(REVIEW) The book offers readers a detailed history of Catholic thinkers, statesman and military leaders who helped the colonists during the American Revolution. Over the course of 12 chapters, author Dan LeRoy delves into what the fight for freedom would have been like without these figures and, almost more importantly, why they felt the need to help.
Read More(OPINION) While culling files from decades of religion-beat work, I have come across a forgotten and seminal article from 2002 that contended the media were distorting public understanding of American politics. It said "religious right" Republicans were blanketed with coverage and turned the tables, contending that "the true origins" of cultural conflict were found in increased "secularist" influence in the Democratic Party.
Read MoreThe Minneapolis Central Church of Christ, led by Russell A. Pointer Sr., is the only predominately Black Church of Christ in the state. The church serves its community, feeding over 200 families a week and more. And, just six miles away from the convenience store where George Floyd was killed, the church has become a center fighting for justice. “The fight has just started,” Pointer Sr. says.
Read MoreThe “God Bless the USA” Bible includes America’s founding documents in its last pages and lyrics to the popular song “God Bless the USA” that became the chorus of Trump rallies. It will ship to customers this September to mark 20 years after 9/11.
Read More(OPINION) A “Liberty Girl” reflects on her years as an undergraduate, master’s student and then track coach at the influential evangelical university that’s been undergoing tumultuous changes for the past decade.
Read More(OPINION) The seventh anniversary of the atrocities committed against the Yazidis in Sinjar, Iraq by the members of the terror organization Daesh (commonly referred to as Islamic State or ISIL) is quickly approaching. There are certain questions regarding the responses to the atrocities that continue to cause concerns. Among them is the question of justice: what is the progress with bringing Daesh to justice?
Read More(OPINION) An Israeli reflects on the recent violence in Jerusalem that has killed at least 30 people, set off when thousands of flag-waving Jewish youth celebrating Israel’s victory over Arabs in the 1967 Six Day War marched down an alley where Muslim activists had arrived during Ramadan to pray at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.
Read More(OPINION) As news releases about growing Christian prosecution cases in China by the Communist Party, Ochab questions its similarity to the Uyghur crisis. On January 13, 2021, Open Doors, an international NGO advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians, released their annual World Watch List which assesses 50 countries where Christians face the most severe types of persecution. China is in the top 20.
Read MoreThe pandemic has exacerbated the discrimination and social isolation Dalits face. And while many Dalits are on the forefront of essential sanitation work, they are also struggling to survive. Even without contracting COVID-19, many Dalits say with irregular wages and employment uncertainty, they’re concerned about feeding their families.
Read More(OPINION) Clergy need – somehow – to find "personal" time, along with face-to-face contact with loved ones. That challenge became more difficult in the age of smartphones, texting and emails. Then came the COVID-19 lockdowns and the pressures on clergy zoomed to a whole new level.
Read More(OPINION) As a nation, Ethiopia is facing twin challenges. First, the impact of misleading and negative information about the nation following the war in Tigray; and second, the long-standing imbalance in the international water politics of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The aim of this article is to call for veracity, justice and compassion.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Mister Rogers must be posthumously pleased with the recent decision by Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Congregation to hire “starchitect” Daniel Libeskind to remodel the synagogue complex desecrated by a White supremacist gunman in October 2018. After three years, life may begin to return to normal in Squirrel Hill, Mister Rogers’ all-American neighborhood where love and tolerance used to trump the bile of hate and racism.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in explores news coverage over whether President Biden, a Catholic, might be denied Communion because of his support for abortion rights. Plus, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Many Americans imagine the stimulus money as manna from heaven. That isn’t quite true. Metzger explores how many Christians who don’t need the $1200 will receive it, while those that need it — namely unemployed Hispanics — will be left without it.
Read More(OPINION) Since the COVID-19 pandemic, searches have increased greatly for prayer. How does faith — and disbelief — play into the fears of people?
Read MoreThe National Day of Prayer on May 6 featured more prayer and less politics, aiming for unity, but political division arose in the commentaries afterward. Even the live stream frayed into two competing events. And after critics pointed out President Joe Biden left God’s name out of his proclamation issued from the White House, in his evening address, Biden mentioned God twice.
Read More(REVIEW) Sufjan Stevens completed the release of his five volume project “Convocations,” meant to work as a cycle of grief. The album honors his biological father, who passed away last year, and makes nods to a year of grief with COVID-19 and other tragedy. The album is entirely instrumental and electronic, expanding on his previous work.
Read More(OPINION) It should be noted that secular newsrooms don’t dislike organized religion like many may believe. Instead, they just don’t like religious leaders who attempt to defend traditional dogmas that govern said faith. Therefore, news coverage is often framed this way: Biden can be both “very Catholic” and pro-choice.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many Catholic bishops believe that President Joe Biden should not be allowed to take Communion because of his stance on abortion. But mixed responses within the Church point to a widening divide.
Read MorePopular social video app TikTok has become a hotspot for Christian leaders in the age of virtual church. Many are repurposing memes created on the app for a Christian specific audience and offering short sermons, prayers and Bible readings. Others are using the unconventional platform to attract an unconventional crowd — like those who have left the church or feel their beliefs aren’t welcome in the traditional church.
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