(ANALYSIS) What will 2021 bring? That’s the big question following a 2020 that will forever remain a year where the world was held hostage by a pandemic. It was also a year where we had a combative presidential election and a reawakened social justice movement that brought our divided politics out into our streets.
Read MoreAccording to the U.S. Census, Idaho continues to be one of the fastest growing states. It’s also highly conservative. Now during the pandemic, some towns are seeing influxes of residents from nearby states seeking more freedom from COVID-19 restrictions on worship.
Read More(OPINION) Terry Mattingly analyzes the Religion News Association’s Top 10 religious beat stories list. He believes that the most important COVID-19 related story should be specifically about the issue of 1st Amendment Rights as they relate to having in-person church services.
Read More(OPINION) Metzger analyzes the time period between Advent and Lent, known as “secular,” and explains its importance to the extraordinary nature of life—not just the year 2020.
Read MoreBoko Haram terrorists attacked Christian communities in Northeastern Nigeria on Christmas Eve, burning down many churches and homes. One reverend who refused to convert to Islam was beheaded.
Read MoreDuring a priest shortage deacons in the Catholic Church are playing increasingly important roles. Thomas Jack, a deacon in Steuben County, N.Y., is fielding calls for financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More(OPINION) In some countries, the lack of religious freedom and the threat of Christian persecution casts a dark shadow across Christmas festivities and celebrations. It is not unusual for fanatical, iron-fisted governments to make the Advent season a time of intensified fear and real danger. Many Christians, despite their faith and devotion, have little opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Read MoreIn a special year-end edition of Weekend Plug-in, the nation’s top religion writers share their top stories of 2020.
Read More(OPINION) Ongoing fights about the First Amendment and religious liberty are likely to prove the most newsworthy, but two other themes deserve attention as well.
Read More(OPINION) Evaluating Catholic nuns and their projects to help the poor dampened the cynicism of a skeptic and lapsed Episcopalian who studies religion. Sister Rosemary is one such nun who has devoted her life to sheltering and empowering women and children who fled violence in Uganda.
Read MoreJust 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.
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