Supreme Court Rules the Bladensburg Cross Stands for More Than Christianity
In a complex 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled “the Bladensburg Cross does not violate the Establishment Clause” and can stay on public land. Experts believed the case could have far-reaching...
View ArticleAfter Evangelicalism: Brief Notes on Emerging Post-Evangelicalism and the...
American evangelicalism may have inflicted a mortal wound on itself in the mid-2010s. With the election of Donald Trump as a symbol of a broader philosophical sickliness, many young evangelicals...
View ArticleUnderstanding Christians’ Climate Views for Better Conversations on the...
Emma Frances Bloomfield, University of Nevada, Las Vegas In their second round of debates, Democratic presidential candidates called for aggressive measures to slow climate change. As Washington Gov....
View ArticleIf Germany Atoned for the Holocaust, the U.S. Can Pay Reparations for Slavery
Bernd Reiter, University of South Florida The idea of paying reparations for slavery is gaining momentum in the United States, despite being long derided as an unrealistic plan, to compensate for state...
View ArticleThe Hajj: A Muslim Spiritual Pilgrimage With Political Overtones
The hajj is any individual Muslim’s single most symbolic ritual act that reflects the ideal of unity—performing the same rituals in the same places can connect Muslims across national and class...
View ArticleMore Central American Migrants Take Shelter in Churches, Recalling 1980s...
To avoid arrest, thousands of Central Americans have taken shelter in churches, echoing the 1980s sanctuary movement involving migrants fleeing civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, denied political...
View ArticleEverything in Mecca Gets 5 Stars — Online Reviews of Holy Sites Are Wildly...
For the millions of Muslims planning to gather in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 9 for the hajj, online reviews may be misleading. Ratings for holy sites primarily reflect the contributor’s spiritual...
View ArticleCatholic Church Sex Abuse: The Difference a Pennsylvania Grand Jury Made in...
Even though there were only a few convictions in Pennsylvania, the release of the grand jury report naming 300 sexually abusive Roman Catholic priests in the state was a watershed moment for survivors....
View ArticleWhy Trump’s Tweets on Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Go Into the Heart of...
President Trump said "Jewish people that vote for a Democrat" show "great disloyalty," presumably to Israel. Since the 70s, Israelism has mapped American Jews' relationships with Israel along the...
View ArticleHow the Pain of 9/11 Still Stays With a Generation
The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were designed to instill panic and fear. The vast majority of Americans have watched them replayed over and over again. How has this event impacted those...
View ArticleToday’s Diverse American Muslim Population First Arrived 400 Years Ago as...
Some of the earliest American arrivals were Muslims forcibly transported as slaves. Blues music, a quintessential American cultural form, has Muslim influences, says historian Sylviane Diouf: famous...
View ArticleUniversal Ethical Truths Are at the Core of Jewish High Holy Days
In the Jewish High Holy Days are a time, tradition tells us, God writes down the names of the wicked in the Book of Death. One can avert being inscribed in the “Book of Death” by means of repentance,...
View ArticleDay of the Dead: From Aztec Goddess Worship to Modern Mexican Celebration
Day of the Dead might sound like a solemn affair, but Mexico’s famous holiday is actually a lively commemoration of the departed, with nationwide festivities and a massive parade in Mexico City. It can...
View ArticleForgotten Mass Destruction of Jewish Homes During “Kristallnacht”
Most accounts of the Nazis’ brutal assault on the Jews during “Kristallnacht” emphasize the attacks on synagogues and shops and mass arrests of men. Attacks on Jewish homes, however, are barely...
View ArticleHow the U.S. Military Has Embraced Growing Religious Diversity
Religious diversity among U.S. military chaplains began in World War I, initially based on a "tri-faith" approach—Protestant, Catholic & Jewish. Today, over over 200 denominations and religious...
View ArticleWhat Is a Caliph? The Islamic State Hijacks a Historic Institution
The Islamic State’s caliphate was never widely recognized among the global Muslim community and no longer has significant territory. But the Islamic State still uses the history of the caliph to push...
View ArticleChristians Have Lived in Turkey for Two Millennia—but Their Future Is Uncertain
President Erdoğan said recently that Turkey will restore damaged churches in northeastern Syria. In his own country, Christians declined from nearly 25% in 1914 to less than 0.5% today. The current...
View ArticleMexican Mennonites Combat Fears of Violence With a New Christmas Tradition
Mennonites in Mexico are promoting a bright new Christmas tradition, the “Parade of Lights” nighttime procession of decorated vehicles, to give local people – Mennonite and Mexican alike – a safe,...
View ArticleWhat did the Romans do in the year 0? A fake theologian explains
Theologians wrestle with many knotty questions, such as: Why do innocent people suffer? The mention of Franz Bibfeldt, however, can melt even the iciest solemnity among not only theologians, but also...
View ArticleKilling of Soleimani Evokes Dark History of Political Assassinations in the...
Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s killing is roiling Iran – including some people who don’t necessarily follow military affairs – for religious and cultural reasons related to the country’s Shii Muslim history....
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