In a day punctuated by prayer and references to God, Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday as the 47th president of the United States. “I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump said in his inaugural speech, alluding to the failed assassination attempt against him last July during a Pennsylvania rally.
Read MoreChristians in Iran were sentenced to a combined total of over 250 years in prison last year — a sixfold increase compared to 2023, according to a new report. In all, 96 Christians were sentenced to a combined 263 years behind bars in 2024. That’s compared to 22 Christians sentenced to 43½ years in 2023.
Read MoreAmerican churches are finding new ways to adapt and rebuild after facing crises like political polarization, the pandemic and even natural disasters. While some congregations struggle to stay afloat, others are embracing diversity, tough conversations and community engagement in an effort to become more resilient in the age of Trump.
Read More(ANALYSIS) MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to end racial discrimination and economic injustice — to build the “beloved community,” as he often said. But King does not fully explain the phrase’s meaning in his sermons and writings.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the U.S. State Department determined the atrocities in Darfur as amounting to genocide. The statement refers to the atrocities following the conflict unleashed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The date was October 4, 1997, and the MSNBC producers on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., had a problem. Actually, they had several problems. The main problem was that the million or so Promise Keepers men (D.C. crowd estimates were already a highly politicized affair) gathered for the Stand in the Gap rally keep singing, praying, reading their Bibles, listening to sermons and confessing their sins.
Read More(REVIEW) “Brave the Dark” is easily the best movie the faith-based film industry has released about the struggles of young men. It’s by far the best Angel Studios movie to date. There’s a major gender shift happening in American Christianity. Church pews have largely been filled by women, even as the pulpits were dominated by men. Women are abandoning church and men are starting to flock to it.
Read MoreIn one Kenyan church, most of the congregants were deaf, as were the choristers and choirmaster. The singing was muted — only lips moved, while bodies swayed with swan-like grace — while hands waved to the delightful rhythm of the drum beats. Even the minister, the Rev. George Obonyo, is deaf.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Israel and Hamas’ new ceasefire deal promises to bring much-needed relief to the region after 15 months of brutal conflict. But a series of uncertainties continues to loom large. Many pivotal questions remain unanswered, and their resolution will determine whether this ceasefire is a genuine step towards lasting peace or merely a temporary reprieve.
Read More(REVIEW) Born to Jewish parents who converted to Catholicism, Tamara Rosa Hurwitz married prominent lawyer Tadeusz Łempicki and adopted the feminine version of his last name, Łempicka. They lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, until the Russian Revolution of 1917 forced them to flee the country. The couple moved to Paris, where Łempicka studied under Maurice Denis and André Lhote, both important figures of cubism and fauvism.
Read MoreBy mid-January, the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires in the Los Angeles area destroyed thousands of homes and other buildings — including many churches — in an area of greater than 62 square miles, killing at least 24. But Christians outpoured support and supplies.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Catholic Church was one of the social and ideological pillars of Francoism from the moment of the coup, as evidenced by the ‘Collective letter of all Spanish bishops’, made public July 1, 1937 to support a movement that “has strengthened the sense of homeland” and “has guaranteed order in the territory.” The same regime that was born out of a “crusade” with the purpose of shielding the power and traditional privileges of the church, ended up creating a prison to imprison priests critical of power.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case involving a Texas law requiring adult websites to verify the age of their users. Known as Texas House Bill (H.B.) 1181, the legislation requires websites to verify their users are at least 18 years old if at least one-third of their hosted content is considered “harmful to minors,” such as pornography.
Read MoreIsrael and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire deal — pausing a brutal 15-month war in the hard-hit Gaza Strip with an eye towards ending one of the deadliest Middle Eastern conflicts in modern history. The provisional deal came weeks after negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha involving mediators from Qatar and Egypt, working with Israeli and U.S. officials.
Read MoreAfrica, with more Christians than any other continent, has in Nigeria the deadliest nation for believers at the hands of Islamic terrorists and suffers persistently high violence in a dozen countries in its sub-Saharan region. Add to that the civil war in Sudan that has created the largest displacement crisis in the world, as well as lingering civil wars elsewhere, and it’s no wonder that an additional 15 million Christians are suffering high levels of persecution.
Read MorePete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, avowed that he is a Christian who “robustly supports” Israel and its war against Hamas in Gaza. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, provided favorable coverage of Israel on the network and said that his time in the U.S. Army turned him into a supporter of the Jewish state.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Any presidential election causes a real problem for me. I do get asked to talk to reporters and do webinars and write pieces for major outlets about the role that faith played at the ballot box. There’s one issue: I just don’t have access to any reliable data for a very long time after an election.
Read MoreThe rise in land disputes involving religious institutions in Uganda has triggered a trend of demolishing of churches and mosques throughout the country, raising religious freedom concerns over safety regarding places of worship. The issue has become a major problem across the country, a trend that has intensified over the last four years.
Read MoreThe book, six years in the making, vividly recreates Pope Francis’ childhood in Buenos Aires and offers few new insights into his papacy. The book is enhanced by remarkable photographs, including private and unpublished material made personally available by Francis himself. He tackles a series of topics, including the future of the church, social policy, migration and the environmental crisis.
Read MoreDepending on the source, Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Meta platforms will jettison fact-checking protocols in favor of community notes is either a threat to democracy or a return to the spirit of free speech from when he co-founded Facebook in 2004.
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