Ultra-Orthodox Jewish teens attend the funeral for Rabbi Mordechai Leifer in Ashdod, Israel, Oct. 5, 2020.

Sacred Nation

As Catholic faith ebbs in Spain, missionary priests come to the rescue

Sacred Nation

Spain exported Christianity across the world through missionary expeditions, but as the religion dwindles across Europe, parishes are increasingly reliant on priests from abroad — a trend some call “reverse missions.”

Armenian Christians of Jerusalem say their centuries-old community faces an existential threat    

Sacred Nation

‘Love you, then, well’: London’s National COVID Memorial Wall pays tribute to the country’s 240K lives lost to COVID-19

Sacred Spaces

This 100-year-old synagogue tells a unique story about Jews in Finland 

Sacred Spaces

Environmental concerns impact beloved Hindu festival in India

Lifestyle & Belief

‘It so clearly discriminates against Muslims’: India rolls out faith-based test for citizenship

Sacred Nation

A new law that provides refugees with a path to Indian citizenship went into effect in March. But it’s controversial because it excludes refugees who are Muslims. There were widespread protests in 2019 when it was first passed and now India’s supreme court is hearing a bunch of petitions against it.

International students in the US face many challenges as they adjust to new cultural norms.

Chaplains open doors for international students on campus

Sacred Nation

When international students arrive to study in the US, life can be harder than expected. Some universities have found that religious chaplains can help students make the transition. While mental health is stigmatized in some countries, spiritual care is not. As a result, student chaplains have become de facto front-line mental health care providers. 

Rows of people kneeling in prayer

Tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Israel-Hamas war

On April 5, the final Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan this year — a special time for Muslims worldwide — more than 3,500 Israeli police were deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Here, an estimated 57,000 Muslims attended Friday prayers. 

Striped red-and-white flags adorn a sacred grove in a quiet neighborhood in Ranchi in India. The ubiquitous flags are an assertion of tribal identity.

Adherents of Sarnaism try to preserve their identity and culture by pushing for more recognition of their faith in India

Sacred Nation

India is home to millions of Indigenous people consisting of hundreds of tribes. Now, the followers of Sarnaism want official recognition of their religion by the state.

A construction crew works on Ram Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ram in Ayodhya, India, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.

‘Religious triumphalism’: A grand Hindu temple opens on a controversial site in India 

Sacred Nation

On Jan. 22, a temple of Lord Ram will open its doors in Ayodhya, in northern India. The temple stands where the Babri mosque once existed, before it was torn down by a Hindu mob. The occasion marks a victory for Hindus and a sorrowful reminder for Muslims of the ongoing tensions between the two groups in a Hindu-majority country.