Less Than 5% of Refugee Resettlement Needs Met in 2019
Only 63,696 of the 1.4 million refugees considered top priorities for resettlement received resettlement in 2019, according to a fact sheet published by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Feb. 5.
Christians Declined Slightly as Percent of Global Population
The number of Christians as a percentage of the global population declined ever so slightly over the past 20 years, according to a report published Jan. 3 by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
Bolivia Religious Debate: Bible vs Indigenous Beliefs
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Hoisting a large leather Bible above her head, Bolivia’s new interim president delivered an emphatic message hours after Evo Morales fled under pressure, the end of a nearly 14-year presidency that celebrated the country’s indigenous religious beliefs like never before.
Human Rights Advocates Welcome ‘Landmark’ UN Ruling to Prevent Rohingya Genocide
(RNS) — The United Nations' top court has ordered the government of Myanmar to take urgent measures to prevent genocide against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in the majority-Buddhist country.
Poll: What Do Americans Know About the Holocaust? Some, Not Much
(RNS) — A new poll suggests Americans know about the Holocaust, the genocidal campaign against European Jews, but they're fuzzy on the details.
‘Walking Worship’ New Lifeline for Chinese Christians
WASHINGTON (BP) -- "Walking worship" is what the pastor calls it. After the Chinese government destroyed his underground church in Beijing, the congregation resorted to a new thing.
Open Doors: Technology Advancing Christian Persecution
WASHINGTON (BP) -- The use of technology is advancing and strengthening Christian persecution, Open Doors CEO David Curry said Wednesday (Jan. 15) in releasing the ministry's 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries where such persecution is most severe.
Memorial for Reinhard Bonnke, ‘the Billy Graham of Africa,’ Draws Thousands
ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) — Reinhard Bonnke, the German evangelist known as “The Billy Graham of Africa,” was lauded at a Saturday (Jan. 4) memorial service as “a giant and a general in the army of God.”
Egypt’s President Says Interfaith Bond Saved Country
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi appeared at Coptic Christmas Eve Mass on Monday and praised the links between the country’s Christian and Muslim faithful, saying they have prevented the country from descending into sectarian strife like its neighbors.
Seeking the Cross: Icy Dips Mark the Feast of Epiphany
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into the icy waters of rivers and lakes across Bulgaria on Monday to retrieve crucifixes tossed by priests in Epiphany ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.