Although I'm often disappointed in the religious literacy of many Americans, I'm only occasionally shocked, gob-smacked, startled by evidence of religious ignorance and bigotry coming from elected ...

Before I tell you about this incredible new book that recounts the history of The National Catholic Reporter, I feel a need to disclose my several connections to this courageous and resourceful ...

As Matthew 5:44 records it, Jesus told his followers to do something wildly countercultural: "But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." But what does it mean to love?

When I was in Berkeley, Calif., recently to celebrate my birthday with my wife and two of my three sisters (one couldn't be there, though she alleged she wanted to be), I attended worship at St.

If Karleton Douglas Beye Fyfe -- a name almost big enough to hold his 6-5 frame and winsome personality -- had died in, say, a car wreck or of cancer at age 31, it would have been a personal disaster ...

Yes, of course I'm glad that a few days ago the United Methodist Church decided to change its rules to allow the ordination of otherwise-qualified LGBTQ+ people to be clergy. It should have happened ...

A remarkable new book -- one of the best I've read in a long time -- confirms something I've said more than once here on the blog and in other venues: If your theology causes you to devalue, ...

Since the beginning of human history, war and related violence have raged across the globe. Wikipedia's long list of current wars or lesser conflicts bears witness to the apparent inability of ...

Delavan, Ill. -- As some of my extended family gathered here recently to celebrate the wonderful reality that my late father's brother Lawrence (pictured here with me) has reached age 100 but acts ...

There are many connections between religion and the story of how white European invaders committed physical and cultural genocide against Indigenous people living on the land that became North America ...

Across the span of human history, religion has caused wars, shaped the course of wars, worked to prevent wars and helped people to heal after wars. The interconnectedness between religion and war is ...

Capital punishment in the U.S. is in very slow decline. But it can't disappear soon enough. It's a vicious, capricious, uneven, expensive system that shames every state that uses it. Since the death ...