Politics
(ANALYSIS) Where are there lots of evangelical Christians in the United States, and where is it hard to find one? That’s actually a really difficult question to answer from a methodological perspective. Very few surveys offer enough granularity to provide rigorous state-level estimates, let alone data at the county level. But because of the rapid acceleration of Artificial Intelligence, I can actually provide you all with a really good answer now.
Perhaps not surprisingly, in a Bible Belt state such as Oklahoma, religion came up even in prison reporting — from Catholic bishops making appeals at clemency hearings to Allen, the inmate whose death I witnessed, declaring in her final statement, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
India recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech incidents in 2025, averaging more than three each day and overwhelmingly led by Hindu nationalist groups affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The report supports the inference that a political choice is behind the sustained scale of public incitement, which undermines both the rule of law and the idea of equal citizenship.
Violence against Christians has reached an all-time high in 15 countries, with 388 million people facing severe persecution worldwide, Open Doors reported. Nigeria remains the deadliest nation, while Syria saw the largest single-year rise amid instability. Other dangerous parts of the world include North Korea, Somalia and Yemen.
(ANALYSIS) When protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar in December, authorities misjudged them as limited economic unrest. Instead, demonstrations spread nationwide, killing thousands and drawing in ethnic minorities. The uprising exposed deep divides over change, revealing that centralized opposition visions failed to address Iran’s ethnic diversity adequately.
A Nigerian minister and humanitarian urged the U.S. government to use peaceful methods to address religious persecution during a Jan. 13 USCIRF hearing in Washington. Rebecca Dali said bombing worsened trauma for communities and encouraged intelligence-based cooperation, as witnesses testified about Christian persecution in multiple countries worldwide.
(OPINION) Days of protest across Iran left hundreds dead as authorities imposed an unprecedented internet blackout to suppress dissent. Social media nevertheless shaped mobilization, documentation and global awareness through diaspora networks and dissident media, revealing escalating demands for regime change through the use of technology.
History nerds rejoice! An incredibly detailed land-use survey and census from the 1500s, commissioned by none other than Henry VIII, will soon be digitally available to everyone, including genealogists, educators, researchers and community groups, thanks to a new $2 million project. The historic records, published under the title “Valor Ecclesiasticus,” or Value of the Church, were the Tudor equivalent of the Domesday Book.
(OPINION) Christian Reconstructionism was a small but influential movement within conservative Protestantism that argued society should be governed by biblical law. Originating with R. J. Rushdoony, its ideas spread through churches, homeschooling, and dominionist networks, shaping debates over religion, politics and culture in the United States.
Nigeria, Rwanda, China, Mozambique and Mexico were the most dangerous countries for Christians from 2023-2025 in five distinct categories of persecution, Global Christian Relief said in its second annual Red List.
(ANALYSIS) Iran’s leaders warned the United States and Israel of retaliation as nationwide protests challenged the Islamic Republic’s theocracy. Facing mounting deaths and unrest, Iranian officials framed dissent as foreign-backed chaos, tightened repression and escalated external threats, revealing a regime prioritizing clerical survival over popular consent.
(ANALYSIS) There’s this well-worn phrase you hear in Christian circles: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.” It’s often used by pastors to remind people that simply showing up on Sunday isn’t enough to be a faithful Christian. The point is that authentic faith is more than just checking a box once a week.
(ANALYSIS) Pope Leo XIV used an annual address to Vatican diplomats to warn that global politics had shifted toward militarism and force. Without naming any political leaders, he criticized war, erosion of international law and weakened human rights, positioning the Holy See as a moral counterweight to rising geopolitical tensions in many places around the world.
To Gwen Cummings, the late Marshall Keeble was more than a famous traveling evangelist. He was her “Pop.” Cummings shared her personal memories of Marshall and Laura Keeble, her great-grandparents who were more like grandparents to her.
Rather than answering blood with blood, many residents in one part of India turned to prayer, ritual and mutual care. This response has become as much a political statement as a spiritual one. In the days after deadly clashes took place, monks were visible in the streets. They organized food for families stranded by an imposed curfew, led quiet gatherings — and urged people to avoid retaliation.
(ANALYSIS) Nothing can provoke anger quicker than mercy, when it’s directed to the wrong kind of people.
Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, 53, said in an X post just before Christmas that said: "I'll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.”
A majority of New York voters believe that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s harsh criticism of Israel is a legitimate policy disagreement and that elected officials should challenge U.S. support for Israel, even if it upsets some voters, a new poll found. Views differ sharply among Jewish New Yorkers.
(ANALYSIS) The most important piece of data analysis in that post came from the Nationscape survey — a weekly study conducted between 2019 and early 2021. The total sample size was over 477,000 respondents, which means there were nearly five thousand Latter-day Saints in the dataset.
Militants have killed at least 58 individuals in Christian villages in northeastern and northcentral Nigeria since Christmas, and kidnapped others from a Catholic boarding school, according to numerous reports.
It is a fraught time to lead a Christian congregation. Church leaders are navigating concerns about President Donald Trump’s second term, ongoing ICE raids, difficult conversations following Charlie Kirk’s murder — and also trying to dodge spiritual and occupational burnout along the way.
Judge Alvin Kenneth Hellerstein, an Orthodox Jew who displays the Torah verse “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” — “Justice, justice you shall pursue” — on the walls of his chambers, is presiding over the case of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Hellerstein oversaw Monday’s arraignment of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who entered a plea of not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
A federal judge blocked a California policy that barred teachers from informing parents about students’ gender confusion, ruling it unconstitutional. The decision affirms parental rights, religious freedom, and teacher conscience protections, halting parental exclusion rules statewide while leaving similar policies intact in many other states.
The climb to Mar Musa al-Habashi monastery is deliberate and demanding — 340 stone steps wind up a stark, treeless mountain ridge in the Qalamun region. But complete the journey, and you’ll find a community of Muslims and Christians committed to interfaith dialogue and healing their nation.
A Hindu businessman was attacked by a mob in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district on Dec. 31. He was beaten with sharp weapons, doused in petrol and set on fire. This was the third such attack in a month — part of a larger pattern of violence against religious minorities since the fall of the previous government.
(OPINION) During the holidays I happened across several newspaper essays that said better than I can the very things I’ve been trying to write and preach about forever. I want to kick off 2026 by sharing, not my New Year’s resolutions, because I don’t have any, but instead a couple of these observations by better writers.
Pope Leo XIV urged respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and human rights on Sunday, saying he had been following events of the last two days with deep concern after the U.S. ousted dictator Nicolas Maduro. The pope called for peace and justice, while Venezuelan bishops expressed solidarity with victims and prayed for national unity.
Many Venezuelans, including Christians at home and abroad, expressed cautious hope after U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro. While rejecting violence, they welcome the possibility of justice after years of repression. Church leaders now see the moment as a difficult beginning toward rebuilding peace.
As President Nicolás Maduro is being transferred to New York to stand trial for drug trafficking and terrorism crimes, after having been captured early this morning by U.S. forces on the orders of President Donald Trump, a series of calls to prayer have been issued by evangelical leaders and church organizations in response to the situation the country is experiencing.
(OPINION) Christians understand what science reveals: masculinity and femininity are fixed moral categories that God has made and declared to be good. When societies reject God’s moral law, anarchy results. God’s people must boldly declare to the world what is true. At the same time, we must communicate the good news of the Gospel to those who disagree.