The assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to throw the Islamic Republic of Iran’s future into doubt and raises the prospect that the country’s theocratic government could be overthrown after nearly five decades. religionunplugged.com/news/2026/2/...

Amid MAGA's fixation on obtaining Greenland, the arctic nation's only Catholic parish priest seeks to minister to his congregants. https://religionunplugged.com/news/greenland-tiny-catholic-church-endures

While many conservatives push for the Ten Commandments in schools, their leader violates the ninth. religionunplugged.com/news/2026/2/...

Was C. S. Lewis right about the fall of humanity? https://religionunplugged.com/news/progress-becomes-a-god-c-s-lewiss-prophetic-warning

The appeals court who declined to block the #Louisiana Ten Commandments Law got it right.

A chaplain answers questions about hospital patients' end-of-life thoughts and fears. https://religionunplugged.com/news/what-hospital-chaplains-offer-patients-at-the-end-of-life

What is the most sinful place in America?

Fred Rogers’ legacy continues to resonate in 2026. His timeless message of kindness, peacemaking and “looking for the helpers” remains a source of comfort and connection. https://religionunplugged.com/news/wont-you-still-be-our-neighbor-fred-rogers-legacy-lives-on-in-2026

In a profoundly positive appraisal of the Protestant Reformation, high-ranking Vatican officials are championing the Augsburg Confession — a pivotal Lutheran text — highlighting it as a shared basis for Christian unity, as the 500th anniversary of the document approaches in 2030.

Many people (myself included) have argued that faith-based films are now mainstream. If they are, a lot of that credit goes to “I Can Only Imagine.”

Are ‘Christian Nations’ Less Corrupt? Not In This Case. https://religionunplugged.com/news/zambia-politics-long-church-state-entanglement

Religious minorities in Iran are facing increased persecution, human rights watchdog organizations warned in a report released on Thursday.

People love to talk about “profound” philosophers. Socrates with his questions. Nietzsche with his hammer. Marx with his systems.

Those Non-Denoms Are Just Southern Baptists, Right? religionunplugged.com/news/those-n...

The rich history of Jewish Olympians thoroughly disproves the stereotype that Jews are no good at sports. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ew_...

The @churchofengland.org has officially voted to disallow the blessing of same-sex relationships. religionunplugged.com/news/2026/2/...

This week Richard Ostling asks: Does infant baptism deny babies their basic human rights? https://religionunplugged.com/news/should-religions-have-rituals-such-as-baptism-for-infants

NEWS/@vishalarora.bsky.social Each year Hindu nationalist groups carry out violent crackdowns on couples in public spaces during Valentine’s Day in India.

Is Luc Besson's #Dracula the most Christian vampire movie to date? religionunplugged.com/news/20dracu...

The most religiously diverse country probably isn't one you'd expect. https://religionunplugged.com/news/singapore-tops-global-ranking-for-religious-diversity

Will you make us the happiest independent religion publication in the world by filling out our audience survey? form.typeform.com/to/enUDwBIe?...

(ANALYSIS) To state that our culture suffers from a general alienation from its natural environment is to state a cliché.

In many religions and cultures, women who are menstruating or who just gave birth are not allowed to enter sacred sites, such as temples, or participate in religious rituals. https://religionunplugged.com/news/ritual-pollution-to-maternal-sacrifice-rethinking-menstruation-in-chinese-buddhism

Many scientists often don’t believe in God or religion, seeing them as separate from reason.

It’s worth remembering how pro-immigrant convictions were long ingrained in U.S. Catholic culture.

The US's oldest Catholic priest doesn’t look a day over 104.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting Algeria--with a special focus on sites associated with Augustine.

Catholic pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday to 20 years behind bars in one of the most prominent prosecutions under a China-imposed national security law that has reshaped Hong Kong’s political landscape.

Where did we get the just war theory, and can the American-Venezuela conflict be considered just? Find out in Richard Ostling's latest column. https://religionunplugged.com/news/america-and-venezuela-is-it-a-just-war

James Tabor opens his book with a paradoxical statement: “Jesus’s mother, Mary, is the best-known, least-known woman in history.”

For some Olympians, faith and spirituality play a meaningful role in how they compete. https://religionunplugged.com/news/2026-milan-cortina-5-winter-olympians-who-rely-on-their-faith-in-the-quest-for-gold

NAIROBI, Kenya — In Kenya and around the world, disabled Christians have long been vital participants in congregations — but their contributions and challenges may have gone unnoticed or unsupported.

South Africa has a sexual abuse crisis. And while many of these attacks occur on the streets or in the home, every month, several cases of rape take place in churches and are perpetrated by pastors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVsRsTkWwM

6,000 people in India claim to be Israel’s long-lost tribe of Manasseh. After centuries of displacement, they finally have their chance to migrate back to Israel and eventually claim citizenship. https://religionunplugged.com/news/israel-approves-plan-to-relocate-remaining-bnei-menashe-from-india

(ART/Matthew Peterson) After five years of what Jason Leith calls “over-calculating everything and overthinking everything” that had to do with the portrait project, he met Steve.

(OPINION/Paul Prather) How this short(ish) story from James Joyce can show us the mysteries and complications of the human heart. https://religionunplugged.com/news/if-you-want-to-unlock-the-mysteries-of-life-turn-to-james-joyces-the-dead

Buddhist Nuns are practicing Kung Fu in the Himalayas.

NEWS/@danielsilliman.bsky.social | One of the oldest denominations in the United States has deposed and excommunicated a 42-year-old minister for his white supremacist views.

Thanks to the support of people like you, Religion Unplugged was able to reach its NewsMatch challenge and raise a total of $36,462! We're so grateful for your support which allows us to continue publishing the most important religious stories around the world, and keep the site ad-free. @inn.org

Nineteen Buddhist monks and their dog are walking across the United States. Amidst a turbulent nation, their steady movements seek peace, compassion, forgiveness, and healing. One methodist writes about why he can't stop checking in on them. religionunplugged.com/news/peace-o...

The Boston Globe headline was blunt: “Church allowed abuse by priest for years.” This massive investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, forcing major newsrooms to cover a scandal that had festered for decades.

Atheism isn’t as in vogue as it used to be. Gone are the days when the main alternatives to Christianity were the “New Atheists” like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.

(Analysis) In Iran, the economy and currency are teetering, inflation is running a ruinous 40%, people scramble for everyday food and water, the nation is vulnerable militarily and its Mideast partners are enfeebled. religionunplugged.com/news/iran-su...

Women and children are being violated during counseling and prayer sessions with pastors.

The Daily Wire is making fantasy shows. Based on the “The Pendragon Cycle” books by Stephen Lawhead, the show is a faith-based fantasy adventure miniseries designed to appeal to the Daily Wire’s conservative Christian male audience. It’s part of a new trend its creators call “based faith” films.

The Maldives recently passed a new law to tighten the noose of the media. But this new law also indirectly strengthens the state’s restriction on religious freedom.

Why is a Nondenominational Zoomer visiting 47 christian denominations this year? Find out in Jillian Cheney's latest article: religionunplugged.com/news/curious...

@maddyfryabides.bsky.social: Mistrust of Zionism among British Jews is nothing new.

The Catholic Church’s long-dominant hold on Latin America is continuing to loosen.

As a scholar of Catholicism, Joanne M. Pierce knows that even amid violent persecutions, devastating wars and staggering death tolls from epidemics, Christians have repeatedly sought hope. So what is the meaning of hope in the Christian tradition religionunplugged.com/news/2026/1/...