(ANALYSIS) Ultra-Orthodox resistance to conscription is nothing new. But the forcefulness of this declaration is new, especially coming in the midst of a war. And Yosef is not any random rabbi. He is the son of Ovadia Yosef, who was the spiritual leader of the Shas Party: an important partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious governing coalition.
Read MoreWhy do churches grow? Lots of reasons. Why do churches shrink and die? Lots of reasons. That’s the complex reality that we discussed during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights four takeaways from a new national survey on religion in public life. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) Perhaps what we’re witnessing today relates to that old Churchill adage, “Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over thirty who is not a conservative has no brains.” Today, this is also working itself out along gender lines, not in a hard and fast way but in a consistent enough way that it can be documented. Does this explain it all?
Read MoreIn the works are a humanitarian welcome center in Tapachula — a gateway at the Guatemalan border — for migrants of all nationalities, and Haitian-language church plants in Tapachula and Monterrey near the southern U.S. border.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Here’s a fun fact, the United States Census Bureau is prohibited from asking questions about religion on the decennial census. That’s the big data collection effort that is conducted every decade to get an accurate headcount of the United States for purposes of apportionment.
Read MoreIn the “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church,” Sarah McCammon, a national political correspondent for NPR, shares — with a sometimes visceral honesty — the everyday currency of childhood in an evangelical subculture in which the Bible was the ultimate authority.
Read MoreLaura Martinez’s letter to her supporters in Mexico is reminiscent of New Testament letters. Recently, she wrote about adapting quickly to the culture, climate, geography and gastronomy of Colombia. She enumerated the differences in seasons and interpretations of certain Spanish words, and she was pleasantly surprised the quality of water in Colombia is higher than where she’s from in Mexico.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There is a “Demos II” epistle from another anonymous cardinal — criticizing Pope Francis and describing seven tasks facing the next pontiff.
Read MoreThe Playhouse Cinema in Hamilton, Ontario, about 40 miles from Toronto, became the latest venue to call off a Jewish-themed event when it announced Tuesday that the annual Hamilton Jewish Film Festival would not be held in the theater as scheduled in April. The festival is sponsored by the local Jewish federation.
Read MoreAnother March Madness is once again upon us. The NCAA’s men’s Division I basketball tournament will enthrall millions with its bracket-busting upsets. It is, for many sports fans, the best time of the year. This year’s 68-team field features seven Catholic schools. In addition, five are Protestant and one Mormon. Here’s a look at how they stack up.
Read MoreA new exhibit, “Kingdom of David and Solomon Discovered” — on display now through Jan. 31, 2025, in the lobby of the Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond, Oklahoma — reflects on the panoply of the royal house of Judah, whose influence extended from Tyre in ancient Phoenicia, today Lebanon, to Sheba or Saba, in what is modern-day Yemen and Ethiopia. On display are 49 outstanding artifacts illuminating the material culture of those Hebrew monarchs.
Read More“Dune: Part Two” has been a massive hit at the box office, making back the first movie’s entire ticket take on its opening weekend and narrowly beating the opening of “Oppenheimer.” And with a Rotten Tomatoes critical and audience score over 90%, many are already calling it one of the best sequels of all time. Here’s what the movie says about religion and those who practice it.
Read MoreMinisters and church leaders traveled to a Nebraska farming town to pray, fellowship and brainstorm ideas for revival at a time of declining numbers, post-pandemic challenges and political polarization.
Read MoreOver the past decade, the American Bible Society spent nearly $100 million to build and operate a state-of-the-art interactive museum in Philadelphia that explains the role of the Bible and a Christian worldview in the nation’s founding, as well as in the ongoing history of the nation. At the end of this month, the museum will permanently close.
Read MoreThis decision, Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, might at first glance seem to be yet another boring administrative matter. That’s far from being the case. In fact, the outcome raises the bar for all religions to show that their charity arms deserve such exemptions in the state.
Read MoreSaint Joseph's Day — celebrated each year on March 19 — continues to hold immense significance for Italians. Intertwining religious devotion, cultural heritage and values such as family, the feast day serves as a reminder of Saint Joseph’s crucial role as the embodiment of fatherhood. And Italians commemorate the day with plenty of food.
Read MoreOn this Friday afternoon, an Oklahoma church’s usual, angelic a cappella gives way to the guitar riffs of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Volunteers wearing hairnets, plastic gloves and T-shirts that say “Jesus ♥ You” congregate around plastic tables. In unison, the crowd proclaims, “PROTEIN! VEGETABLES! SOY! RICE!” as they fill and seal plastic bags labeled MannaPack.
Read More(OPINION) It is one thing to push pills that could lead to death because of overdose or abuse. It is another thing to push pills that are designed to kill. But that’s just what one young pop star is doing – a pop star with 36.7 million Instagram followers. I’m speaking of Olivia Rodrigo.
Read MoreMaureen Gaffney Wolfson opened The Maureen Gaffney Wolfson Fine Art Gallery in December 2023. Though it may have originated from heartbreak, her paintings are full of color, light, and, perhaps most critically, the divine. “I started painting out of heartbreak,” said Wolfson. “It was therapy for me. Then it became a hobby. Then it became a career.”
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