(OPINION) Organized American Judaism — not unlike other American faith traditions — is in the midst of a shakeup. The latest evidence of this was the recent announcement that Reform Judaism’s first rabbinic seminary, in Cincinnati, will soon cease ordinations at the end of the 2026 academic year.
Read MoreLori Windham teaches children’s Bible classes the Fairfax Church of Christ in Virginia and argues cases in the nation’s highest courts for Becket, a law firm specializing in religious liberty cases for people of all faiths.
Read MoreOn tropical Ambergis Caye in Belize, Islam is a family affair. The island's largest town, San Pedro, has a population of just over 13,000, of whom some 200 are Muslims. This small yet vibrant Muslim community was launched by a single adventurous Lebanese family — the Harmouches.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the arguments in the case of a high school football coach who wants to pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreMegachurch head pastor Stovall Weems has resigned from Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, as he continues to pursue a lawsuit alleging he was illegally suspended from his position by the church’s governing board earlier this year.
Read More(OPINION) The 2020 election was a landmark for the Hispanic American community with an estimated 16.6 million voters, a record proportion of the electorate. But columnists on the left and right have noted that President Joe Biden and his party have lost some of the more culturally conservative Latinos that were among former President Barack Obama’s coalition.
Read More(OPINION) The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom launched its annual report describing events in 2021 — a detailed document focusing on more than two dozen countries that are engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations. Their report also offers suggestions and recommendations, while providing information regarding 15 specific prisoners of conscience for whom USCIRF commissioners have personally advocated.
Read MoreA Virginia church collaborated with a grassroots volunteer organization known as NoVa RAFT, which stands for Northern Virginia Resettling Afghan Families Together. That group has helped set up nearly 200 Afghan refugee homes with furniture, beds, kitchenware, linens and other household items.
Read MoreThe investigation of alleged mishandling of sexual abuse has cost the Southern Baptist Convention more than $1.7 million so far, a number that exceeds the original estimate made last fall. A 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle reported hundreds of abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches spanning decades.
Read More(OPINION) The persecution and discrimination of the Hazaras group in Afghanistan continue, violently and deadly. This year, unlike other attacks, the international community has shown little interest in holding the perpetrators accountable and providing protection for the victims.
Read More(OPINION) Appeals to tradition entered a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring Texas to grant a convicted murderer his Baptist pastor's audible prayers and comforting touch during his execution.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a child, the late Mwai Kibaki was taken to school by Consolata Missionaries because he did not have the strength for the back-breaking tasks of peasant farming and looking after animals. Those early interactions with Catholics became evident in Kibaki’s moderate dealings as a lecturer, politician and eventual president of Kenya.
Read More(OPINION) Egypt is a country of contrasts when it comes to all kinds of human rights, including religious freedom. Egyptian Christians attended Easter service boldly, in spite of the looming threat posed by extremists and problematic laws. Still, many Christians would argue that it’s the most free and peaceful time they’ve known.
Read MoreDozens of Muslim properties have been razed to ground by the government in India in the aftermath of Hindu-Muslim violence. Critics of the Hindu-first government say the demolitions are a collective punishment for Muslims that is a warning bell for potential genocide.
Read MoreThe culture war skirmish between Walt Disney World and Florida lawmakers, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, leads this week’s Weekend Plug-in. Plus, catch up, as always, on the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreTV preacher Andrew Wommack’s ministry racked up $25.9 million in debt building the $99 million campus of Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, up in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. Wommack now wants to tear up an agreement he made with the city a decade ago to build campus student housing as a taxable private enterprise.
Read MoreEmbezzlement will cost churches $170 billion in the year 2050 if current trends continue, according to Center for the Study of Global Christianity co-Director Todd Johnson. But while 1 in 3 churches will be victims of embezzlement, 27% won’t report the crime because members often have a hard time believing they have been victimized.
Read MoreMissionaries throughout Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas look forward to the weekly arrivals of planes flown by Agape Flights, a Florida ministry that shuttles mail, medicines, cargo, relief supplies and other resources. But one of its planes was burned in Haiti by demonstrators protesting the country’s increasing violence and kidnappings.
Read More(REVIEW) Images from 31 unique ancient objects, including Christian manuscripts in Latin, the Getty’s treasured Rothschild Pentateuch in Hebrew and two printed Hebrew books — from between 1040 to 1592 — are on display until May 29 at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. But the Getty’s text descriptions seem intended to push a misinterpretation of the Christian images as works of antisemitism and misogyny, based on little or no evidence.
Read More(OPINION) Will more Americans — from the right and the left — untangle their bizarre fantasy with a misappropriating, rather cowardly, cult-like entertainment industrial complex? Has Disney going woke finally caused Americans to wake up from their slumber like Rip van Winkle? Mickey Mouse can’t have his cake and eat it too anymore.
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