religious-issues

Male anti-abortion religious leaders mull murder charges for pregnant people at national event

BY: - July 24, 2023

An all-male panel of anti-abortion religious leaders from around the country met Friday night to discuss the strategies that should be used to end abortion in every state at any stage of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape and incest, and with criminal punishment for the pregnant person in line with existing criminal penalties for murder, […]

COMMENTARY
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 08: A flock of geese swim in front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial as in hazy smoke covers Tidal Basin on June 8, 2023 in Washington, DC. Air quality alert has been elevated to a Code Purple in Washington due to smoke from wildfires burning in Canada, indicating very unhealthy air conditions for the public. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Dominion over the Earth? Who were we kidding? What the wildfires teach us | John L. Micek

BY: - June 8, 2023

We might not survive our own climate foolishness. But the planet will go on spinning without us.

Sunlight streaming through church window

States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality

BY: - May 15, 2023

Some bills would require clergy to disclose knowledge gleaned through religious rites such as confession.

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What Ramadan means to Muslims: 4 essential reads | Analysis

BY: - April 17, 2023

Here are four ways to understand what Ramadan means for Muslims, and in particular for American Muslims.

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Passover is a time to recognize tragedies of the past and offer hope for the future | Opinion

BY: - April 10, 2023

This story came to function as a powerful narrative of persecution and liberation for Jewish people.

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Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday | Analysis

BY: - April 7, 2023

In all of these holidays, Christian and non-Christian (pagan) elements have continued to blend together.

COMMENTARY

Why Palm Sunday’s donkey is an important part of the Holy Week story | Opinion

BY: - April 2, 2023

The image of the quiet, patient, and unassuming donkey has communicated humility in art and in practice.

COMMENTARY
The exterior view of the Bethel African American Methodist Episcopal Church at 125 S. 6th St. in Philadelphia. Breton, William L., circa 1773-1855 Artist via the Library of Congress, World Digital Library.

A brief history of the Black church’s diversity, and its vital role in our politics | Analysis

BY: - February 6, 2023

The image of the Black church as the nation's moral conscience has always been a complicated matter

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(Capital-Star photo by Amanda Berg)

Faith in choice: Pa. Clergy talk about the intersection of abortion rights and faith | Amanda Berg

BY: - January 11, 2023

When does life begin? Why do we assume believers are anti-abortion? What can God teach us about the issue?

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On Pope Benedict, science, faith, and his legacy | Bruce Ledewitz

BY: - January 10, 2023

The most conservative of popes showed a surprising openness to dialogue.

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A pastor comes to terms with the church’s idols of Trump, money and power | Opinion

BY: - December 30, 2022

Biblical Christianity — forged in the cross, humility, and poverty — has been at war with a co-opted Christianity that forgets Jesus’s gospel of liberation.

COMMENTARY

Do all dogs go to Heaven? How our secular culture views death | Bruce Ledewitz

BY: - December 28, 2022

Americans seem to want the promises and benefits of religion without the rigors of belief and faith.