For the last seven or eight years, I’ve been keeping a spreadsheet that has a whole bunch of membership data from every denomination that has a consistent track record of keeping good data and releasing (at least some of it)…
Jesus Enters The World In Humility And Changes Everything
The most magical and mystical parts of the Christmas story reinforce the unique and elevated status of Jesus of Nazareth. When we read about the angels, the magi, the virgin birth, etc., we understand them to be signs of Christ’s…
Pope blasts ‘irrationality’ of military deterrence in first annual peace message
Pope Leo XIV insisted Thursday that peace was not only possible but necessary, as he blasted the “irrationality” of nuclear deterrence and the weaponization of faith in modern political discourse.
Can Zohran Mamdani Reverse Ultra-Orthodox Jews’ Drift Towards the Far Right?
If you looked at the diversity of New Yorkers present at Zohran Mamdani’s November 4 victory party, Haredi rabbis Moshe Indig and Moshe Hoffman didn’t look too out of place. Having endorsed Mamdani just two days before the election, Indig—a prominent Williamsburg,…
After Trump called Somalis ‘garbage,’ Minnesota faith groups answer with tea and coffee
On Friday afternoons, a collective of Christian and Muslim faith communities gets together in Cedar-Riverside, the largest Somali neighborhood in Minnesota, after jumah (Friday prayers). Neighbors gather and simply share Somali tea and coffee, greeting each other while forming relationships.
Jewish donors help raise $1.3M for Ahmed al Ahmed, the Muslim man who disarmed a Bondi Beach attacker
A crowdfunding campaign to support Ahmed al Ahmed, the Muslim fruit seller shot after disarming one of the men who was attacking a Hanukkah event in Sydney, generated $1.3 in its first day — with the largest donation coming from…
New NY archbishop — a Chicago priest, missionary, bridge builder — reflects Pope Leo’s style
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ronald A. Hicks of Joliet as the next archbishop of New York, marking a decisive shift in leadership style for one of the most visible dioceses in the United States.
‘I cannot believe how emotional I am today’: Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert guest artists are still in awe — a year later
A little over 12 hours after their first of three Christmas performances in the 21,000-seat Conference Center last December, Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles wrapped her arm around actor Dennis Haysbert, whose typically deep and authoritative voice was quivering with emotion as he recounted telling…
Church altar featuring homeless man goes on display a stone’s throw from his grave at the Vatican
In 2018, German artist Michael Triegel asked a homeless man in Rome to pose for a drawing, thinking that he would make an ideal model for St. Peter if he ever needed to paint the first pope.
‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Asks Questions About Christianity, But Dodges The Tough Ones
I’ve often said the reason film traditionally tackles religion so poorly is that Hollywood understands film but not faith, and Christians understand faith but not film. Happily, both have been improving in recent years. Christians have been making better films…
‘An alien in the house of God’: Canterbury’s gay dean wrestles with inaction on LGBTQ+ rights
The Very Rev. David Monteith has a very public role. As dean of the Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the Church of England and the larger Anglican Communion, he oversees England’s oldest and grandest cathedral.
How Rhode Island Churches Responded to the Brown Shooting
Brown graduate student Maddy Wachsmuth’s first notice of an active shooter on campus came from a GroupMe chat with other Christians. Even before students received official alerts, texts streamed in: “Urgent. Take cover. This is not a joke,” she described.