General Articles
Originally a youth movement born in U.S.
Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) are aligned in the fight for “traditional values,” but politics and religion have been parting ways more when it comes to abortion, Pal Kolsto writes in the current issue of the journal Religion, State, and Society (51:2).
Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Riga Latvia (source: Diego
China has been increasingly using religion as a diplomatic tool to further its foreign policy goals, especially in relation to its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), writes Juyan Zhang (University of Texas at San Antonio) in The Review of Faith and International Affairs (21:2).
Growing Muslim activism in the U.S., Canada and other countries on such issues as sex education and gender is finding new support and cooperation from conservative Christians, reports Sarah Haider in her blog Hold That Thought (June 15).
There is an ideological shift taking place among the alt-right, or “dissident right,” away from paganism toward the adoption of “already existing religious and specifically Christian symbols,” writes Tamara Berens in the Jewish magazine Mosaic (June).
Russia’s Protestant churches are adapting to the country’s Orthodox, nationalist, and collectivist culture in their style of worship, architecture, and reconstruction of an indigenous Russian past for themselves, write Eugene Zaitsev and Dmitrii Fokin in the Journal of Church and State (
New practices and products dealing with death are emerging in Japan, as older traditions of families maintaining cemeteries are disappearing due to population loss, lack of family ties, and a subsequent disintegration of the temple system for the deceased.
Although most Muslims living in Latin America have roots in Muslim-majority countries, the phenomenon of some local communities embracing Islam has drawn attention from various sectors, including Islamic organizations eager to develop missionary activities.
The coronation of King Charles III in early May was the subject of intense speculation as to whether the ceremony and subsequent monarchy would depart from or uphold tradition in an increasingly secular and multifaith Britain.