(OPINION) Female genital mutilation stands for more than a medical procedure that inflicts temporary pain and suffering. FGM is a severe violation of human rights of women and girls. FGM is a human rights violation that results in physical and psychological consequences that women and girls have to deal with for the rest of their lives.
Read More(OPINION) Ukraine's ecclesiastical history, like its political history, is highly complex. Whether the nation faces a military invasion or less bloody subversion and hoped-for domination, journalists these next few years will need to understand and depict the religious aspect of Ukraine’s nationalism and resistance against Russian expansionism.
Read More(OPINION) As Russia amasses troops on the Ukrainian border in preparation for a potential invasion, tensions between the two countries are also playing out through a conflict in the Orthodox Church.
Read More(REVIEW) “Prey” is a meticulously researched book, and Ali offers us page after page of grim statistics to support her thesis that the surge of immigration into Europe in 2015 has led to a surge in sexual violence.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in goes high-tech — with stories about online worship, virtual reality church and Wordle as ritual. Plus, catch up, as always, on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) After seeing 2018 General Synod reports, the Anglican Church of Canada’s research and statistics expert produced an analysis that said projections of the data indicate that there will be no members, attenders or givers in the Anglican Church of Canada by approximately 2040.
Read More(OPINION) Read enough about Bitcoin, and you’ll inevitably come across people who refer to the cryptocurrency as a religion. Bloomberg’s Lorcan Roche Kelly called Bitcoin “the first true religion of the 21st century.” There is even a Church of Bitcoin, founded in 2017, that explicitly calls legendary Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto its “prophet.”
Read More(OPINION) The 2022 Beijing Games are surrounded by controversy. The Chinese government is accused of genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. Evidence shows the Uyghur people are held in concentration camps, forcibly sterilized and subjected to forced labor, torture, rape and sexual violence.
Read More(OPINION) Year after year, America’s drug overdose crisis is worsening. In the 12-month period ending in June 2021, the most recent period for which there is reliable data, more than 101,000 people died from drug overdose in the U.S., — an increase of more than 20% from the previous year.
Read More(OPINION) The Beijing Winter Olympics are quickly approaching and being held in China’s capital city. A major question is, “Do elite international athletes have a moral responsibility to publicly comment or act in a way that acknowledges their awareness of oppressive — or worse — political conditions in nations in which they compete?”
Read More(OPINION) A recent Pew survey found that 40% of countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019. But a few caveats bring a greater understanding of how blasphemy laws and hate speech laws are impacting believers and nonbelievers today.
Read More(OPINION) An in-depth report released last week alleges that former Pope Benedict XVI allowed four abusive priests in Munich to remain in ministry. The pope, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, led the German archdiocese from 1977 to 1982.
Read More(OPINION) It is only February, and 2022 has brought enough concerning news for refugees. It is estimated that 82.4 million people are displaced worldwide, 42% of whom are children. For 51 million, displacement is a result of flaring conflict and violence. Most new displacements occurred in Africa. This trend will continue.
Read More(OPINION) Open Doors’ newly published World Watch List reveals significant changes in the situation of Christian minorities around the world. According to the research, the persecution of Christians has reached the highest levels since the World Watch List began nearly 30 years ago.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights coverage of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and presents a special panel discussion. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) There’s nothing pious about the modern Olympic Games. The modern version, organized by the International Olympic Committee, is more spectacle than spirit. The looming Winter Games, however, have triggered a reaction among some that has large moral implications — are you a bad person for watching the Olympics?
Read More(OPINION) The man who took a rabbi and three congregants hostage in Colleyville, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2022, believed that Jews control the United States of America.
Read More(OPINION) The start of 2022 has brought many conversations and books that talk about America being led to another Civil War. Americans are more divided than they were during the first civil war, David French, a political and Christian conservative, explains.
Read More(OPINION) As a historian of religion interested in how different cultures make sense of death, Natasha Mikles noticed what appeared to be a momentous cultural shift in happening in America in terms of death rituals as over 850,000 Americans died from COVID-19.
Read More(OPINION) The many cases of anti-Catholic vandalism have been documented by me here in recent years. Also well-documented has been the number of professionals in the mainstream media who keep overlooking such criminal activities.These incidents just keep happening, yet they continue to be given little to no mainstream news coverage.
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