In a presentation at the Associated Church Press annual convention in Chicago, our Weekend Plug-in columnist reflects on his experience covering natural disasters.
Read More
Here are three questions for news consumers who are paying attention to pre-conclave news. These questions play a crucial role in this weekâs âCrossroadsâ podcast, which focuses on some elite mainstream press coverage of the unfolding drama in Rome.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) One of the most interesting lines of survey research in the last couple of years has been led by Tyler VanderWeele at Harvard. Itâs focused on a fairly simple but incredibly consequential aspect of life â human flourishing.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, has pushed India and Pakistan into one of their most dangerous standoffs in recent years. Daily gunfire is being reported across the Line of Control and diplomatic ties have been cut off and military activity is intensifying between the majority Hindu nation and their Muslim neighbors.
Read More
Pizzaballaâs name has been included in almost every list â in secular and Catholic media â of âpapabile,â or âpope ableâ candidates to fill the Chair of Saint Peter. Thus, journalists and church insiders have dissected sermons and addresses by Pizzaballa and other popular âpapabile,â searching for clues about their stands on doctrine, worship and pastoral issues in the wake of the tumultuous Francis papacy.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Parents and caregivers â especially those from urban areas or with less economic stability â felt that the church could do more to support early childhood development and address their community's needs. This is where Black and Latino community churches and faith leaders need to step in to support families.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion and Harvard University's Human Flourishing Program, along with Gallup and the Center for Open Science, released on Wednesday the first findings of their ongoing worldwide survey examining what makes for human flourishing.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) In the United States, April is designated as Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month and is aimed at commemorating and raising awareness about genocides that occurred in the past, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Hereâs a religion and politics story from the 2024 election that I hadnât really thought about until recently: J.D. Vance, Trumpâs pick for vice president, converted to Catholicism in 2019.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) With Pope Francisâ funeral in the rearview mirror, the focus at the Vatican shifts to the forthcoming papal conclave and the process of electing the next pontiff. The Catholic Church is bigger than one single pope, but talk of Francisâ legacy lingers as the church finds itself at a crossroads. It is also something the next pope will have to contend with.
Read More
Saturdayâs majestic open-air funeral for Pope Francis is now followed by election of the next pope by the College of Cardinals in a process shrouded in secrecy. Indeed, the Latin root for âconclaveâ means âlocked roomâ). Its legendary status was underscored in January when the fictionalized movie thriller âConclaveâ was nominated for Best Picture and other Oscars.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) The breakdown of the non-White evangelical vote may tell the story of the 2024 election when it comes to religion. Republicans have historically struggled with this group of voters. But it was essentially split in 2024 â Harris 49% and Trump at 48%.
Read More
When the leader of the worldâs estimated 1.4 billion Catholics passes, itâs always banner-headline news.
Read More
Above all, Francis preached dialogue and âsynodality,â but promoted (and protected) his allies while and punishing his most powerful critics. Under his orders, the Vatican often hinted at major changes â with a vague footnote, a blunt quotation to reporters or documents that served as ecclesiastical executive orders. In the end, he appointed 108 of the 135 cardinal electors who will select the next pope.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Truth is, many parishes in Europe are growing. But others are dying. As one theologian noted in a 1969 German radio interview, Catholicism was entering a time of painful decline in the modern world. But that was not the end of the story. Easter follows Good Friday.
Read More
El escritor peruano Mario Vargas Llosa, laureado con el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 2010, falleciĂł en Lima el 13 de abril. CrĂticos y seguidores han dedicado los Ășltimos dĂas y semanas a analizar la obra y el legado de este renombrado intelectual, polĂtico, novelista y ensayista âconsiderado por muchos como una de las figuras mĂĄs importantes de la literatura mundial contemporĂĄnea.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature, died in Lima on April 13. His critics and followers have spent the last few days and weeks analyzing the work and legacy of this renowned intellectual, politician, novelist and essayist â arguably one of the most important figures in contemporary world literature. Vargas Llosa is often regarded as the last of the great writers from the Latin American âBoom of the 1960s.â
Read More
(ANALYSIS) Itâs easy to label someone who never goes to church as nonreligious, but when you go one layer deeper â to the afterlife â you can see that thereâs still a whole lot of people with some level of religious belief.
Read More
(ANALYSIS) âAmericans have lost faith in traditional religion,â announces the sweeping first sentence of a contentious book published during Holy Week: âWhy Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America.â
Read More
(ANALYSIS) I was not planning on writing about Francis this morning or tomorrow. Instead, I was planning on writing about the signs pointing to what I believe is the biggest religion story in Christianity around the world.
Read More