With the Trump administration’s June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities considerably weakening the regime, it is now increasingly focused on Iraq as one of its last footholds in the region, posing an existential threat to the survival of the country’s Christians and other religious minorities, reports Providence newsletter (August 18). After decades of war, […]
Immigrant and second-generation African young people in Britain are engaging in transnational and hybrid religious practices that contrast with adult patterns of religion and migration, according to a study by Dominic Pasura of the University of Glasgow. Pasura, who presented his study at the August meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion in […]
Singapore’s megachurches have been known as some of the largest worldwide, but recently there has been some disenchantment about these mammoth congregations and the movement of some ex-members toward mainline churches, writes Robbie B. H. Goh in the current issue of the journal Studies in World Christianity (31:2). Singapore and other global South countries (such […]
Organized fitness training is being adapted by young Salafi Muslim men as they create communities and transnational networks that foster spiritual and physical strength and well-being, writes Sergio Altuna Galán in the journal Current Trends in Islamist Ideology (August). As the practice and communication of Islam shifts away from institutionalized settings toward more “personalized, visually […]
In recent decades, the Catholic Church has undergone “a profound recovery of the theology of deification, also known as divinization,” that is having ecumenical repercussions, reports the National Catholic Register (July 16). Jonathan Liedl writes that this “ancient approach to the Christian life emphasizes that salvation isn’t merely about being freed from sin, but is […]
The success and growth of Republican fundraising and activism among American Jews suggest a significant crack in the traditional Jewish-Democratic alliance, writes David Drucker in the conservative online magazine, The Dispatch (July 23). In a lengthy article on the growing fortunes and influence of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), Drucker writes that the second administration […]
Deaconesses are active, growing, and playing key roles in Orthodox parishes, yet they aren’t very visible or publicly acknowledged, writes Andreas Westergren in the Belgian journal Exchange (online in July). With some fanfare, a deaconess was ordained in an Orthodox church in Africa last year, with observers noting its rare occurrence [see Vol. 39, No. […]
The Old Catholic movement is experiencing new divisions over its continued liberalization, writes William Tighe in the magazine Touchstone (Summer). Old Catholics broke away from the Roman Catholic Church over such doctrines as papal infallibility in the late 19th century and saw themselves as a bridge to Anglicans and Eastern Orthodoxy. When these churches were […]
Christians in the Middle East are coming under renewed aggression, according to reports, whether from secular, Muslim, or Jewish authorities. Commonweal magazine (July 28) provides a running account of recent violent incidents. The latest wave of mass violence began in late June, when an extremist Islamic suicide bomber opposed to the new Syrian leadership opened […]
Traditional Islamic waqf (endowment) principles are being adapted with modern technology to provide communal assistance for end-of-life expenses and other charitable purposes, reports Sharene Lee in Salaam Gateway (July 14). Historically, waqf institutions played a crucial role in Islamic societies, funding much of the educational, healthcare, and social infrastructure—including funeral arrangements. The article explores the […]
