Cases of violence against the Christian community in Upper Egypt are often rooted in hostility over the construction or renovation of Christian places of worship, reports La Croix International (April 26). There have been improvements under the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with a new kind of discourse and a law, ratified by […]
The influence of social media in the Islamic world is producing a new kind of Muslim social influencer who is encouraging greater religious individualism among young Muslims, according to an article in the open-access journal Religions (April 8). Social media platforms have become popular among Muslim millennials in the Gulf countries, the Arab world, and […]
Economic development in Southeast Asia over the last three decades has been accompanied by a growth of Christianity, with Pentecostalism proving uniquely successful, write Terence Chong (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) and Daniel Goh (National University of Singapore) in the Newsletter of the International Institute for Asian Studies (Spring). Based on research conducted since 2017 in Malaysia, […]
■ The Muslim World devotes its current (Winter) issue to social welfare efforts among Muslim individuals, organizations, and countries, often comparing them to their Western counterparts. That there are different forms of charity and giving in Islam, some more obligatory and “religious” than others, complicates the issue. Some organizations chafe at the “Islamic” title applied […]
1) The Interfaith, Spiritual, Religious, and Secular Campus Climate Index, or INSPIRES, created by researchers at Ohio State University and North Carolina State University, measures higher-ed institutions on their levels of religious diversity and inclusion. The index is based on extensive surveys of officials at 185 public, private and religiously affiliated institutions, covering questions relating […]
There is no doubt that the war in Ukraine and the support given by Patriarch Kirill and some Russian bishops to the Russian government will have lasting consequences for Orthodox Christianity, first in Russia and Ukraine, but also around the world. Within the Moscow Patriarchate, reactions have been ranging from distancing to taking a hard […]
Black Christians are among the new wave of homeschoolers that have been swept into the movement by the pandemic, but along with their interest in a Christian alternative to secular education, Christianity Today magazine (April) reports that a concern for African American heritage has been among participants’ motivations. Homeschooling rates have grown fastest among African […]
The future of Hillsong, a popular megachurch denomination, as well as its model of “celebrity pastors,” are being called into question after a series of ethical scandals that have led to some congregations pulling out of the network. Much of the crisis surrounding the Australian-based denomination involves the resignation of its global leader, Brian Houston, […]
Everywhere from prisons and the military to hospitals, Buddhist chaplains are finding that their non-dogmatic and often non-theistic approach is resonating with the rising non-affiliated population, writes Pamela Gayle White in the Buddhist magazine Tricycle (Spring). In the last decade, the chaplaincy in Buddhism has expanded considerably, with “dharma-inspired chaplain-track degrees, certificate programs, and books […]
Even if the war in Ukraine ends in some tolerable outcome, the theological divisions it has generated and its effect on Orthodox-Catholic dialogue will persist for some time, writes Robert Royal in his blog The Catholic Thing (March 28). Since the Russian Orthodox Church has in large part supported Vladimir Putin’s call for a “holy […]
