least 82 positive COVID-19 cases link back to Christian youth camp Kamp Kanakuk’s site in Lampe, Missouri. The camp has now shut down for the season.
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