North America

The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s life was not without controversy. Still, the civil rights icon’s immense influence was evident in the wake of his passing.

A former Ohio worship pastor and “American Idol” contestant has been arrested in connection with the murder of his wife. Police arrested Caleb Flynn, 39, on Feb. 19, three days after responding to a burglary call at his suburban Dayton home and finding his wife Ashley Flynn, 37, shot dead.

(ANALYSIS) Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel will undergo a three-month restoration. The monumental fresco, completed in 1541, is famed for its dramatic imagery, bold nudes and layered Christian and pagan symbolism. A digital reproduction will be displayed to visitors during conservation work.

While most “Crossroads” podcasts focus on religion angles in major news stories, this week’s episode focused, you guessed it, on a short news “brief.” The problem is that we are talking about a brief about a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod story that, if the details had been accurate, was worthy of an A1 feature.

(REVIEW) When it came out, the film was a watershed moment for the faith-based film industry. It was the highest-grossing independent film of 2018. This showed that faith-based films could succeed in the mainstream commercially and critically. Not only did this create more investment in faith-based projects, but also shaped future films.

As the Diocese of Jackson advances Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for sainthood, Catholics reflect on her prophetic witness. A Mississippi teacher, scholar and evangelist, she challenged the church to recognize Black faith and everyday holiness — urging believers to see saints not only in Rome’s past, but in their own families.

Religious minorities in Iran are facing more persecution, human rights watchdog organizations warned in a report released on Thursday. Some policy analysts said last year’s conflict with Israel and the U.S. may have pushed the regime to look for a “scapegoat” to blame — and found it in religious and ethnic minorities.

Carl Lentz and his wife Laura announced a new book, “Overcoming Infidelity,” detailing their efforts to rebuild their marriage after his 2020 firing from Hillsong Church. The book offers practical guidance for couples seeking healing after betrayal. The book will help guide couples attempting to navigate the aftermath of betrayal.

As Holocaust survivors age, organizations are turning to AI-powered avatars to preserve their testimony. An interactive version of survivor Sonia Warshawski, created with StoryFile, allows students to ask questions about her life and experiences. Supporters call it the future of Holocaust education, while critics question its ethical and emotional limits.

Since Frederick Chiluba declared Zambia a Christian nation in 1991, religious rhetoric has shaped governance and elections in the African nation. Despite widespread faith, political corruption, poverty and inequality persists — leading some critics to argue the declaration remains largely symbolic rather than transformative in practice today.

The board of trustees for Providence Christian College in California voted to close the Reformed liberal arts school at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. The president’s announcement cites declining enrollments, rising operational costs, heightened accreditation expectations and the loss of federal funding.

Most U.S. Protestant churchgoers regularly confess their sins and try to avoid temptation, according to Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship study. Many say they quickly turn from sin and seek to obey God, though fewer report fully surrendering personal goals. Overall, respondents show a consistent desire for spiritual growth and obedience.

(ANALYSIS) It’s become my hobby horse at this point — non-denominational Protestant Christianity. I swear, it’s somehow gotten more legs than the “nones” in the larger cultural discussion about religion.

(ANALYSIS) People love to talk about “profound” philosophers. Socrates with his questions. Nietzsche with his hammer. Marx with his systems. But George Santayana rarely gets the same reverence, despite the unsettling precision of his view of modern life. Santayana is hard to place, which may be why he is often skipped.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon and a protege of Martin Luther King, Jr., died Tuesday at the age of 84 following a long fight with a rare brain disorder known as progressive supranuclear palsy. Jackson, a Baptist minister, was seen as the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement following King’s murder in 1968 and was known for using his Christian faith to fuel his political protests.

(ANALYSIS) Once again, Muslims across the globe are nearing the arrival of Ramadan — a sacred month in which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Ramadan is a time of strengthening our faith, cleansing both body and soul, counting our blessings and giving whatever we can to those less fortunate.

(ESSAY) Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor whose six-decade career spanned from “To Kill a Mockingbird” to “The Apostle,” died on Sunday at 95. Known for his soulful, searching performances, Duvall wove faith, redemption and human frailty into his movies, leaving behind a legacy defined by conviction, craft and spiritual depth.

(OPINION) Drawing on a quote attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald and a passage from Ecclesiastes, I look at the challenges today’s binary thinking. From immigration debates to religion and marriage, it argues that wisdom lies between extremes, where justice and compassion, conviction and humility, can coexist without flattening complex human realities in society.

The housing crisis in Nigeria is fueled by a shortage of affordable houses and a surplus of substandard houses. The Nigerian housing report has estimated that a housing deficit of 20 million units. The Millard Fuller Foundation allows beneficiaries to pay half of the cost of construction in an effort to create more housing that’s cheaper for residents.

The Anglican denomination continues to reject gay marriage, a decision it affirmed in 2023 while instead voting to pursue blessings. The vote to end the pursuit closed three years of work in the broader Living in Love and Faith initiative regarding identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage, that the church launched nine years ago.

(ANALYSIS) Former Irish President Mary McAleese argues that infant baptism violates children’s human rights by imposing church membership without consent. Critics respond that parents possess religious freedom in child-rearing, note historical and biblical defenses of infant baptism, and compare similar birth rituals across Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

It all started in the year 1445 when a baker was making a batch of pancakes when the church bell started ringing. Undeterred, the baker ran to the church, holding her pan and flipping the pancake as she went. Now, it is a beloved Fat Tuesday tradition in several communities across the United Kingdom.

(REVIEW) Ilhan Mohamed Abdi’s “The Ramadan Kitchen” blends memory, faith and flavor, drawing on her Somali and Egyptian heritage to explore Ramadan through food. Organized around suhoor, iftar, Eid and shared meals, the cookbook celebrates fasting, generosity and cross-cultural connection across nearly 80 recipes.

(ANALYSIS) Each Valentine’s Day, Hindu nationalist groups in India target couples, framing public affection as a cultural threat. Drawing on theories of moral panic, moral foundations and crowd psychology, this anxiety about social change, identity politics and purity-based values combine to justify moral policing and restrict personal freedom.

Lunar New Year is a widely celebrated cultural and religious festival observed across Asia and worldwide. Marking the start of a new lunar cycle, it blends ancient traditions, spiritual practices and symbolic foods that express hopes for prosperity, health and happiness while emphasizing family unity, renewal and reflection.

An upstate New Yorker developed a deep emotional attachment to ChatGPT, spending $900 trying to “free” it, before realizing it was a delusion. Experts warn AI relationships exploit loneliness, potentially harming mental health and spirituality. Churches and counselors are now addressing unhealthy AI attachments, helping people reconnect with real relationships and God.

(ANALYSIS) Fifteen years ago, Egyptians from all walks of life took to the street to demand “bread, freedom, social justice.” They were protesting the oppressive 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt had been under martial law for 31 years. This meant that political opposition was silenced, and opponents were often imprisoned and tortured. Police brutality was the norm.

(ANALYSIS) Love and hate seem like obvious opposites. Love, whether romantic or otherwise, involves a sense of warmth and affection for others. Hate involves feelings of disdain. Love builds up, whereas hate destroys. However, this description of love and hate treats them as merely emotions.

While reading some of the outraged commentary about the spectacular staff cuts at The Washington Post, I keep thinking of the immortal words of King Theoden of Rohan, when facing dark waves of evil during the Battle of Helm’s Deep. All together now: “How did it come to this?”