(ANALYSIS) Finland’s Supreme Court convicted Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola over a 2004 booklet on homosexuality, ordering its removal. The ruling, alongside developments in Canada and Iceland, raises concerns about expanding hate speech laws and their impact on religious expression and free speech in Europe and beyond.
Read More(REVIEW) “The House of David” Season Two improves on its strengths while refining its flaws, delivering a compelling biblical epic about power, faith and leadership. Despite some uneven pacing and character development, it offers a timely, countercultural vision of heroism grounded in moral responsibility.
Read More(REVIEW) Easter traditions like hot cross buns and chocolate eggs are widely enjoyed, but their deeper Christian meaning is often overlooked. Sister Liz Dodd’s book “Easter in Disguise” urges a return to the festival’s spiritual roots, encouraging reflection on justice, peace and radical discipleship during Lent and Holy Week.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Israel briefly barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, citing wartime security and triggering concerns over religious freedom. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed the decision, highlighting tensions between security measures and preserving Jerusalem’s sensitive religious status quo.
Read MoreThe text tells the story, or “katha,” of the ritual vow, or “vrata,” that women devotees perform to earn the favor of Swasthani, a local Nepali Hindu goddess.
Read MoreWhen Americans call President George Washington the “Father of His Country” it’s an honorary title based on politics and history. When modern citizens of the Republic of Georgia refer to Patriarch Ilia II as the “Godfather of Our Land” they are being quite literal, in terms of the rites and traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In an era when religious and moral differences often feel like threats to identity, cultivating an individual ethic of pluralism may be one of the most critical civic tasks before us. Pluralism is not who we are by default. But it can be who we become — slowly, deliberately and together.
Read MoreWhen “The Faithful: Women of the Bible” trusts the Bible’s voice, it does a great job of giving voice to the women that it portrays. Unfortunately, far too often, the filmmakers shout their own voices too loud for you to hear the real women they claim to be elevating.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Cesar Chavez, revered labor leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, built a legacy of nonviolent activism rooted in the Catholic faith. New allegations of decades-old sexual abuse now challenge his image, raising questions about power, morality and how society should reassess historical figures and their complicated legacies.
Read More(REVIEW) In 1954, the Oscar-winning composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold staged a European homecoming with a new operetta. How this came to pass — and how his planned comeback failed to materialize — is even more convoluted than the piece’s farcical plot. Korngold, a Jewish refugee from Vienna, first came to Hollywood to adapt Felix Mendelssohn’s music for Max Reinhardt’s 1935 film of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Read MoreBefore the war broke out, knowledgeable observers agreed that a vast majority of long-suffering Iranians despised the ruling theocracy’s incompetence and oppression. So a revolution now might seem as likely as in 1979, when such widespread revulsion brought down one dictator, only to be replaced by another one.
Read MoreIn the past three years, Bahrain, a small Middle-Eastern country off the coast of the Arab Peninsula, has been promoting women’s empowerment despite its strict religious laws and criticism from religious clerics.
Read MoreOn Antarctica’s King George Island, the 22-year-old Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church stands as a striking symbol of faith and craftsmanship. Built in Siberia, shipped across the world and rebuilt near Russia’s Bellingshausen Station, the wooden chapel draws visitors awed by its beauty, resilience and unlikely presence amid ice and penguins.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Democratic Senate candidacy of James Talarico in Texas represents more than a conventional partisan contest. If he succeeds, it would signal a reopening of that religious space for the left. If he fails, it will only reinforce the notion that overtly Christian rhetoric remains the domain of conservative politics.
Read MoreThe island unfolds as a constellation of churches and cathedrals. Malta is often said to have more churches per square mile than any other country in the world. Whether or not that statistic is exact is debatable, but the impression is undeniable. While St. Paul’s arrival links Malta to the early church, Caravaggio’s genius shows just how powerful this belief has been over the centuries.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Silent retreats have become increasingly common in the United States in recent years. To calm down and reset their nervous systems, people relinquish their phones and reading materials and commit to speaking at a bare minimum to learn practices of self-awareness.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In theory, many Christians support pacifism or non-violent resistance, but for Iranian Christians, those theories are challenged by the harsh realities of a hellish regime and an ongoing war. This question of ‘just war’ has a long history, going back to the first centuries of the church.
Read More(REVIEW) Marking the 150th anniversary of Gwen John’s birth, the exhibition “Gwen John: Strange Beauties” explores how her conversion to Catholicism shaped her art. Featuring paintings and rarely seen works on paper, it reveals how faith, solitude and subtle repetition informed the Welsh artist’s quietly modern and deeply contemplative practice.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Having spent a considerable amount of time in Ireland over the past year, St. Patrick’s Day will mean something different for me this year — and, probably, in years to come. Growing up, attending Catholic school, St. Patrick’s Day meant not having to wear the standard uniform — dark blue plaid jumpers with white blouses for the girls — in favor of bright green.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, debates about religious freedom continue to occupy the center of American public life.
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