The caste system's historical legacy has prohibited dalits from owning land nationwide, and this pattern remains prominent in India's Sikh-majority state of Punjab, which has a population of about 30 million.
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(ANALYSIS) Pope Francis’ recent apostolic journey to Hungary (my home) was at once exciting and disconcerting. A papal visit is always exciting, and like other Christians in Hungary (Catholic and not), I was encouraged by the Holy Father’s presence among us. Conversely it was hard not to be worried about the apparent imprimatur that might be given to the “political Christianity” championed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government.
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(OPINION) During the recent Global Anglican Future Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, Raffel was one of several bishops — 315 attended, from 52 nations — who stressed that traditionalists now need to look forward. It's time to focus on life in their rapidly growing churches while dedicating less time and energy to clashes with declining churches in England, America, Canada and elsewhere.
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(OPINION) Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are good things. But DEI is like trying to change the world through law. There’s a better way: love. I think love is UEE: unity, equality and exclusions.
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“We are now going to have two Communions of Anglicans going forward, the Global South Anglicans who are keeping to the teachings of the scripture and the Global North Anglicans who are preaching and practicing a watered-down gospel,” said the Rev. Tom Otieno, the vicar of Saint Barnabas Anglican Church of Kenya in Nairobi.
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(OPINION) If the Anglican Communion did not suffer schism on April 21, it’s the next best thing. A declaration issued that day at the conclusion of an international church assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, means the media and other religion-watchers should gird loins for years of maneuvers, legalities, confusion and acrimony.
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(OPINION) The archbishop of Canterbury is attempting a classic Anglican maneuver in which the words of core doctrines remain unchanged, but bishops have the option to offer local pastoral policies that change what doctrines mean in real life, according to Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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Now the woman, known as Betty, is among the 98 people who fasted to death in the doomsday cult headed by Pastor Paul Mackenzie which has left Kenyans — and the world — shocked. With the Kenya Red Cross reporting more than 100 people still missing, the toll could reach 200 and beyond. From President William Ruto to church leaders and the public, Kenyans are now calling on the government to tighten laws governing the opening and operation of churches.
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(OPINION) Among a host of crazy Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs, one of the most bizarre is the idea that they have preserved the real pronunciation of the Hebrew language, which they call Lashawan Qwadash. This is similar to claiming that Pig Latin is the true form of English or that William Shakespeare was famous for shaking a spear. It is that patently and blatantly absurd.
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(OPINION) The future journalist was both shocked and inspired by her contact with Christians caught in that land's toxic climate of paramilitary warfare, drug trafficking and kidnappings. She struggled to grasp how someone like pilot Russell Martin Stendal, after years held for ransom, could forgive his kidnappers and then start a missionary effort to convert them.
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Amritpal Singh was born in Jullupur Khera in the Amritsar district of Punjab. He reportedly enrolled himself in a polytechnic college before moving to Dubai to join a transport business in 2012. In 2022 he returned to India to take over the leadership of “Waris Punjab De” after founder Deep Sidhu died on Feb. 15, 2022 in a vehicle accident.
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(OPINION) “Creating the Quran” will certainly offend believers in the orthodox view that between 610 and his death in 632, Muhammad, guided by the angel Gabriel, received God’s verbatim words, memorized them, dictated them to scribes and confirmed the entirety of the Quran’s revelations as they exist today.
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(ANALYSIS) As a Muslim-Pakistani woman who is also a journalist, I find myself unable to turn off from such news. In these cases, what set me off more is that unlike previous instances of violence against women where a certain amount of support and discussion helped me deal with the fear and anger that accompanies such news, Khan’s and Muhammad’s untimely deaths were met with silence.
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(OPINION) One of the most common (and pernicious) Hebrew Israelite lies is that Isaac and Rebekah’s son Esau, also known as Edom, was White and that Whites today are his descendants, vilified as “White Edomite Devils.”
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(ANALYSIS) Spiritual motherhood is brought to life through sacred, ancient myths like the Ukrainian women who co-create the world anew each morning through their perpetual creation of pysanky eggs. And particularly now, spiritual mothers like Zielyk are inviting each of us to step into our own individual and collective sacred stories through art, beauty and creativity.
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Christians like Stanislav Syniy are living in war times on adrenaline as they volunteer to provide, food, clothing and other supplies to people in need. They pray as they go, hoping for an end to a conflict that has destroyed parts of their homeland and left an estimated hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers dead.
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Reuters reported that more than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations. But the new law emerging in Uganda would be the first to outlaw people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, according to Human Rights Watch.
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(ESSAY) For almost a century, two of the most powerful and culturally influential institutions in the West — the church and Hollywood — have lived in near constant enmity with each other. Why is this? Does it have to be this way? Is there hope for unity? Much like Scripture, I was taken with the wonderful narratives I was invited into through film. But it was confusing to see an inspiring and entertaining movie on Saturday night and then be told how evil it was on Sunday morning.
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(OPINION) Politically, rallying Hindus around one overarching religious figure has been a key component of the BJP’s strategy to create a new pan-Hindu identity that transcends its myriad traditions and caste hierarchies, which are considered a roadblock to Hindu political unity.
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Religious studies scholar Bradley Onishi traces the modern history of Christian nationalism and how it relates to current events in his new book “Prepping for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next.” He starts with how a select group of Supreme Court cases led to the creation of the modern religious right and how they moved to support right-wing populist leaders. Onishi connects this history to the Donald Trump presidency and the attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021.
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