This landmark four-day gathering — convened under the theme “Where now for visible unity?” — marks a significant moment in the century-long journey of ecumenical dialogue.
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(OPINION) After participating in multiple protests this year opposing authoritarianism, a Christian minister reflects on how people of faith can help sustain the growing No Kings movement — with hope, humor, and moral clarity. The “No Kings” movement, thank God, has only just begun.
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American attitudes about religion’s role in public life are shifting as a growing share of adults saying religion is gaining influence in society — with most viewing that trend positively, according to a new study. The percentage of U.S. adults who believe religion is gaining influence in American life jumped from 18% to 31%.
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When fans of the soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were assaulted in the streets of Amsterdam after a game last November, the violence drew comparisons to pogroms. It even prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dispatch rescue planes to evacuate Israeli citizens. Once again there are fears of a repeat outbreak of violence, this time over a match in Birmingham, England.
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For thousands of devotees, the journey across the border is not just a trip; it is a reclamation of history, heritage and faith. As Prakash Purab approaches, the pilgrimage carries more than spiritual meaning. It represents the enduring resilience of a community whose beliefs and traditions transcend the walls of politics and conflict.
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In 2006, I was able to travel to Israel for the first time. Even as a child, I had learned from my father about the spiritual legacy of the Jewish people, the land God had given them, and how He had protected them. And, best of all, during that amazing year, I was able to set foot on the land myself. There I began to meet and come to know Israelis as friends and allies, and to see with my own eyes the biblical heritage I had inherited as a Christian believer.
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The 10:33 Initiative is a faith-based initiative to help lift Arkansans out of poverty by connecting the poor with local faith and community partners who can assist them in moving from crisis to career. It has already assisted over 7,500 families by helping clients create a personalized plan with achievable steps across 13 different areas, such as housing, employment, transportation, and education.
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Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo clashed sharply over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday night, in the first televised debate for New York City mayor, their first major showdown since the young democratic socialist stunned the former governor in the Democratic primary.
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If the president of the United States boards Air Force One for a dramatic trip to Israel — in the larger symbolic region often called the “Holy Land” — please consider putting at least one or two skilled religion-beat specialists on the airplane.
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A reporting trip to middle-of-nowhere western Idaho got our Weekend Plug-in columnist thinking about the speck-on-the-map places that chasing stories takes him.
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(ANALYSIS) What’s striking about this ceasefire is not just how tentative it is, but how deeply entwined the experiences of Jews and Muslims have become — not in harmony, but in suffering. Both communities claim moral righteousness. Both grieve their dead. And both are trapped in narratives of fear and survival that often leave little room for compassion or compromise.
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Ignoring pleas from animal rights advocates to denounce bullfighting and its close ties with Spanish Catholicism, Pope Leo XIV is aligning himself with Spain’s bishops, who remain hesitant to condemn the cruelty of the popular bloodsport. Animal rights groups see a red flag, arguing that the practice, which dates back centuries, is barbaric.
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(ANALYSIS) I can’t imagine I will ever teach a course on Research Methods again, but it’s something that I actually really did enjoy at EIU. I led our incoming graduate students on a tour of how political science tries to answer questions every fall for at least eight years. It was a difficult course, no doubt. But I think that many of my students left with a lot of really practical skills and a much better understanding of research design.
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(ANALYSIS) European lawmakers have criticized Serbia’s use of force against anti-government protesters. But the Serbian Orthodox Church — representing 85 percent of the country’s population — has been largely urged the student protestors to “go back to their classes” and not protest.
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The bottom line: Weiss (a liberal Jew who is married to another woman) has demonstrated a strong belief that real religious believers, acting on real religious beliefs, can shape real news events in the real world.
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Next year, a new feature-length presentation of the Crucifixion will hit the big screen. It’ll mark the culmination of the much-anticipated Season 6 of the worldwide phenomenon “The Chosen.” What should viewers expect? Will it be similar to — or different from — “The Passion” version?
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The ongoing federal government shutdown furloughed 57 members of The Commonwealth of Faith Church in Michigan, where a third of the 350 attendees are federal workers, including bivocational Pastor Torion Bridges and his wife Jasmine.
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The plan, if adopted in full, would eventually end the two-year war that started when Hamas killed almost 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped about 250. Israel’s attacks on the Gaza strip, where the hostages were taken, have since killed at least 66,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry says, and left much of the enclave in ruins.
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(ANALYSIS) A reporter asked the Pope about the decision to give a U.S. Senator Dick Durbin a lifetime achievement award. The problem: Durbin consistently backs abortion rights and remains barred from receiving Holy Communion in Springfield, Illinois, his home diocese.
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(ANALYSIS) The question of whether Christianity is under attack, especially in the United States, is a complex and deeply polarizing one. Is it discrimination? Is it part of an overall decline? Is it a cultural shift? It could very well be a combination of all three.
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