“To me, the choir is really a microcosm of what a community ought to be. People are not worried about status within their social position or their family hierarchy. What they are worried about is all together singing D major,” says John Maclay, music director of the Choral Society at New York City’s Grace Church. More →

July 17, 2015

Faith communities, observes Howard University School of Divinity applied theology professor Harold Dean Trulear, are “founded on forgiveness.” Together the Charleston church shooting and the Confederate flag debate have “uncovered the depth of racism in our country and the ways our nation still remains deeply divided. But it also uncovered some real people of good will…Now we’re working very hard to try to do some healing.” More →

July 10, 2015

The gospel is “a message that knows no racial boundary,” says Rev. Michael Walrond, senior pastor at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem. “When we begin to speak to the existential issues that bind us together, I think people find a home and a place of common ground.” More →

July 10, 2015

“This is very, very different than being the great white surgeon who comes in and does some magical surgeries and then leaves without imparting any of the magic to the surgeons in the community. It’s teaching the doctors the surgical skills to go forth and do good things for the community, and also teach other doctors,” says Dr. Mary O’Hara, one of the volunteer surgeons traveling with the Orbis flying hospital to treat eye conditions and train local doctors on a recent trip to Vietnam. More →

July 10, 2015

“Supporters of gay marriage say religion should not be used to discriminate against people. Religion should not be an excuse for people not to provide services or do their jobs. But conservative law firms are saying people have a right to stand up for what they believe, and they can’t be forced to act against what they believe.” More →

July 2, 2015

Correspondent Tim O’Brien observes that the High Court’s upholding of gay marriage nationwide “is for gays and lesbians what Brown v Board of Education was for African Americans.” More →

June 26, 2015

“We want people to understand the history of this church,” says Elder Marcus Nash, a leader of the LDS church who worked on a series of essays about questions of faith and contested church issues. But while this generation of Mormons may be “craving a more complicated narrative” about the church’s past, as Mormon historian Paul Reeve has said, former Mormon Edward Hoefer thinks “some people will accept the essays…and be comforted,” while for others “it will just accelerate their process” of leaving the church behind. More →

June 26, 2015

Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, a Maryknoll priest in Nicaragua suspended by the Vatican for his leftist political activities in the seventies and eighties as part of the theological movement that was known for its radical embrace of the poor over the powerful, believes the Catholic Church under Pope Francis is “more attuned to Jesus.” More →

June 19, 2015

“Give people job opportunities, give children education, and then you bring them out of poverty. Just giving them condoms and contraceptives will not automatically draw them out of poverty,” says Rev. Joel Jason of the Archdiocese of Manila. But some women say lack of access to family planning and free birth control makes it harder for them to improve their lives. More →

June 12, 2015

“All of the experiences that I have during Ramadan when we’re on tour fasting have always been a blessing,” says Native Deen group member Abdul-Malik Ahmad. “So during the month of Ramadan, I feel that it’s my time to say thank you to God, basically, for all these opportunities.” More →

June 12, 2015