Saudi Arabia is transforming religious tourism into a significant economic driver through its Vision 2030 plan, aiming to diversify the economy, reports Muhammad Ali Bandial in Salaam Gateway (June 27). In 2024, over 18.5 million pilgrims visited the kingdom (16.9 million for Umrah and 1.61 million for Hajj), and the goal is to welcome 30 […]
Amidst India’s temple revival, cities are being redesigned to reflect Hindu heritage and nationalist ideas, writes Huzaifa Riyaz in Jacobin magazine (Summer). The city of Ayodhya, the centerpiece of the temple revival, is also a model of this attempt by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “to reshape public space in line with Hindu nationalist […]
Anti-Semitic sentiments are finding a place among American conservative Christians, often through far-right social media sites, such as the Manosphere, Red Pill, and 4chan, as well as Christian podcasts and websites, writes Will Spencer in his blog Christ Over All (June 2). Spencer focuses on Stone Choir, a weekly podcast hosted by Corey Mahler and […]
Instead of sharing beach houses, a growing number of Gen Z women are checking into Catholic convents and monasteries for their vacations, writes Ashley Fike in the magazine Vice (June 30). “In an unexpected pivot from rooftop parties and dating app exhaustion, young women are opting for peace and quiet. Literal quiet.” Called the “vow […]
A recent controversial report from the French Senate on the Muslim Brotherhood notes that the organization has built an extensive ideological infrastructure in France—“not through violence, but through schools, charities, mosques, and soft power.” The report, based on intelligence files, field investigations, and dozens of interviews conducted by two civil servants, finds that the “Brotherhood’s […]
As a reaction against state-imposed religion, secular aspirations have been building up for decades in Iran, and the religious foundations of the current regime are being increasingly questioned, with protest movements in recent years emphasizing “Iran” instead of “Islam.” Mahdi Rezaei-Tazik, a political scientist at the University of Bern, Switzerland, who focuses on criticism of […]
Historical trajectories, ideological differences, and shifting geopolitical realities shaped both the making and unmaking of the Islamist alliance between the current ruling party of Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the (Arabic) Muslim Brotherhood (MB), writes historian Jan-Markus Vömel in a detailed report published by the Documentation Centre Political Islam in Vienna, Austria […]
The resurgence of Tengrism in Kazakhstan has been decried as an artificial and political project by a number of scholars, but researchers report in the Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe (Vol. 45, Issue 5) on recent evidence of a “growing interest in Tengrism…driven by spiritual exploration as well as the quest for identity […]
Amidst the reports and claims of religious revival in recent months [see last month’s RW], the role of young men, especially those returning or converting to Eastern Orthodox churches, stands out. Soon after the pandemic, there were anecdotes and some survey results showing that Eastern Orthodox parishes had more resilience in attendance than other churches, […]
More evangelical churches are reciting the Nicene Creed in their worship services, a departure from their “no creeds but the Bible” position of the past, writes Daniel Silliman in Christianity Today magazine (May/June). This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, which is considered the first creedal statement of Christianity resulting from the […]
