(OPINION) Danger signs began decades ago. Giving to religious groups — defined in terms of potential donations based on after-tax incomes — peaked in 1960 and then began to decline, even as church membership numbers and budgets kept rising.
Read MoreIn 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled its Town Tuition program could not fund tuition to religious schools because “it forced taxpayer support of religious worship.” But in the wake of Carson v. Makin, the state will now apply its tuition benefit program to families who choose to send their children to religious schools.
Read MoreHow much does it cost to send a missionary overseas? How much revenue do missions-oriented nonprofits raise to this end? These are the questions MinistryWatch sought to answer when we asked more than 60 of the largest missions, Bible translation, and fellowship evangelism organizations how many full-time missionaries they have in the field.
Read MoreThe town in the West Bank where the Magi are believed to have followed the star toward newborn Jesus is today a shrinking community of Greek Orthodox Christians. At a recent Christmas tree lighting, residents spoke about family members who have moved abroad, mostly to the United States, South America and Europe, leaving behind an ever-shrinking and aging community.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights religion and gay rights clashes happening around the world. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read MoreThe Come and See Foundation — a nonprofit founded in October by veterans of Christian publishing, retailing and Bible translation — seeks to reach one billion people with free versions of the mega-popular series “The Chosen” in hundreds of different languages.
Read More(OPINION) The stakes are high since White evangelicals play a strategic role in GOP primaries and national elections. In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that 78% of White evangelicals planned to vote for Trump — but 30% said they backed Trump, himself. Trump’s evangelical numbers remained strong in 2020, after he filled several SCOTUS slots.
Read MoreAttorneys representing an Atlanta megachurch have filed a lawsuit alleging the bank and investors group that financed its property engaged in predatory behavior, taking millions of dollars from the church as part of a widespread conspiracy that also targeted other African American churches.
Read More(OPINION) If you live in a major city of America, then you have probably been well aware of the Black Hebrew Israelites for a few decades. But for many other Americans, their numbers, their influence, and their beliefs are coming as quite a revelation — and a shocking one at that.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In her study of multiple SBNR identities, theologian Linda Mercadante found that the turn away from organized religion does not necessarily come at the expense of faith, ritual or practice. For “post-Christianity” seekers, Mercadante stresses how spiritual fulfillment moves from “religious and civic institutions to ‘gathering places.’”
Read More(ESSAY) What is now the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, has become a pilgrimage destination for some and an enigma to others. Mark Rothko has long been the mid-century artist whose work I thought had the most to say about the human condition. As a reader of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, Rothko often said that tragedy was at the heart of human experience — that in solitude our deep loneliness was palpable.
Read MoreThis week U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced a list of countries that the U.S. government considers “countries of particular concern” for religious freedom violations. Nigeria is notably absent, despite attacks so frequent that many Christian ministries have stopped serving some rural communities.
Read MoreRussia’s National Guard seized two priests in Russian-occupied Berdyansk on Nov. 16. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Donetsk Exarchate denies Russian claims that Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Heleta stored explosives in the church and had “extremist” literature.
Read MoreMembers of Bethel — the 11,000-member northern California megachurch famous for elaborate healing services, Bethel Music and musician Sean Feucht’s nationwide worship protests against COVID restrictions — now hold the majority on the Redding City Council after November’s elections, according to nearly complete vote counts.
Read More(OPINION) All of us have been through a lot the past few years: a pandemic, insane political upheavals, inflation, general economic uncertainty. The problems we face are real, no question about that. But it’s also easy for us to overblow them, to obsess over the negatives and fail to recognize the positives.
Read More(REVIEW) Well-known Christian filmmaker Jon Erwin and friends have been on a bit of a kick in recent years to showcase the faith of the heroes of their youth. “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon” is the latest, a documentary that shows how faith impacted the country star’s life. It’s solid, but it fails to serve as the testimony to God it thinks it does.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Nov. 24, 2022, the U.N. Human Rights Council held a special session to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Read MoreThe Ebenezer Building Foundation, whose principal officer is the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the U.S. Senator from Georgia facing a runoff election in December, is the subject of an inquiry by Georgia’s secretary of state.
Read MoreAbout 18% of the leaders of Christian nonprofit ministries are women, according to a recent MinistryWatch survey of the country’s largest 1,000 ministries. The disparity in the business world is about three times greater. According to the Pew Research Center, only 5.4% of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies have women as their CEOs.
Read MoreThe start of the pandemic in March 2020 forced churches across the world to shut their doors. Catholic churches followed suit and Masses were streamed via Zoom and Facebook. Nearly three years later and churches are trying to return to normal.
Read More
