Most U.S. adults (52 percent) said they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church as an institution in 2019, the last year a majority held that belief. In 2018, confidence levels fell below 40 percent for the first time. They edged above that mark in 2020 â only toâŻdrop back below in 2021âŻandâŻeven further in 2022.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A coalition of civil society organizations announced the launch of the Peopleâs Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, an initiative to address the impunity for the dire situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Among the little-noticed aspects of the 2024 U.S. election is Muslimsâ substantial 33% vote for Donald Trump â with a remarkable 42% backing from those who attend mosque weekly. Thatâs an increase from past elections.
Read MoreA customer service representative can be central to carrying out a religious organizationâs mission in the same way a pastor is, a federal appeals court ruled, shielding the employer from federal nondiscrimination statutes.
Read MoreA June terrori attack, the deadliest in recent memory, sent shockwaves through Syria's dwindling Christian population, communities that have endured in this ancient land for almost two millennia. Now, many fear they are witnessing the final chapter of one of Christianity's oldest continuous presences anywhere in the world.
Read MoreThe murders this past May in Kenya of two Catholic priests reflecst a global context in which clergy, who have always lived among the poor and on the peripheries, are now being hunted. In many areas around the world where the state has receded, faith often becomes the last visible institution â and the first to be attacked. From the Americas to Africa, religious workers have become marked men and women.
Read MoreThe case of a high school football coach praying on the field has been in the spotlight since the Supreme Courtâs 2022 ruling. But another football controversy first emerged in 2015, when two Christian schools made it to the state championships. The games were run by the stateâs athletic association. Officials barred them from conducting a prayer over the loudspeaker before kickoff.
Read MoreAs students head back to the classroom, theyâre likely to see the impact of local churches in their schools this year. A Lifeway Research study found that four in five U.S. Protestant pastors identify at least one way their congregations have engaged with local public schools in the last year. Only 18% of churches say they werenât involved with area schools.
Read More(ANALYSIS) My first book was entitled âThe Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going.â It was published â what feels like a lifetime ago â in 2021. Iâm pretty proud of that little volume because it established my approach to thinking about non-religion in the United States.
Read MoreA Houston pastor released from prison has returned to lead the church he helped build. Kirbyjon Caldwell, pastor of 14,000-member Windsor Village Church, returned to the churchâs stage to lead worship on Aug. 3. It marked his first time attending services since he was released from prison last year.
Read MoreWeekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. reflects on his 35 years in full-time journalism. It started with the editor of a small-town Oklahoma newspaper taking a chance on him.
Read MoreIn the post-pandemic era, it appears that more and more Americans are conducting their spiritual searches in multiple sets of pews or, perhaps, attending one church in person and another via digital streaming. Itâs a seeker-friendly, mix-and-match approach.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Two recent announcements about two upcoming faith-based releases that could be game-changers for the industry: Angel Studios and The Wonder Projectâs âYoung Washingtonâ and Mel Gibsonâs âThe Resurrection of the Christ.â While the announcements have mostly gone under the radar, they have the potential to upend the Hollywood landscape as we know it for a long time to come.
Read MoreActivist Hooman Khalili hopes to inspire Iranian women to resist abuse and terrorism through murals displayed on college campuses across the United States. The murals, he said, are meant to spark civil discourse â especially among students â and draw attention to the fight for human rights in Iran at a time when all the focus is on Gaza and Ukraine.
Read MoreLiberty Counsel has filed the opening brief to seek dismissal of a wrongful termination case brought by a former Liberty University employee who hid his steps to transition and identify as a female during the hiring process.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Whatâs your most evangelistic T-shirt? Iâve got a bunch from my church â youth camps where I was a counselor, mission trips, Leadership Training for Christ. But the T-shirt that gets the most comments simply says âJesus ⼠You.â
Read More(ANALYSIS) With a nod to digital life, Merriam-Webster has expanded its âinfluencerâ definition to include a âperson who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media.â Pope Leo XIV didn't use that term in his latest remarks on faith in the internet age, even while addressing the recent Vatican Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers.
Read More(ESSAY) On Aug. 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb called âFat Manâ on Urakami, Japan, the most Christian suburb of the most Christian city in Japan: Nagasaki. It is the forgotten bomb, the silent bomb. Hiroshima, being the city where the first nuclear bomb, less powerful than the Nagasaki bomb was detonated, is the atomic bombing that all peace movements acclaim: âNo more Hiroshimas!â
Read More(ANALYSIS) In a summer when world leaders debate regulation of artificial intelligence and digital platforms scramble to retain user trust, Pope Leo XIV is offering a different vision â rooted not in control but in communion, not in efficiency but in encounter. Over a million young people under the Roman twilight, that invitation resonated â not as nostalgia, but as a hopeful step into the future.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Ask Harvard University. But first, British philosopher John Locke said each person has God-given rights to life, liberty, and property. Americaâs Declaration of Independence replaced âpropertyâ with âthe Pursuit of Happinessâ as among humansâ âunalienable Rights ⌠endowed by their Creator.â On the brink of the Declarationâs 250th anniversary, just how can happiness be pursued?
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