St. Xavier’s College has cancelled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture in Mumbai, originally scheduled for the evening of August 9, following a protest by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh…
Is Divorce the Next Front in the Culture War?
When someone says the term “Culture War,” the first issues that usually come to mind are access to abortion or same-sex marriage. These are two of the most well-known ‘social issues’ in American religion and politics over the last several…
Trump’s push for drilling, mining sharpens debate for Alaska Natives about land they view as sacred
Fish camps still dot the banks of the broad Kuskokwim River in southwestern Alaska. Wooden huts and tarped shelters stand beside drying racks draped with bright red strips of salmon, which Alaska Native families have harvested for generations and preserved…
Olympic-style teen games celebrate Jewish pride through sports
Danielle Rose Nurko might be a 2024 JCC Maccabi Games medalist, but for the 16-year-old tennis player, the annual Olympic-style competition for Jewish teens isn’t about winning.
Beyond brute strength: A fresh look at Samson’s search for intimacy in the Hebrew Bible
The biblical figure of Samson has long been understood as a man of brute strength, a warrior on the margins of society whose story is often defined by violence and destruction. Yet alongside his strength, Samson is known for his entanglements with women.
Pope Leo XIV Returns to Tradition
When the monks of Canterbury Cathedral prepared Thomas Becket’s body for burial in the year 1170, they discovered a hairshirt hidden under his vestments. The British faithful considered it evidence of the martyred archbishop’s piety.
Church membership may be declining, but many churchgoers are double-dosing
After Becky Hope left the evangelical church she had been attending in Portland, Oregon, four years ago, she began watching online services at an ecumenical church in New York City — just for a little while, she figured, until she…
Can Anything Good Come of Modern-Day Nazareth?
Step into the streets of Nazareth, the famed hometown of Jesus, and the smell of garbage overwhelms the senses. Along the streets, trash is piled high on every corner; the city government can no longer pay for trash trucks. Souvenir…
Pope Leo Urges Youth Toward Real Relationships In A Digital Age
In a dusty Roman field echoing with youthful energy and hope, Pope Leo XIV delivered a clear and urgent message to over a million young people gathered for the Jubilee of Youth: “You are not a product. Your relationships are…
Influencers invoked the Bible to promote spanking. What about its harmful effects?
Grant Troutt, husband of “The Bachelor” alum and Christian influencer Madison Prewett, enthused on her recent “Stay True” podcast, “It will be hilarious when we start spanking [our daughter] Hosanna — which we will.” Madison clarified that “The Bible specifically talks about discipline…
Football and faith could return to the Supreme Court – this time, over loudspeakers
With the start of another high school football season around the corner, a long-simmering dispute has heated up: prayers at games.
One Holy, Universal, and Apostolic Church—Even Your Weird Denomination
Even as a child, I had an interest in the divided church. Sunday mornings found my family in a United Methodist church, but on Sunday evenings my parents took me to a nearby charismatic church instead.