The Ark Encounter, an evangelical theme park located near Williamstown, Kentucky, has welcomed between 4 million and 5 million visitors since its opening in July 2016. Ark Encounter is a tourist site devoted to emphasizing the wrathful nature of God and the eternal damnation that awaits unrepentant sinners.
Religion & Beliefs
Students Lead More Public Schools to Close for Islamic Holidays
Some public school districts across the nation will be closed on Monday or Tuesday in observance of the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr, a festive celebration marking the end of the month of Ramadan, a month of fasting observed by Muslims worldwide.
School Appeals Pre-Game Prayer Ruling
A Tampa Christian school is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that backed a decision by the Florida High School Athletic Association to prevent a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 state championship football game.
How Misreading the Christian Gospels fuels Anti-Semitism
The pernicious belief that Christianity replaced or supplanted Judaism is known as Christian supersessionism. Christian supersessionism has not only fed into negative perceptions of Jews and Judaism since antiquity, but has also incited violence against Jews.
American Evangelicals See Putin as a Leader of Conservative Values. Ukraine War Is Testing the Myth.
In February 2022, evangelical leader Franklin Graham called on his followers to pray for Vladimir Putin to avoid war. The backlash was fast and direct. Graham had not solicited prayers for Ukraine, some observers commented. And he had rarely called on believers to pray for U.S. President Joe Biden. But white conservatives have been developing a political and emotional alliance with Russia for almost 20 years.
Judge Again Rules Against Muezzin-Like Prayer Before High School Game, But Decision May Have Short Life
In a long-running legal battle, a federal judge has rejected arguments that the Florida High School Athletic Association improperly prevented Christian schools from offering a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 state championship football game. But the decision may have a short life depending on a U.S. Supreme Court’s decision by the end of June on a a somewhat similar case.
The Jesuits, Lightning Rods of Controversy
Jesuits have worn many hats: missionaries, educators and preachers; writers and scientists; priests with the poor and confessors to the royal courts of Europe. They are also among the church’s more controversial groups.
Pope Benedict’s Betrayal
An in-depth report released last week alleges that former Pope Benedict XVI allowed four abusive priests in Munich to remain in ministry. The pope, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, led the German archdiocese from 1977 to 1982.
May a Christian Flag Fly at City Hall? Supreme Court Will Decide
On Jan. 18, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Shurtleff v. Boston. The case addresses whether the city violated the First Amendment by denying a request to temporarily raise the Christian flag on a flagpole outside City Hall, where Boston has temporarily displayed many secular organizations’ flags.
‘Schitt’s Creek’ Holiday Special: Johnny’s Menorah, Still Lit in Diaspora
“Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” demonstrates how the omnipresence of Christmas has offered American Jews a variety of non-exclusive options for handling the holiday season: Ignore or distance themselves from Christmas, embrace (at least) its more secular aspects and bond with other non-Christian groups who may also feel like outsiders.