Ireland — once a bastion of Catholicism — has become a more secular, pluralistic nation. In the 2022 census, 14 percent of respondents reported having no religion, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. That’s a rise of nearly 100,000 people since the 2016 census. With more Irish people moving away from organized religion, non-religious weddings, have become increasingly common.
Read More(REVIEW) Paul Seabright’s “The Divine Economy: How Religions Compete for Wealth, Power and People” does not take into account what’s true, but does explore well what pays. Churches compete with theaters and other entertainment venues. They also compete with each other and offer explicit or implicit inducements.
Read MorePresident Biden and Donald Trump clinched their parties’ presidential nominations in March, setting up a 2016 general election rematch. The outcome was never in doubt as both Biden and Trump cruised to victory. Here’s a look at the two major party candidates, their third-party challengers and what they’ve said about faith.
Read MoreIn her new book “Motorhome Prophecies,” Carrie Sheffield writes about growing up as the fifth of eight children with a violent and mentally ill street musician father who believed he was a modern-day Mormon prophet destined to someday become U.S. president. She and her siblings were forced to live as vagabonds, constantly moving across the country. Here’s what else she had to say about her life and faith.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The U.N. Security Council recently heard a new report on sexual violence in conflict (conflict-related sexual violence, also referred to as CRSV) prepared by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The report, which covers the period from January to December 2023, suggests that CRSV is on the rise. If the previous years were bad, the situation only got worse.
Read More(ANALYSIS) There is something different about how sci-fi movies deal with religion and how traditionally “faith-based” films do. And that is, quite obviously, when you think about it, that these movies treat faith like fiction and fantasy, whereas faith-based fiction treats it as fact. It’s the same as how comic books like Superman treat aliens as “real,” but no one would pretend these comics are making any claims about the existence of aliens.
Read MoreMohammed Soheb is a farmer in the northern Haryana state’s Nuh district, India’s least developed region. With a majority Muslim population, Nuh had been known for Hindu-Muslim harmony until July 2023, when a nine-day spate of communal violence disrupted that harmony. The unrest seemed to fit a pattern often seen in Hindu-Muslim relations in India.
Read More(OPINION) During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were all locked down, I suddenly had enormous stretches of time on my hands. I did a lot of reading. One thing I learned from all that reading was that I am, apparently, a jackleg Christian mystic.
Read MoreObituaries are hard to write. When a reporter tries to describe a complex person, who has lived a complex life, it’s rather like trying to write a biography in 700 to 1,000 words. In the end, you have to make choices about which facts and themes to stress.
Read MoreNo money, no phones, no school, no medicine — and no questions. This is what life was like in Canaan, the shrine of an African Apostolic faith church on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, where police last month rescued hundreds of people — including more than 250 children — forced to believe they were prepared to depart for heaven.
Read More(ANALYSIS) During his 2,454 days in captivity — between strategic moves among 20 or more hiding places in Lebanon — journalist Terry Anderson was often allowed by Hezbollah leaders to read a Bible.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Here are a few added observations to Religion Unplugged’s continued reporting this election year on vigorous agitation against “Christian Nationalism” as a threat to American democracy, with “White” often added to signal racial animus. This accompanies heavy breathing overall about fusing religion with politics in multiplied events, books, articles, Internet postings and broadcast punditry.
Read MoreMany across the world will celebrate Earth Day on Monday, which marks the 54th anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. The theme for Earth Day 2024 is the fight against plastic, aiming to increase awareness of the issue of pollution around the globe and its harmful effects on the environment.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Like the crowd that followed Jesus, do we miss an important sign pointing to the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Maybe.
Read MoreActually, we do need to talk about terms like “liberal” and “conservative” since the struggle to define these kinds of journalism labels was the hook for this week’s “Crossroads” podcast.
Read MoreStructured around an academic year of teaching law, the book explores monthly themes such as "Where is the Line Between Wrong and Evil?" and draws on experiences and legal case studies to discuss empathy in disagreement, trust across differences and challenging assumptions. The book is relevant for everyday community interactions during election years and beyond.
Read More“The Roof,” released as part of the second season of the platform’s “Launchpad” series, tells the coming-of-age story of a two-spirit Northern Cheyenne teenager (played by Phoenix Wilson) who is sent to live with their grandfather (played by Academy-Award winner Wes Studi). The two learn to connect and the teen gains an understanding of what it means to be two-spirit, while the grandfather opens up about his life.
Read MoreA law criminalizing gender transition care for minors in Idaho can be applied while two anonymous teenage plaintiffs’ challenge to the law continues in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15.
Read MoreAmid what many consider an increasingly hostile climate for Jewish students on campus, Hillel has updated its college guide, including a new feature that indicates whether students at a particular school have held a vote to boycott Israel.
Read MoreIt was the must-read article of the week, especially for anyone interested in how cultural, moral, political and, yes, religious issues are covered in one of America’s most influential newsrooms.
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