This week’s Weekend Plug-in summary highlights discussions over a possible new name for the Southern Baptist Convention as well as one group dropping the term “evangelicals” from its name. Plus, find our usual roundup of the top reads from the world of faith.
Read MorePete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., hosted a virtual town hall this week aimed at young, religious Americans in support of 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Read MoreAfter China’s latest security law restricting several freedoms, Hong Kongers are increasingly drawing parallels between China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and themselves, while fears heighten in Hong Kong’s Muslim minority for speaking out against the government.
Read More(OPINION) Why is the faith of soccer superstar Lionel Messi so often ignored?
Read More(OPINION) Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have announced major peace agreements with Israel, with Oman hinting it will join an agreement next, easing tensions and increasing economic opportunities in the Middle East. The peace agreements, with Israel promising not to annex the holy lands in Judea and Samaria, could mean not just long-elusive peace between Palestinians and Israelis but also increasing religious freedom across the region.
Read MoreMany studies in education focus on testing, graduation rates and college entrances. For the first time, a new study by the Institute for Family Studies and the American Enterprise Institute links different types of schooling to marriage and family formation.
Read MoreReports in the Ministry Watch database show that the CEOs of the U.S.’s 50 largest faith-based nonprofits are overwhelmingly white and male.
Read MoreMany evangelical Christians are giving money to International Fellowship of Christians and Jews despite the fact that the fellowship does not promote the Gospel and pays its leaders large salaries. Do they know what organization they’re giving to?
Read MoreTaylor University fired professor Jim Spiegel for refusing to remove a video entitled “Little Hitler” from YouTube. In doing so, they may have violated an agreement signed with all faculty members.
Read MoreThe struggle for a just and equal society isn’t only about Black people and racism, said Rev. William Barber at the 16th Street Baptist Church 57 years after the Ku Klux Klan bombing that killed four young girls. He called for communities of faith to unify around shared values and concern for the vulnerable, and to reject the divisiveness that leads to violence.
Read MoreA New Delhi-based Sikh organization is sponsoring dozens of Afghan Sikhs to settle in India after the March terror attack on a Kabul gurudwara, a Sikh temple. Although Sikh has ancient history in Afghanistan, Sikhs now make up only a tiny minority in the country, while the Indian government welcomes Sikhs, whose faith formed from Hinduism.
Read More(REVIEW) While 83-year-old Pope Francis is in good health, that hasn’t stopped speculation over who will come next. In his new book, author George Weigel examines the problems affecting the church and what the next pope will need to do in order to address them. Think of it like a very long to-do memo for the next head of the Catholic church.
Read More(OPINION) The “correct” way of interpreting the Bible is always popular among Protestant Christians — but how can this be harmful to the unity of the religion? With negativity surrounding phrases like “fundamentalist” and “biblicist,” in what ways are Christians called to understand the Bible?
Read More(OPINION) As Biden married two men in his own home, he was making a statement about his own Catholic beliefs. As we inch closer to election day, how are Catholics viewing Biden’s own take on Catholicism?
Read MoreThe data reveals a surprisingly complex picture of a religious group that can feel pulled in opposite directions on issues of policy and partisanship, still seeking to find an identity in American politics. While American Muslims support the Democrats by a landslide, they don’t agree on many progressive policy priorities.
Read MoreIn emails with Religion Unplugged, former editor of evangelical magazine Christianity Today Mark Galli explains the timeline of his recently announced conversion to Catholicism and how it overlapped with his last two years at the influential publication, including his viral 2019 editorial calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Read More(EXCERPT) Blood and Oil , by award-winning Wall Street Journal reporters Justin Scheck and Bradley Hope, shows how a rift in the world’s most powerful ruling family, Saudi Arabian royalty, produced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a charismatic leader with a ruthless streak.
Read MoreIn 1977, an archbishop was shot dead for protesting human rights abuses. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, in power for 34 years, denounces clergy activism. But this year, several pastors have joined in political activism for an opposition party, with one even running for president. They say Uganda needs leaders who understand religious freedom and Christian values.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in summary highlights religion news related to a new book by Michael Cohen. Warning: Profanity is involved, along with President Donald Trump and former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.
Read MoreIn East India, a popular mystic musician has been traveling and singing to spread awareness to the rural masses about COVID-19. Gautum Hazra draws on the syncretic Baul tradition that has influenced Western artists like Bob Dylan and blends Vaishnavite devotional Hinduism, Tantric Buddhism, Sufi thought and other traditions to emphasize religious harmony and tolerance.
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