My buddy Gary is retired now, but for a number of years, he ran a drive-thru coffee kiosk in the town where I live.
In Immigration Court, Christians Show Up to Fill the Back Benches
Early one June morning in downtown Los Angeles, a group of eight people was learning how to observe immigration hearings.
‘She is the future of our church.’ Winnie Varghese named first woman dean of St. John the Divine.
Born to immigrant Indian parents and raised in Dallas, Varghese first encountered the historic cathedral not in person, but in the pages of her local newspaper. She remembered, as a 12-year-old, reading about a winding procession of camels, elephants and…
Churches, Don’t ‘Accommodate’ Disability. Plan for It.
I didn’t grow up in church. But even as an undiagnosed autistic child raised Hindu in the South, I was aware of church culture. I even knew a few popular hymns. Yet I found the idea of church far more…
These Russian clergy who said ‘no’ to Putin’s war in Ukraine are paying a price
In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, a small group of Russian Orthodox Christian clergy did something extraordinary. They published an open letter calling for peace and an immediate ceasefire. Within days, nearly 300 clergy had…
In temples and churches, sensory rooms remove barriers for neurodivergent worshipers
From organ blasts and incense to forced hugs and handshakes, for folks who struggle to process sensory input, houses of worship can quickly feel anything but holy.
Church of Jesus Christ releases names of youth, drivers from Lesotho killed in tragic accident
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has identified the youth and their leaders killed in a tragic multi-vehicle accident in the African nation of Lesotho on June 21 while traveling to a church Young Women activity.
Jewish Faculty Call Out Weaponization Of Antisemitism Label In Higher Education
A growing number of Jewish staff and faculty in higher education are speaking out against what they say is the federal government and their own institutions weaponizing accusations of antisemitism in order to silence dissent, punish those who criticize the Israeli government and exert…
Catholic clergy are speaking out on immigration − more than any other political issue except abortion
Catholic priests across the U.S. discuss immigration with their congregations more than leaders in many other faith traditions, according to our new research published in the journal Sociological Focus.
Angels, witches, crystals and black cats: How supernatural beliefs vary across different groups in the US
Younger Americans are more likely to express belief in witchcraft and luck, as our new research shows.
Where is the Catholic Church on Climate Change?
When Pope Francis’s first encyclical on the environment was released ten years ago this summer, it made headlines beyond Catholic media. The 184-page document, a call to caring for the environment as a religious and moral duty, was published just…
Why We Want to See the Epstein Files
Sometime last winter, I was jarred by a picture on social media of a Christmas ornament: a figure of a smiling Jeffrey Epstein attached to the tree by a noose around his neck. The caption on the post read: “This…