In response to reporting by ReligionUnplugged.com and The Washington Post in 2019, a prominent former LDS Church member filed a federal lawsuit last week against the LDS Church seeking to regain more than $5 million in tithing he gave the church. The 2019 reports exposed that the LDS Church had amassed a $100 billion secret investment firm and used member tithes without their knowledge. The IRS has not confirmed whether it is investigating the church.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the current crisis in northern Ethiopia, religion is used as a tool to misinform the international community, Ethiopian scholar Desta Heliso writes. The resulting diplomatic tensions are endangering not just the future of Ethiopia’s 110 million people, but peace in the whole Horn of Africa.
Read MoreGonzaga (the saint) and Gonzaga (the basketball team) are two different things. Nonetheless, the patron saint of Christian youth (who also died in a pandemic) can help inspire the school to capture its first national championship.
Read MoreSeason two of “The Chosen”, the largest crowdfunded media project of all time that depicts the life of Jesus, will premiere on Easter Sunday. In a YouTube livestream announcement, creator Dallas Jenkins shared his plan to move all content to the show’s app and release the rest of the seasons by 2024.
Read MoreAs Christians all over the world entered Holy Week, a pair of exclusive, high-priced athletic shoes emblazoned with a pentagram and made with drops of human blood sold out in less than a minute. Singer Lil Nas X created the “Satan shoes” with the company MSCHF to coincide with the drop of his newest music video that features him giving Satan a lap dance. The backlash has sparked a conversation about LGBTQ people leaving Christianity or feeling hurt by Christians and also sparked a lawsuit from Nike.
Read MoreNationwide, some congregations across the country are reopening for the first time during Holy Week 2021. But pastors say that reopening their congregation is much more than simply cleaning up and unlocking the doors of the church. Their congregations are emotionally rocked and feeling the effects of disconnection.
Read More(OPINION) On his first day as president, Joe Biden issued an “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities.” It essentially gives government agencies the right to take whatever measures it deems necessary to achieve equal outcomes. But this confuses equality with equity — principles with drastically different meanings and biblical grounds.
Read MoreKanakuk Ministries is one of the largest Christian camps in the United States. An analysis of new financial statements reveals that founder Joe White and his wife Debbie-Jo were paid $2.6 million by Kanakuk from 2014-2017.
Read More(REVIEW) “Resurrection,” which will premiere on streaming service Discovery+, tells the story of the Gospels from Jesus’ trial to the start of the early Christian church. If successful, it will pave the way for more family-friendly faith-based content.
Read MoreReligious non-profits lost 10% of their workforce during the pandemic, according to a recent report. Faith-based groups like the Logan Baptist Church daycare and Convoy of Hope say PPP loans allowed them to keep serving essential workers and people in need.
Read MoreAnother week. Another mass shooting. Another round of questions concerning the 21-year-old suspect's religion. This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the massacre at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, and highlights other top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.
Read MoreWorldwide, more than 2.6 million deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. Christians are reflecting on the loss of their family members and loved ones to the virus. “This is an opportunity for the church to mourn with those who mourn. And there are a lot of people mourning,” said one pastor in Ohio.
Read More(OPINION) Catholics in Nigeria had buried many priests and believers killed in their country's brutal wars over land, cattle, honor and religion. But this was the first time Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese had preached at the funeral of a seminarian. A suspect in the crime said 18-year-old Michael Nnadi died urging his attackers to repent and forsake their evil ways.
Read MoreThis year’s Passover, the annual Jewish holiday, will offer families the chance to reflect on the hardships of the previous year. It also prioritizes looking with hope to the future.
Read More(OPINION) The harsh reality is that news consumers will need to read a wider variety of news sources if they are interested in finding solid facts, on-the-record sources and some sense of balanced reporting. On issues linked to religion, culture and politics, that will mean paying more attention to independent religious publications — including Catholic websites — that are now punching way above their weight.
Read More(REVIEW) Here are five new books — on a mix of subjects and for all ages — to add to your Amazon cart in time for Easter.
Read MoreThe government of Mozambique claims that religious fundamentalism rather than its own failures is the primary cause of a fast-escalating conflict that has killed over 2,500 people and displaced another 700,000. In March, the U.S. began training Mozambique defense forces in counter terrorism. But some journalists, researchers and clergy on the ground say that this narrative only serves the authoritarian government, accused of torturing and killing critics.
Read More(OPINION) After a new report released by Grace Church School in lower Manhattan that outlines new guidelines involving removing gender pronouns, how does one respond relating to the work of mainstream journalism?
Read More(OPINION) Religions evolve and accommodate as they migrate around the globe. A contemporary religious travel story is the Westernization of Asian Buddhism. Tricycle, a leading American Buddhist publication, deconstructed the phenomenon in its Spring 2021 issue.
Read More(OPINION) After two mass shootings in the U.S., many are examining the motives of the shooters. But people are complex creatures. We may be driven by hate, by anger and greed, and also by fear, insecurity, guilt, shame, jealousy and envy. Sometimes motives may be impossible to fathom.
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