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

Sacred Nation

Christians in historic town in Syria reflect on new moment in the country

Sacred Nation

Last December, after more than a decade of fighting, forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad ousted him from power. Some people in Maaloula, long a center for Christianity in Syria, shared their concerns and hopes for the future under the new government, which has a conservative, Islamist past.

How Pope Francis’ legacy will influence the selection of the next pope 

Sacred Nation

The tug-of-war over an anti-Nazi pastor’s legacy

Global Politics

‘I can do what I can to save people’: This chief rabbi stayed in Ukraine to help people and honor his son who died in battle  

For more than a century, a synagogue known as the ‘Carnegie Hall of Brooklyn’ has been home to the US’ greatest cantors

Sacred Spaces

In Mexican border cities, the migrants are gone

Borders

Shelters are nearly empty, and local humanitarian groups are scrambling to survive. The new reality is a stark reflection of the sweeping changes in US immigration policy under President Donald Trump. It follows the administration’s termination of the CBP One app, a tool that allowed migrants to schedule asylum appointments at US ports of entry.

Ukrainian military chaplains tend to soldiers and others at risk amid the ongoing fighting

Sacred Nation

Peace talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled. But far away from the negotiation table, Russian aerial attacks continue — and Ukrainians still fear for their lives, including soldiers and military chaplains, who visit front-line areas for their work.

How a deeply Buddhist Bhutan keeps religion and politics from mixing

Sacred Spaces

Bhutan is officially a Buddhist kingdom. It’s also a fledgling democracy trying to establish a balancing act to honor its Buddhist identity while maintaining a separation between religion and government. The compromise the country has settled on for now excludes clergy from political life. 

A Baha’i temple in Uganda’s bustling capital offers a rare respite

Sacred Spaces

The Baha’i faith hasn’t attracted many followers in Africa. But one Baha’i temple, located in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, is one of the few green spaces in the city, and one of the quietest, too.

Crimean Tatars mark Ramadan while in exile from the Crimean Peninsula

Sacred Nation

The Islamic month of Ramadan ends this coming weekend. Most Muslims in Ukraine are Crimean Tatars, natives of the Crimean Peninsula. This is the fourth Ramadan since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.