Just in time for Christmas, archaeologists at the Temple Mount Sifting Project (TMSP) in Jerusalem have sorted through tons of ancient garbage and landfill to recreate the ornate floor tiles which Jesus trod on when he came on pilgrimage to King Herod’s Second Temple.
Read More(OPINION) Rather than preparing for a joyous Christmastide, believers are making tough decisions about how to celebrate during a season some call COVID-tide. No one knows what will happen, especially in Protestant flocks where holiday traditions are more flexible and evolve from year to year.
Read MoreIndia’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost local elections in Jammu and Kashmir Dec. 23 to a rare local political alliance that wants to reverse the sweeping constitutional changes made to the Muslim-majority region that opened it up for greater Hindu settlement, a severe lockdown and arbitrary detentions. Kashmir-based political parties put aside their differences to form the People’s Alliance For Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), explicitly to fight the BJP.
Read MoreA new film on Amazon Prime tells the real-life story of a model who struggles with her body image and learns to appreciate her inner beauty when she falls in love with a Christian man who loves her for more than her looks. In some ways, it improves on the typical Hallmark Christmas movie— in other ways, it doesn’t.
Read MoreAfter three different recent deaths of Muslim leaders in Uganda, some are questioning whether the men died of natural causes or foul play. A dozen sheikhs have been gunned down in the past 10 years, and the police and state have not secured any convictions.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Thousands of Islamic militia members are going to gather outside churches in Indonesia this Christmas week. This sounds like a terrifying scenario, and in parts of the world it certainly would be. But very few, if any, Indonesian Christians are worried. They are more likely to greet the militia members with tea and cake.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Last week, the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court confirmed that it would not go further with the trials for the alleged crimes against the Uyghurs in China. The court does not have jurisdiction over crimes in China, allowing for senior Chinese leaders to continue religious persecution.
Read More(OPINION) White supremacist terror is as lethal as Islamist terror — and here’s why it may be even harder to combat.
Read More(OPINION) Joy, faith, fear, pray, heart, light, and spirit. These words have been ringing in the ears of American Christians as 2020 has brought on global uncertainty — whether that be in regards to the pandemic and racial unrest, according to Biblegateway.com
Read More(REVIEW) The second season of “Star Wars” spin-off television show “The Mandalorian” deals heavily with the protagonist’s religious creed that prevents him from removing his helmet. When he chooses to take it off for the sake of saving his child and companion, it’s sure to change the way he views his creed.
Read MoreEnsign Peak Advisors, the investment firm connected to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints, started filing a quarterly 13F form on Feb. 14, 2010, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates publicly traded companies and other financial firms. Its initial filing revealed EPA had $38 billion in stocks and mutual funds at the end of 2019, including $1.5 billion in Apple and Microsoft. The firm had nearly $1 billion worth of shares in Amazon and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, as well.
Read More(OPINION) Biden’s brand of Catholicism resonated with the mainstream press and many voters. The election now over, how the president-elect navigates the complicated world of the church’s hierarchy will be a big storyline.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in counts down the top 10 religion stories of 2020, as determined by the Religion News Association. Also: our usual Friday roundup of the top reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreThe Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan Congressional caucus, held a panel on Dec. 17 to discuss religiously-motivated violence in Nigeria. Hundreds of Christians and Shia Muslims have died or suffered other violence at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen. The committee and panelists discussed what the U.S. should do to help in the future.
Read MoreThe Indian government has evicted hundreds of nomadic Muslims living in the forests of Kashmir and cut down their sources of income— their apple orchards. The move comes a year after a court order declaring their occupation of the land illegal, but activists say the Hindu nationalist government is ignoring a law allowing tribal people to live on government land and accusing the government of wanting to change the Muslim character of the region.
Read More(OPINION) Support for Israel is at the heart of lobbying for Jewish votes by the Democratic and Republican candidates as the Senate runoffs near. Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock has proved to be “disappointing” for some Jewish voters in Georgia on the account that he may believe that Israel is an “apartheid state” according to past actions.
Read More(REVIEW) David Geisser’s new cookbook in time for the holidays, The Vatican Christmas Cookbook, offers up over 100 recipes from around the world.
Read More(OPINION) The Supreme Court recently upheld the religious freedom of Muslim Americans in a case of three Muslim men who accused the FBI of forcing them to violate their religious beliefs to spy on fellow Muslims. Here’s why we should all cheer.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh ended on Nov. 9 after Russia brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Now Armenian heritage organizations worry historical churches and other religious sites will be destroyed.
Read MoreA collection by the Sassoon family, called the Rothschilds of the East, is going on the auction block at Sotheby’s on Dec. 17. The Sassoon family left Ottoman-controlled Baghdad and built their wealth trading opium and textiles from Bombay, Rangoon, Hong Kong, Singapore and London.
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