March 15, 2022 By Yonat Shimron DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — The congregation at Holy Cross Catholic Church is an anomaly in one sense: a historically Black congregation led by the Rev. Pius Wekesa, one of just 250 or so Black priests in the United States. Many Black Catholics, a minority within a minority, rarely see

December 6, 2021 By Carol Kuruvilla (RNS) — On Sunday (Dec. 5), Pope Francis, visiting the Greek island of Lesbos, made an emotional pitch for European states to be more welcoming to foreign migrants. The pontiff called on Europeans to stop ignoring their suffering, insisting that Jesus “is present in the stranger, in the refugee, in those

The debate about whether the world is entering a more secular age and whether the growth of religiously non-affiliated people is hastening such secularization in part revolves around questions of timing. In other words, when did these trends start and what led to them?

Does longstanding evidence that people become more religious as they age indicate that secularization trends may reverse in rapidly aging societies of high-income countries? The findings of a new study indicate faith may be more compelling as individuals face their own mortality.

Low pay. Great expectations and scrutiny. And a job where a knack for effective begging comes in handy. So who would want to be an editor of an academic journal on religion? Some who do this work say there needs to be a larger conversation about how journal editors are supported and compensated, and how these issues matter to their mission of disseminating excellent scholarship on religion from throughout the world.

Many of you may have never heard of Sylvia and John Ronsvalle or Cal and Rose Samra.
But for more than three decades each has followed a calling: Sylvia and John’s research holds up moral imperatives on issues such as child hunger; Rose and Cal promote shared joy with religious humor across traditions.

People who are active members of religious groups are more likely to participate in protests, a new global study finds. And the likelihood of public protest by religious individuals is strongest in those countries that are the least democratic,

Can you have too much of a good thing when it comes to intellectual humility? The answer is yes, if it means becoming so obsessed with your shortcomings that you opt out of contentious conversations in the classroom, the workplace or the public arena, new studies suggest.

What happens when you bring together respected social scientists who for many years have gathered significant data on the relationship between science and religion? A humble dialogue offering new pathways to cooperative efforts on issues from evolution and climate change to eradicating disease

Political appeals to religious and secular constituencies have roiled democracies across Asia and the world, prominent journalists, scholars, analysts and religious leaders revealed at a conference in Jakarta. But that does not mean Islam or other major religions are incompatible with democracy, participants noted. What does matter is that the religious freedoms and dignity of all groups are protected and respected.