For years, Fairfax church members — including older Christians such as Harrington, Jan Johnson and Juanita Wheeler — have connected in person with immigrants through FriendSpeak. But when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown came in the spring of 2020, face-to-face studies with friends from China, El Salvador, Syria and elsewhere became impossible.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a child, the late Mwai Kibaki was taken to school by Consolata Missionaries because he did not have the strength for the back-breaking tasks of peasant farming and looking after animals. Those early interactions with Catholics became evident in Kibaki’s moderate dealings as a lecturer, politician and eventual president of Kenya.
Read MoreIn the 1980s and ‘90s, modest religious dressing in Kenya meant a very restricted wardrobe — one solid color of fabric stitched and sold in select shops run by members of the church. Today, trend-conscious religious millennials are changing the dress code, not necessarily by dressing immodestly but by adding twists of artsy, modern style.
Read MoreThe Kenya Film Classification Board recently banned the documentary film “I am Samuel” about a religious gay man’s struggle for acceptance from his family and country, sparking debate on the rights of the LGBTQ community as well as interpretations of the Bible on same-sex relationships.
Read More(OPINION) Though Christianity later became preponderant in Europe and America, the assertion that it is a White man’s religion is neither historically accurate nor theologically correct.
Read MoreTanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli died of a heart attack on March 17 after frequently citing prayer as the best way to ward off the coronavirus. His political opponents are claiming he died of COVID-19, there is not evidence of that claim.
Read MoreIn Africa, there are deep-seated traditional beliefs that life-threatening illnesses originate from a generational curse, witchcraft or as a punishment from God, and that seeps into some church teachings too. Kenyans with terminal illnesses talk to Religion Unplugged about how they’ve sought solace for themselves, and pastors and a psychiatrist weigh in.
Read MoreA rock formation in rural Kenya attracts pilgrims from a variety of Christian sects that mix Catholic and Anglican practices with traditional African paganism. Some even receive angelic messages, they say.
Read MoreIn Kenya, Evangelical churches backed Donald Trump in the elections, but other Christians went for Joe Biden, including Barack Obama’s grandmother, whose village held a mock election in which a “Biden” beat “Trump.”
Read More(OPINION) Tanzania’s president has ignored science in battling COVID-19, opting for prayer instead. He is strongly criticized by his challenger in Oct. 28 presidential elections.
Read MoreJim Ryun, an American Olympic runner and former Congressman from Kansas, received the Presidential Medal of Honor the same day his Kenyan rival, who illegally thwarted a race Ryun was favored to win, died. Ryun spoke to Religion Unplugged about how he forgave his rivals and the faith that inspired him to keep running, even when he showed little athletic ability as a kid.
Read MoreChurches in Kenya are slowly reopening during the coronavirus pandemic, though some church leaders think their religious freedom is coming under fire with restrictions, including a limit of one hour for a worship service and a ban on adults 58 and older and youth younger than 18.
Read MoreIn his third attempt, Lazurus Chakwera, not unlike his biblical namesake, resurrected his political fortunes and was sworn in as president of Malawi. Apart from a senior leadership role in the Assembly of God as bishop, he was a sought-after theology professor supervising PhD candidates as far as Kenya and other African countries.
Read More(OPINION) Many churches and mosques in Africa are continuing to hold religious gatherings, some with government approval, despite the imminent threat of the novel coronavirus.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) While some mourn the death of Moi as a great leader who championed education and Christianity, others see a very different man— a dictator responsible for brutal violence and suppressing free speech.
Read MoreSome schools are requiring exams on Saturday, when Adventist students observe sabbath.
Read MoreOne woman said, “If he ever needed God, and Mother Mary and all the Saints, this is the time — that is why we are here, praying hard.” Kipchoge runs Oct. 12 in Vienna and has compared the feat to landing on the moon.
Read MoreThere is one person’s body of work that came to define outsiders’ views on African religion more than any other in the past 50 years: Prof. John Samuel Mbiti, a Christian philosopher, Anglican minister and writer from Kenya.
Read MoreAs funeral costs rise, the deaths and cremations of three high-profile Kenyans have sparked a nationwide discussion over the spiritual merits and harms of non-traditional burial methods.
Read MoreEleven NGOs petitioned the Kenyan government and won to force a Kenyan church to remove billboards aimed at expecting mothers considering abortion.
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