Religion News Service

As the world approaches a tipping point in the climate change crisis, many people finally appear to be waking up to the need for radical change.

Ismail Alghazali has never met his 5-month-old daughter.

"I live in darkness, and my family is my only light," said Alghazali, a Yemeni American who works at a Brooklyn bodega and has not seen his wife and two young children in more than a year.

As the latest wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa dies out, churches in the country and others on the continent are demanding an end to the persistent problem, affecting economic migrants in one of Africa's biggest economies.

Three years ago, the Boston Archdiocese became the country's first to undertake a major effort to make its archive accessible online; now a major expansion is starting in collaboration with American Ancestors.

A new study by the Christian research firm Barna Group suggests that many people aged 18 to  35 worldwide have anxiety and that faith can be an asset when dealing with mental health concerns.

The United Methodist Church’s deadline for petitions for its next global meeting passed Sept. 18, setting the terms for a final reckoning with LGBTQ issues that have divided the denomination for more than 40 years. 

Following an attempt by the Vatican to exercise control over its upcoming and reform-driven gathering, the Catholic Church in Germany has made it clear that it has no intention of backing down, proving to be yet another wedge in the internal church wars that have plagued Pope Francis' six-year papacy.

For Pope Francis, the Amazon is important because it touches on so many themes of his papacy: concern for the marginalized, evangelization and protection of the environment. 

When 12 Greek Catholic bishops from Ukraine met with the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 10, the retired pontiff invited them to be a force for unity in today’s “increasingly fractured and divided world.”

Signs of the Times: In announcing the appointment of 10 new cardinal electors, Pope Francis has improved the possibility that the next pope will continue his policies, but their appointments have also sent a message to the church about what should be the priorities of its leaders.

Nearly four in 10 young adults ages 18 to 29 are religiously unaffiliated — or nones — and are four times more likely as young adults a generation ago to identify this way, according to a study by the Public Religion Research Institute. Among college students surveyed by Trinity College, 32% identified their worldview as religious; 32% as spiritual; and 28% as secular.

On the 18-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that set off the ongoing global war on terror, a new visual timeline seeks to document the U.S. policies and programs that Muslim and civil rights activists say have resulted in major encroachments on human rights.

With objections both environmental and religious, thousands have flocked to the camp at Mauna Kea to block construction of the mountaintop Thirty Meter Telescope.

Roman Catholic Archbishop José H. Gomez delivered a message of unity at a Mass dedicated to immigrants Sept. 7, urging Catholics to pray for those who are "trying to cause division in our country."

Catholics across Southern California are being called to pray for immigrants at a special Mass on Sept. 7.

A federal watchlist of more than 1 million people identified as “known or suspected terrorists” violates the constitutional rights of those placed on it, a federal judge ruled Sept. 4.

Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are meeting at the Vatican for a synod aimed at strengthening the Byzantine Rite church’s ties with Rome while maintaining its identity in the ongoing tug of war between East and West.

After six years as pope, Francis continues to remake the College of Cardinals in his own image, increasing the likelihood that his successor will continue on the same path as his papacy.

The Islamic Society of North America attracted some major names to its annual convention in Houston this year, including comedian Trevor Noah, activist Linda Sarsour, Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and (by video) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Signs of the Times: Everyone reading this column will die one day. We just don’t know when. But contemporary medical technology is increasingly forcing us to think about how.