Pastor Sirajje Ssemanda, known in Uganda for his luxurious lifestyle, worked with government officials to solicit fees from thousands of Ugandans who were told their money would grant them membership to government programs including scholarships and training trips abroad. But those promises never materialized.
Read More(OPINION) How do preparation and penitence represent not only the wedding industry but also the values of Advent? The presentation of these values helps show us the importance of Advent and its placement before the celebration of Christmas—despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreAnalysts say if the election is fair, it could be a referendum on the constitutional changes made on Aug. 5 last year. But there is evidence that the Indian government is preventing local political parties from campaigning in India’s only Muslim-majority region.
Read More(OPINION) The Religion Guy discusses the gross injustices within the Chinese system of religious freedom—or a lack thereof. Whether that be towards Muslims or Christians, religion has been essentially outlawed in the Chinese system.
Read MoreThe highest court in the U.S. overturned an attendance limit on New York houses of worship, Europeans deal with miscommunication over anti-radicalization policy, Greece joins the Serbian Orthodox Church in a battle over safety in worship as the pandemic tears through their highest-ranking clergy, and China eyes a new law to control religious appointments.
Read MoreAs a young woman, a stranger helped Ida Puliwa pay for her college education. Her Pentecostal faith and optimism have fueled her to transform her village in Malawi in return. She has developed new agricultural approaches that have more than quadrupled maize production and leads a team of more than 4,000 volunteers that help elderly people in the community, promote education for orphans and plant trees to counter deforestation caused by inefficient cooking practices.
Read More(OPINION) The eroding sense of trust in the media is not just related to Trump—it’s related to implicit (and explicit) biases from journalists. The Times used to be the highest standard of journalism, now only 15 percent of Republicans believe their religious coverage next to 53 percent of Democrats.
Read More(OPINION) Keep an eye out for the pro-Trump medium, The Epoch Times. Known for being further right than Fox News, it denies Biden’s presidential win and is completely anti-Beijing.
Read More(OPINION) In the “culture wars” that define cancel culture, religious people face danger when speaking about their traditionally religious views on LGBT rights and abortion—putting their jobs and positions at risk.
Read MoreThe holiday season is the best time to explore your streaming services. Don’t know where to start? Check out these faith-based movies you can watch with your family this holiday.
Read MoreWood joins a chorus of historians who see the New York Times’s 1619 Project as a failed effort to reframe American history and with “1620” makes the case that the Mayflower Compact inaugurated the American experiment in democracy. “If the 1619 Project were a term paper, any knowledgeable, fair-minded teacher would give it an F,” Wood writes. The project’s lead essay by Nikole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize.
Read MoreThe October murder of the teacher Samuel Paty by an 18-year-old radical Islamist in France has reignited debates about the compatibility of Islam with French values like free speech. French imams like Mohamed Bajrafil are trying to fight extremism by preaching a modern Islam, encouraging young Muslims to embrace French values and working with the French government to train more imams in France rather than send them abroad.
Read More(REVIEW) “Hillbilly Elegy,” the newest Netflix movie, is an adaptation of the 2016 memoir about the life of J.D. Vance growing up in Appalachia. The movie portrays the story of family well, and it doesn’t attempt to solve any political or cultural problems beyond that.
Read MoreUp to a third of all produce never leaves the farm. That's why “gleaning” societies pick left behind fruits and vegetables to feed families in need— an estimated 50 million Americans this year, up 13% from 2018. It is one of the most ancient forms of faith-based charity. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all mandate gleaning as a way to live out the divine commandment to care for the poor, the widowed and the orphaned.
Read MoreChurches are hiring fewer pastors as the pandemic constrains their finances, even as hospitals request more chaplains. Churches that do want to fill an empty pulpit struggle to vett candidates virtually.
Read MorePatriarch Irinej contracted COVID-19 after presiding over a funeral of a bishop in Montenegro, where thousands of attendees did not wear masks or socially distance. He was known for his pro-Russian stance in Orthodoxy, his close relationship to the Serbian government and president, and for overseeing completion of one of the world’s largest Orthodox churches, St. Sava Cathedral.
Read MoreA group of art historians are petitioning Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his country’s peace-keeping force in the Nagorno Karabakh region to protect Armenian Christian monuments under threat of destruction, including churches that date back to as early as the 4th century. Parts of the region are transitioning from Armenian to Azerbaijani control this week.
Read MoreEvan Todachine and his wife Crystal lost their 18-month-old son shortly after their baptisms into the Christian faith. Their church is sharing their resources and faith with American Indian communities that are suffering terrible losses from COVID-19. “We have the peace, we have comfort, having gone through a tragedy like this,” Todachine said. “Our people have to know this peace and this hope.”
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores Thanksgiving in the age of COVID-19. As always, we also check out the week’s top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreCivil society groups, many faith-based, have stepped in to provide a vital bridge between new arrivals and local communities. Some are skeptical of these faith-based organizations, but their work in communities, understanding of religion and multi-faith partnerships make them ideal to help migrants build support systems.
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