Local residents and the Catholic order have engaged in a years-long court battle after the church tried to evict them from their ancestral land on the outskirts of the capital Harare. The more than 1,000 families, however, were relieved when a court agreed to halt, for now, a move by the Jesuits to evict them from their land that the church wants to turn into an urban residential area.
Read MoreThe Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-1 in Phoenix, but Jewish fans might care less about the outcome than about a rare phenomenon in baseball history — an all-Jewish battery. Phillies Jewish pitcher Max Lazar made his major-league debut in the bottom of the 7th inning, throwing to Jewish catcher Garrett Stubbs, and got Kevin Newman to fly out to right field to end the inning. He returned in the 8th inning and retired all three batters, including Joc Pederson, who struck out.
Read More(OPINION) The moment I finished listening to the song, I sent him a voice text saying, “This could be the anthem for this young generation!” Instantly, the song sounded familiar to me, not like something new that I had to get used to. And the words were easily learned and memorized, to be sung and repeated countless times in the years ahead, as if to say, “Go ahead and call me unpopular. I will wear that title proudly!”
Read MoreGovernment-fostered misinformation and disinformation are hindering religious liberty in several places globally, USCIRF said in an August factsheet, and spreading societal religious persecution including violence. USCIRF defined misinformation as a claim that is false or inaccurate, and disinformation as a false or inaccurate claim that the government deliberately disseminates.
Read More(ANALYSIS) This extraordinary political year displays an increasingly multicultural America. Starting with Harris, she'd be the first Asian American to be president, the first with Hindu roots as signified by her name, the first female and first female African American. Despite Donald Trump’s feigned racial perplexity, her dual Black identity is equally obvious since she chose to attend Howard University and has been a member of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church for three decades.
Read MoreGordon College, a Christian school in Wenham, Massachusetts, could be required to pay back more than $7 million of COVID-19 relief funds. The school contested, arguing that its request for loan forgiveness was denied because of religious discrimination.
Read More(OPINION) I’ve got important things I want to tell my grandkids. I’m older. I’ve learned stuff. I could save them lots of problems and disappointments. Some years ago, I decided to write a book I’d call something like, “Things I Want to My Grandkids to Know.” I’d self-publish it and provide a copy to each of the kids.
Read MoreDuring the Cold War, an oft overlooked battle for minds unfolded on the vast stage of Africa. As colonial powers withdrew and new African nations emerged, both the United States and the Soviet Union scrambled for alliances. Author Phil Dow’s new book, “Accidental Diplomats,” catalogs the influence of American evangelical missionaries in Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read MoreRyan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, spoke recently inside the Board of Education conference room at the state Capitol complex in Oklahoma City. The interview came amid a national debate that every teacher in Oklahoma must be provided with physical copies of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments.
Read MoreWhat political activities can churches and other religious nonprofit groups engage in legally? According to the Internal Revenue Service, “Section 501(c)(3) organizations are precluded from, and suffer loss of exemption for, engaging in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) The debate over a potentially less religious future for the Republican Party took center stage during discussions surrounding the Republican National Convention in July. On the first day of the festivities, Amber Rose was given a speaking slot. Is there a rising number of nonreligious Republicans that are going to take the party in a less socially conservative direction?
Read MoreIf you look up “Baptist” in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, you will find: “… a member or adherent of an evangelical Protestant denomination marked by congregational polity and baptism by immersion of believers only.” Ah, but I have heard quite a few Baptists, especially those leaning toward an Anabaptist identity, argue that the vague term “evangelical” doesn’t apply to them and some may even debate the word “Protestant.”
Read MoreLike it or not, fights over religion in public schools seem unlikely to vanish any time soon. Look for such controversies to remain prominent in the news.
Read MoreGidi Dar did not set out to be a prophet. When he began work on his film Legend of Destruction, in 2016, he was simply drawn to a collection of Talmudic stories about Jewish zealots revolting against their Roman rulers in the first century, a rebellion that triggered the destruction of the Temple. Then, during the seven years the film spent in production, things began to shift in Israeli society.
Read MoreIn a move widely seen as a major blow to religious freedom, the government of Rwanda has closed more than 4,000 houses of worship over the past month for various infractions that include operating in substandard structures, “unhygienic conditions,” not meeting noise pollution standards and not having formally trained preachers.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Riots have erupted across the United Kingdom over the past week as far-right groups launched attacks against hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques. A heavy security presence on Wednesday and a series of arrests across Britain has prevented a repeat of widespread rioting involving racist attacks targeting Muslims and other migrants that started late last month.
Read MoreAbout 200 Christians of multiple nationalities — Russian, Ukrainian, Iranian and Israeli, to name a few — sang a hymn of unity together, their citizenship on Earth far less important than a shared home in heaven. Some attendees drove 45 minutes. Others spent more than a day on planes and buses. They gathered in a city known for a particular distance — 26.2 miles.
Read MoreThe Department of Justice has expressed an interest in an Arizona case involving a church that has been dealing with alleged zoning code violations for a benevolence food pantry it has operated for nearly 25 years.
Read More(OPINION) There is no question that the nation of Israel could be facing an unprecedented attack coming from all sides: Iran from the east, Hezbollah from the north, the Houthis from the south, and Hamas (what is left of it) from the west. In fact, by the time you read this article, that attack may have already been launched. But is Israel on the verge of an apocalyptic war prophesied in the Bible? In my view, the answer is clearly no.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Christianity, with its rich history of metaphysical claims and moral imperative, offers a bulwark against a descent into chaos — not for everyone, I know, but for a chunk of humanity. It provides a narrative that encompasses human suffering, offers redemption and asserts the inherent dignity of the individual, grounded in the image of God. Peter Thiel is aiming to bring that to the tech world.
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