Whistleblower Details New Allegations About $100 Billion LDS Fund

A former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has submitted a memorandum to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee about the operations of the Salt Lake City, Utah, based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. The 90-page memorandum obtained by ReligionUnplugged.com “summarizes evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud, private inurement violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes and a ‘Klein conspiracy’ by Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (‘EPA’) and others.”

Read More
Is The End Of Journalistic Objectivity The Reason Catholic Church Vandalism Isn't A Big Story?

(OPINION) Old-school objectivity in journalism appears to be dead. My proof for that statement is that the ongoing vandalism of churches is a major story, but one that elite newsroom professionals have decided is a right-wing political talking point. If this isn’t a flaw in the current way journalists do things, then expect for more readers to look elsewhere for information.

Read More
No, The Holocaust Is Not Just One Of Many Tragic Events Of Human History

(OPINION) According to a tone-deaf editorial published on Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Kentucky Courier Journal, “Jews do not have a monopoly on persecution and atrocities,” and “Hitler was just one of many dictators.” But it is right and fitting to commemorate the singular sufferings of particular people or nations, as in the Holocaust.

Read More
‘The Chosen’ Wraps Up An Uneven Season With A Worthy Bang

(REVIEW) "The Chosen" wraps up an uneven third season in a triumphant manner, highlighting all the strengths and weaknesses of what might be the biggest faith-based project ever made.

Read More
'Left Behind: Rise Of The Antichrist' The Latest Installment In Apocalyptic Thriller Franchise

(REVIEW) “Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist,” the new movie about the end of the world as told in the Bible, has it all: boring action sequences, jokes about the COVID-19 vaccine, altar calls, a postscript message from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a joke about former president Barack Obama being the Antichrist, a painfully clunky script and even a Romanian politician who has a bland American accent. 

Read More
Why Do Modern Christians Favor, Or Oppose, Same-Sex Marriage?

(OPINION) The teaching against gay and lesbian sexual relationships stood essentially unquestioned for 2,000 years, but now that’s changing. Still, on the global level, some 2 billion people belong to Christian traditions where there’s no prospect of any major change, though individual members dissent. The same is true for a billion Muslims.

Read More
Maradona Cedes His Throne To Messi

In a country as economically and socially unstable as Argentina, with almost 47 million people, 100% annual inflation in 2022 and 40% of the population below the poverty line, when a messianic figure capable of changing daily frustrations for joy appears, he is charged with that responsibility: He gives the right not to suffer during the hour and a half that a soccer match lasts.

Read More
Maradona cede el trono al Messias

En varios países de América latina existe un vínculo intenso con el fútbol, pero en la Argentina esa relación es mucho más estrecha. Eso lleva a que todo lo que ocurra vinculado al fútbol sea una caja de resonancia a nivel de la sociedad muy importante.

Read More
We Often Find God, Faith And Freedom By Bumping Into Things

(OPINION) We learn the most valuable things we learn not so much by embarking on a purposeful pilgrimage or a defined course of study — although such pursuits have their place — but by flopping blindly through life bumping into things.

Read More
News Hooks Abound: How Will Religious Faith Shape The ‘Birth Dearth,’ And Vice Versa?

(OPINION) This is an apt time for media to consider U.S.-focused big-think pieces on how religious communities are shaping population trends and, vice versa, how those trends affect religion.

Read More
The Crisis Of Schism In The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

(ANALYSIS) The schism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of the most ancient and largest churches in the world, is another symptomatic evidence of the twin threats that Ethiopia is currently facing, namely ethnocentrism that results from fusing ethnicity with politics and religious extremism that results from fusing ethnicity with religion.

Read More
💔 ‘Heavy Hearts That Can Only Be Healed By The Grace Of God’ 🔌

This week’s Weekend Plug-in covers the case of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died after a beating by Memphis, Tenn., police. Plus, as always, catch up on all the top headlines and best reads in the world of faith.

Read More
Super Bowl Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts And Patrick Mahomes Both Playing For Christ

There will be more prayers at the Super Bowl on Feb. 12 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Patrick Mahomes taking on Jalen Hurts will mark the first time that the starting quarterbacks for both teams are Black. It is also a milestone because both men are practicing Christians not afraid to publicly talk about their faith and how it helps them succeed in the NFL.

Read More
South African Ministers Face Poverty Without Secular Jobs

For South African preachers, salary often comes with stigma. Many of the country’s first Churches of Christ were planted by missionaries — who also served as their first ministers, supported only by sponsoring churches in the U.S. As these churches transitioned from mission work to independent congregations, missionaries were hesitant to stress the importance of financially supporting future ministers.

Read More
Battle Continues Between Iowa Church And IRS Over Use Of Hallucinogenic Drugs

An Iowa church that uses a hallucinogenic drug as part of its religious ceremonies is engaged in an ongoing fight to win tax-exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The Iowaska Church of Healing of Des Moines sued the IRS in U.S. District Court last year for denying its request to be recognized as a nonprofit organization.

Read More
German Federal Court Of Justice Confirms The First-Ever Conviction Of A Daesh Member For Genocide

(ANALYSIS) Taha A.-J. “purchased” and enslaved a five-year-old Yazidi girl named Reda and her mother. Taha’s wife was implicated as well. Taha and his wife held Reda and her mother as captives at their residence in Fallujah and forced them to practice Islam, work as slaves and deprived them of sufficient food.

Read More
Comparing The Rise Of The Religious ‘Nons’ To The Nones, NIPs And Nonverts

(OPINION) A blockbuster in the November U.S. Religion Census report said that, taken together, nondenominational Protestants number 21 million and are unquestionably the largest U.S. Protestant group, exceeding by millions the largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, and second only to Catholics.

Read More
No Single Understanding Of God Captures The Whole Truth

(OPINION) God is so great none of us can comprehend all that he is. Ten of us — or 10 denominations, even — can’t grasp the full mystery. Thus we ought to approach other pilgrims with open minds and open hearts, looking for what we can impart to them and also what we can receive from them.

Read More
Why Democrats Are Less Religious Than Republicans

(ANALYSIS) Despite efforts to convince the American public that the religious left is a potent force in American politics — the data just does not support that assertion. In fact, it shows that Democrats are significantly less religious by any objective measure of the term compared to their Republican counterparts.

Read More
California Woman Sues Salvation Army for Negligence Amid Abuse Allegations

A California woman is suing the Salvation Army and its Pomona branch, alleging she was sexually abused by a youth group leader when she was a minor. The woman, identified in the lawsuit only as Jane Doe, is suing for negligence, claiming those in authority failed to prevent or protect her and other children from the abuse.

Read More