“A handful of songwriters from a handful of churches”: There’s a reason every hit worship song sounds the same
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports on a new study that found that the most popular worship songs come from a handful of megachurches with a knack for writing pop songs about what God will do for you…
Conflict in eastern Congo forces thousands of schools to close
Kihisi, Democratic Republic Of Congo Reuters Thomas Tumusifu Buregeya wishes he were studying for his final school exams. Instead, he scrapes a living doing odd jobs in a displaced people’s camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after a wave of rebel violence upended his life yet again. Thomas Tumusifu Buregeya, 22, repairs his mother’s […]
Essay: Elder Hu Shigen’s release is welcome, but more importantly it reminds us that we must stand up to the CCP
ELLIS HEASLEY, of UK-based religious freedom advocacy CSW, says celebrations around Elder Hu Shigen’s release are tempered by the knowledge of the CCP’s “continuing injustice and cruelty towards religious leaders”…
Pope evokes cold-war replay, says leaders should avoid arms
Vatican City AP Pope Francis urged world leaders Wednesday to use reason and not arms to resolve differences, evoking memories of the 1960s Cold War between Washington and Moscow. At his weekly audience in St Peter’s Square, Francis noted that Tuesday marked the 60th anniversary of the issuance of a Cold War-era encyclical by Pope John […]
My Mission: ‘Healing the healers’ with the restorative wisdom of the Black church
Rev Jennifer Bailey believes Americans’ divisions are experienced as grief and loss, and looks to provide rituals to help us heal. JOSHUA STANTON and BENJAMIN SPRATT report for Religion News Service…
Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video; dismisses Bakhmut claims
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine compared Russia on Wednesday to Islamic State and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate after a video emerged online showing apparent Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive with a knife. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity or provenance of the video on social media, which showed […]