The day Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, the Iranian government called for 40 days of public mourning in line with Shiite tradition. It also praised the supreme leader for his martyrdom – a concept considered sacred and significant in the Islamic Republic and Shiite Islam.
US Homeland Security investigates whether Bovino made disparaging comments about Jewish faith
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has opened an internal investigation into whether Gregory Bovino, the one-time architect of President Donald Trump’s large-scale immigration crackdown, made disparaging comments about the Jewish faith of the U.S. attorney for Minnesota.
Conservative Anglican leaders meet in Nigeria to elect a leader, fueling concerns of schism
Conservative Anglican leaders gathering in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, are planning to unveil a new leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, even as Archbishop Sarah Mullally is set to be installed as the first female leader of the body later this…
Loki, Thor And Other Norse Gods Are Making A Comeback
Over 1,000 years ago, Norse gods like Odin, Loki, Thor and Freya were worshipped across Scandinavia. Now there are indications that Norse Paganism is becoming a significant force once again. The number of believers is steadily rising, with new temples and…
Church should take a ‘critical and prophetic stance’ towards polarizing rhetoric, says Spanish archbishop
As political polarization rises across Europe, a Spanish archbishop has warned that the Church should avoid being dragged into “partisan conflicts” while still emphasizing Christian values in the face of polarizing rhetoric.
Man who rammed car into Chabad headquarters ‘identifies as a Jewish person,’ lawyer says
Dan Sohail, accused of driving a car into the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in January, has been charged with damaging religious property. The new charge in Brooklyn federal court adds to four charges Sohail already faces, which are being considered hate…
Metropolitan AME pastor’s new book offers ancestral veneration as guide to civic engagement
When visiting his maternal grandmother’s house in Florida, the Rev. William Lamar IV remembered feeling “frightened” when he stared at the picture of a great-aunt hung up prominently on the wall.
The cost of casting animals as heroes and villains in conservation science
Scientists are philosophers, explorers, data collectors and number crunchers. They are also storytellers, placing data within a broader scientific and societal context. How they tell these stories matters.
Mamdani sparks controversy with his Iran war statement offering solidarity to Iranians but not Israelis
Mayor Zohran Mamdani fiercely condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, calling the attacks “a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”
Iranian evangelicals are staying put, tentative but hopeful, says pastor
Hormoz Shariat preaches to a congregation of millions of Iranian Christians around the world, those who have scattered because of repression at home and those who, having stayed, have long been the target of arrest by Iranian authorities, frequently accused of…
Unmarked graves found on land once owned by Catholic slaveholders trigger search for descendants
A team of student and professional history detectives — led by Laura Masur, assistant professor of anthropology at The Catholic University of America — have discovered what appear to be additional gravesites in a family cemetery on land once belonging…
The apocrypha, Christianity’s ‘hidden’ texts, may not be in the Bible – but they have shaped tradition for centuries
Of Jesus’ 12 disciples, Saint Peter is one of the most important. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus declares that Peter is the “rock” on which “I will build my church,” and Catholic tradition considers him the first pope. Martyred in…