For Gdalina Novitsky and others who fled Ukraine and whose families were victims of Nazi atrocities, watching the bombardment and displacement of Ukrainians following the Russian attack feels like peering through a mirror at their own childhoods.
The bat mitzvah turns 100. It marks more than a coming-of-age for Jewish girls
This weekend, Jewish communities across the country will be marking the 100th anniversary of that first American bat mitzvah. There will be talks and podcasts and celebrations of this coming-of-age ritual–stories about the past and plans for the future.
‘Russkii Mir,’ the Russian equivalent of ‘blood & soil’ ideology at the heart of Putin’s war, explained and rejected by theologians in new statement
A new statement by Orthodox Christian theologians—some of whom sign from Russia—dramatically illustrates what’s at stake in this war of (mostly) Christians against Christians, and what implications it has for the American scene.
Ohio law allows student athletes to compete with hijabs and other religious apparel
Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine signed House Bill 181 into law after the legislature unanimously passed the measure, which guarantees the right of students who participate in athletics to wear religious apparel during competition without the need to obtain a waiver or otherwise…
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill discuss Ukraine war for first time
Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow spoke via video on Wednesday (March 16) to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and joint efforts to promote peace and provide aid to the Ukrainian people.
Evangelical Christians are politicizing the Jewish story of Esther
Over the centuries, the Esther story has come to represent a different sort of tale for many Christians — as other Jewish texts and rituals have been repurposed by evangelicals.
Study: Christians, Jews and Muslims encounter workplace discrimination differently
Christians, Jews and Muslims encounter workplace discrimination, but they experience it differently, according to a new report by Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program.
$1.7M is approved for restoration of historic Black church
The federal government has approved $1.7 million for the restoration of one of the oldest Black churches in the U.S. that served as a northern sanctuary for the underground railroad and the abolitionist movement.
Study: Black Catholics in US are a tiny minority increasingly drawing on immigrants
Black Catholics, at about 3 million total, comprise only 6% of U.S. Blacks, most of whom are Protestant. And they’re an even smaller share of U.S. Catholics — 4%, according to a new analysis of Black Catholics published Tuesday (March 15) by Pew…
Russian American pastors combat propaganda in their churches
Evangelical pastors in the US, leading churches where Russian Americans and Ukrainian Americans worship side by side, see the stark but quiet tensions between those who believe Russian president Vladimir Putin’s justifications for the invasion and those who are decrying…
Thousands of churches close every year. What will happen to their buildings?
As congregations shrink and close, church leaders must decide whether to give their buildings a second life.
The rise and fall of evangelical influencers
In early 2021, social media influencer and pastor’s wife Caressa Prescott made the startling admission that she had just come out of rehab. Prescott told her followers on Instagram that her ongoing mental health struggles, including an eating disorder and…