(ANALYSIS) The Justice Department is in a legal fight against Tennessee and, by extension, all 26 states with laws that forbid or restrict “gender-affirming” transition treatments for youths under the age of 18. Observers of the recent U.S. Supreme Court arguments in this United States v. Skrmetti case figure the Court will favor federalism, allowing states leeway for such limitations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Changes in the film industry, and the changing demographics of family life in America, mean we’re likely to see a more movies in the future that are focused on faith. You might say the future of Christmas films is very much faith-based. One of the most fascinating things is the collapse of the Christmas movie and the rise of the faith-based genre happened around the same time.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Let’s start here: The people of Pensacola, North Carolina, are truly grateful for the waves of supplies, clothing, food and even Christmas gifts they have received from religious organizations, nonprofits, civic groups and businesses both large and small.
Read MoreFor the popular CBS drama “Blue Bloods,” the “End of Tour” — as the final episode is dubbed — brings an emotional farewell. People of faith who love the show lament its conclusion.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The installation was a two-month project in religion, technology and art titled “Deus in Machina,” created at the University of Lucerne. The original Latin phrase literally means “god from the machine”; it refers to a plot device used in Greek and Roman plays, introducing a god to resolve an impossible problem or conflict facing the characters.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Christmas is a good news, bad news situation in Pensacola, a tiny community in the Cane River Valley, high in the mountains of North Carolina. The good news is that Hurricane Helene’s flooding — which washed away almost everything at the town's crossroads — was followed by waves of volunteers and relief shipments from churches, nonprofits and businesses large and small.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Today, I am especially interested in what is happening with the Republican party in a post-Trump America. I have some data that offer a little bit of a window into who evangelicals might vote for when Trump’s name is not on the primary ballot.
Read MoreA new unique project in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan seeks to both revive and repurpose an architectural gem that survived the Soviet Union and decades of harsh weather. The Center for Contemporary Art residencies will be a unique cultural space in the heart of Tashkent. The site was built as a madrassa during the 1880s but, during the Soviet era, was used as a carpentry space.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s universal for kids when they lose their way or skin their knees to call out for their parents. But from my experience as a parent, and now a grandparent, children more often cry for their mommy.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many Bible readings during Christmas services will recount that the infant Jesus escaped murder at the hands of paranoid King Herod because Egypt provided safe refuge to the fleeing Holy Family (per Matthew 2:13-15).
Read More(ANALYSIS) Dec. 8 marks the celebration of Bodhi Day in Japanese Buddhism. Bodhi means enlightenment or awakening in Sanskrit. It commemorates the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti — “the most high-profile case of its term.” The case concerns a Tennessee law blocking gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
Read MoreWhy are so many young men converting to Orthodoxy? Men seek the beauty and strength found in Orthodox Christianity and many are driven to convert — no matter what. The women in their lives? They may feel like they’re in the “passenger seat” of that car.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Year after year, Juan Diego's tilma is viewed by an estimated 20 million pilgrims, with more than 10 million visiting the basilica close to Dec. 12 — the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas. Around the world, throngs march in parades and sacred processions behind copies of this iconic Marian image.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Episcopal Church has posted some new data related to the life of the church in 2023. From a purely quantitative perspective, no denomination is better than the Episcopalians. Being able to triangulate a variety of trends is the ideal way to get a complete picture of what’s happening in those churches across the United States.
Read MoreMuch of France is focused on the trial of eight people stemming from the 2020 beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by Abdoullah Anzorov, an 18-year-old Muslim immigrant from Chechnya. Anzorov is not on trial since he was shot dead by police after his butchery. The focus now is on those who encouraged and enabled him. This raises difficult questions about legal limits on speech, especially where religion is concerned.
Read MoreHigh Church parishes saw ethnic minorities as “not good enough” or unworthy. Charismatic evangelical churches were hostile towards Black leaders. And traditional rural conservative churches viewed anyone not white with suspicion, classing them as “foreign.” Only the progressive urban church was a truly welcoming and diverse space.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Nov. 28, 2024, six state parties referred the “Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” to the International Criminal Court, expressing concern about the severe deterioration of the human rights situation in Afghanistan, especially for women and girls.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Whatever their partisan preferences, Americans can agree that the coming four years under President Donald Trump will bring major disruptions and contentions in politics. How might that affect religion?
Read More(ANALYSIS) The genre faces a demographic cliff. The market for faith-based films has always been driven by Christian moms. And as I wrote last year, with fewer women getting married and having kids (and single women increasingly leaving Christianity), that market is inevitably going to shrink. A big shift may actually save the long-term future of faith-based films: The rise of a more masculine American church.
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