The Pinewood Church of Christ in Nunnelly, Tenn., had to rebuild after devastating floods swamped the Volunteer State in May 2010. More than a decade later, a deluge again has ravaged the Hickman County congregation’s meeting place.
(OPINION) The past four U.S. administrations have talked a lot about Islamic women having equal rights and making Afghanistan a modern democratic country. But all four administrations seem to been clueless as to what gave rise to these rights.
Read More
(OPINION) I want to place a spotlight on the important work of Christian groups across Afghanistan over the years, the little mention they have received by the secular press, a recent story that illustrates both the plight of Afghan refugees and the Catholic converts now living outside the country who have been crucial in helping people get out.
Read More
A displaced Kashmiri Hindu family talks to show host Harshita Rathore 30 years after fleeing anti-Hindu violence in India’s Muslim-majority Kashmir region, their ancestral home. This is the second episode in the docuseries “The Dinner Table” produced by Newsreel Asia in partnership with ReligionUnplugged.
(REVIEW) A new Netflix documentary on conversion therapy and other ex-gay ministries features leaders of the Christian ex-gay movement who now denounce the movement. The complex cast of characters show how Christianity played a role in both their ex-gay leadership and beyond it.
Read More
(OPINION) Aug. 22 marks the U.N.-designated International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. While the day was established as a direct response to the atrocities perpetrated by Daesh (ISIS) against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, similar acts of violence continue to this day globally.
Read More
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced its cooperation with the U.S. government to organize and process the tens of thousands of Afghan refugees entering the country as the U.S. withdraws troops and the Taliban assumes control over Afghanistan.
Read More
This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights religion headlines after the Taliban’s takeover of the government in Afghanistan. Plus, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More
(OPINION) As this story unfolds, many of us are experiencing something like déjà vu. In the summer of 2014 we watched as Islamic State/ISIS rampaged across Iraq and committed genocide against Christian and Yazidi communities. Although ISIS and the Taliban have fought each other, they practice the same deadly tactics.
Read More
Afghans in and outside the capital describe scenes of violence, deteriorating living conditions and shrinking personal freedoms amid the Taliban’s rise to power with the U.S. troop withdrawal set to complete on Aug. 31.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The Taliban – which means “the students” in Pashto – seized control of Afghanistan in 1996 after capturing Kabul in the Afghan civil war. The Taliban regime was then toppled in 2001 by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. Here, Afghanistan experts offer insight into the Taliban – then and now – and explain the United States’ role in Afghanistan’s collapse.
(OPINION) The return of Taliban rule after 20 years will likely produce the typical mayhem and murder when a regime suddenly collapses. But much is also at stake for world Islam, a crucial aspect that the media have tended to slight thus far. Journalists may be witnessing a new phase in what Georgetown University expert John Esposito has called a long-running "struggle for the soul of Islam."
Read More
(OPINION) "One could say that the two Masses have built two cities: the Mass of All Times has built a Christian city; the New Mass seeks to build a humanist and secular city."
Read More
(EXCERPT) A new book published by Westminster Seminary Press curates theological reflections by pastors throughout the Reformation and Post-Reformation periods encouraging their flocks through Europe’s worst plagues.
Read More
(OPINION) The three-time governor leaves behind a mixed legacy among Roman Catholics. Like his father Mario (who also served three terms as New York governor and was for years on the short-list of lawmakers who could be president), Cuomo represented a new generation of liberal Catholic politicians in this country.
Read More
John and Jan Bradley have spent years building schools and trying to improve life in war-torn Afghanistan. Amid the Taliban’s takeover after U.S. troops withdrew, they are helping other volunteers and colleagues evacuate the country. Anyone who helped the Bradleys is in danger.
Read MoreDie Botschaft is a weekly tabloid newspaper, loosely translated to The Messenger, with a national circulation of 16,000. While its name is in Pennsylvania Dutch, the newspaper is printed in English and features letters, lots of letters of about five- to-eight column inches in length, from across the nation.
Read More
(REVIEW) New biopic “Respect” shows the trajectory of the life and career of “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin. Through personal strife and career hurdles, Franklin’s Christian faith remained at the center of her life. The movie shows both how it influenced her style and saved her more than once.
Read More
This week’s Weekend Plug-in summary starts with the latest, complicated news on the COVID-19 vaccines and religion. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith news.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The gymnast’s actions put a spotlight on athletes’ mental health, but also highlighted the inability of the mainstream press to delve deeper and ask pertinent questions regarding her faith. You see, Biles is a Roman Catholic, something written about leading up to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. You wouldn’t know it from the news coverage of the past few weeks.
Read More