AARP Foundation attorneys will act as co-counsel in a class-action lawsuit alleging the African Methodist Episcopal Church mishandled nearly $90 million in retirement funds, the organization said. The AME stopped making payments to retired ministers covered by its pension plan earlier this year after a 2021 audit found that two-thirds of the denomination’s retirement funds had been lost in risky investments.
Read More(OPINION) Moments after the Academy Awards slap, Will Smith huddled with Denzel Washington, another Best Actor nominee. When Washington offered quiet words of encouragement from offstage, Smith thanked him and added, “Denzel said to me, at the highest moment, be careful — that’s when the devil comes for you.” This was not ordinary Oscars God-talk.
Read MoreTwo sociologists of religion, Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, wrote an upcoming book titled “The Flag and The Cross,” which explores White Christian nationalism through the lens of history and recent survey data. Gorski and Perry attempt to explain its past while explaining its importance for understanding the future of American religion and politics.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in starts with the historic confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will become the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) While Pope Francis was presiding over a ceremony at the Vatican to consecrate Ukraine and Russia, a group of high-ranking American bishops met in Chicago. The gathering, entitled “Pope Francis, Vatican II and the Way Forward,” aimed to create a dialogue between theologians and bishops.
Read MoreDuring Lent, many Catholic churches participate in fish fries, a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. Served every Friday following Ash Wednesday, the meals served during the Christian season of repentance have become a mainstay for many Catholic churches who use them to raise money and build community.
Read MoreThe war instigated by President Vladimir Putin of Russia has caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, with over 4 million Ukrainians displaced and another 7 million internally displaced in western Ukraine, according to U.N. agencies. Photos and videos from formerly Russian occupied towns like Bucha showing executed and tortured civilians only add to the horror and fervor for the war to end.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law continues to get media coverage for two reasons: first, Disney’s involvement, and second, the larger notion that DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, is “engaging in a culture war.” This remains a political story, a business story and a pop culture story. Is it also a religion story?
Read More(OPINION) Michael Metzger writes about the relationship of Jesus' offering of the living water for purification from sin and redemption in the Lenten season.
Read MoreAfter battling leukemia, a Jewish woman experienced the severe shortage of blood in Atlanta firsthand and rallied a community to support the importance of donation. The result was surprising. Read here.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A newly released journal issue of “Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe” explores the Russian state’s dependency on a morally compromised Russian Orthodox Church to legitimize its quasi-religious fascism. Meanwhile, pastors in Bucha, Ukraine, where hundreds of civilian bodies were recently found shot to death, reflect on the theology needed to survive so much pain and suffering.
Read MoreThe 18th president and first female CEO of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, aspires to be “a role model for all students.”
Read More(OPINION) Pope Francis’ two-day visit to the tiny European country of Malta, a strongly Catholic island just south of Sicily, in April put a spotlight on Malta’s complicated history and important contemporary concerns. Chief among these is the sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers from Africa and the Middle East, and criticism of how Malta has treated them.
Read MoreTwo more leaders of Hillsong Church U.S. campuses have announced they’re taking their campuses in a different direction in the wake of founder Brian Houston being ousted by the church’s board for breaching its code of conduct.
Read MoreNamed La’eeb — which FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, said is “an Arabic word meaning super-skilled player” — the World Cup mascot triggered plenty of confusion and scorn on social media. But the mascot was primarily an homage to Arab garments known as the “keffiyeh” and “thawb.”
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in reflects on debate over the use of the term “cult” in religion news stories. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Michael Metzger analyzes the interpretation of the church as Christ's bride from the perspective of Jade Studdock's story, "Did we make Jesus' payment for sin the main thing on the cross?"
Read MoreHalf of Ukraine’s 7.5 million children have been displaced in the month since Russia invaded, said the U.N. Children’s Fund on March 24. The Association of Christian Schools International is seeking donations to help some of these children, their families, and Christian schoolteachers and school personnel who have fled their homes.
Read MoreThe doors of the historic Grand Mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir reopened for Friday prayers this month, in time for Ramadan expected to begin April 2, after the Indian government had banned the weekly gathering there for 30 consecutive weeks.
Read MorePassover is a time for the Jewish community to reflect on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and hosting a Seder is one way families and communities come together to celebrate this biblical event. OneTable and Haggadot.com have joined forces this year to provide people with the tools needed to host their own unique Seder.
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