Text of President Barack Obama's Proclamation for the National Day of Prayer. Editor's Note:  Below is the text of President Barack Obama's Proclamation for t ...

When we complete a task, it is good to celebrate the end result, but what do we really remember? Is it not the people, the things we did, and the lessons learned in the process of completing the task? ...

April 26, 2013 Sojo in the News Tyler Castle ...

April 30, 2013 Sojo in the News Warren Olney ...

Tuesday, President Obama repeated his belief that Guantanamo Bay needs to be closed. President Obama broke his silence to comment on the current hunger strike of over 90 men at Gu ...

More than two months after his resignation, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will return to the Vatican on Thursday to live in a small convent that has been recently renovated for his needs. ...

If migrants worldwide were their own country, it would be the fifth most populous in the world today. More than 100 million are women. If migrants and refugees worldwide were thei ...

April 30, 2013 Sojo in the News Jeff Walton ...

Amid calls for a Vatican investigation, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers is facing fierce criticism for his handling of a priest who attended youth retreats and heard confessions from minors in defiance of a co ...

I like Wallis’s three rules, but I think there is an important one missing when it comes to the common good. If the common good is for everyone, then how do we treat the team that loses? And if we happen to lo ...

Religious leaders from around the world have stepped up their pleas for the safe return of two Syrian bishops who were kidnapped April 22 by armed men as they were driving near the war-torn city of Aleppo. ...

Most songwriters in Nashville want to get their songs on the radio. Keith and Kristyn Getty hope their songs end up in dusty old hymnbooks. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Most songwriters in ...

April 28, 2013 Sojo in the News San Antonio Express-News ...

“[O]nly 40% of churchgoers are convinced that the new Archbishop of Canterbury can resolve the problems of the Church of England," said the new Archbishop, Justin Welby, in his Easter sermon last month. & ...

Of course the higher ground, the refuge from tragedy, is God’s. People seem to sense that instinctively, regardless of faith tradition. The harder, more humbling realization is that all of it — the flooded pl ...

The “if someone hits you, hit them back” mentality is destroying black men at an alarming rate. Dads, teach your boys to talk it over, look the other way, or keep walking when things begin to escalate. ...

A former adviser to Sarah Palin and an attorney with a long record of advocating conservative causes, will become the first spokeswoman for the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the USCCB a ...

Confessions among American Catholics have been on the decline for decades, a trend many theologians attribute to changes introduced by the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). ...

Christian moderated a discussion with Jim at Powell’s Books last week to talk about his new book about nurturing the common good, called On God’s Side. Not to get all braggy here, ...

U.S. and U.K. protests against drone killings. This weekend saw protests on both sides of the Atlantic against drone killings. In the U.S., more than 250 people marched o ...

April 24, 2013 Sojo in the News Christian Piatt ...

April 25, 2013 Sojo in the News Jim Wallis ...

April 27, 2013 Sojo in the News Rachael McNeal ...

The honorary chairman of this year’s National Day of Prayer (May 2) says prayer was the only thing that got him through his son’s death five years ago. When fellow megachurch pastor Rick Warren lost his son Ma ...

While we’re busy navel-gazing and discussing the meaning of Nietzsche’s “death of God,” non-Anglo religious leaders were busy dealing with real-world problems right in front of them. ...

To know former anti-apartheid warrior Father Michael Lapsley today is to rejoice in how, as taught by St. Paul, “suffering is for the salvation and hope of others.” Most American ...

Not surprisingly, if you look for Christian reviews of Paranorman you will see many focus on warnings to stay way from the occult. Sadly, this response misses the profoundly deep moral message behind this film ...

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out exactly why I feel so bothered by Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been trying to ...

If you eat food, here are two newish books you should know about. If you eat food, here are two newish books you should know about. You may already have met Robert H. Lusti ...

Immigration reform legislation proposes 24/7 border surveillance by drones.   The U.S.-Mexico border is currently patrolled by 10 Predator surveillance drones. The immigration ...

British military now controlling drones over Afghanistan from the U.K. The British military has been flying drones in Afghanistan for several years, firing 350 weapons, includin ...

Israel shoots down drone off of its northern coast. An Israeli jet shot down a drone off its northern coast on Thursday. While some Israeli officials said they believed it was a ...

The recent explosions at the Boston Marathon and subsequent media coverage exposed yet again a dangerous trend in U.S. culture: rushing to judgment in labeling and prosecuting crimes, and throwing away long-he ...

Victoria's Secret's statement about “Bright Young Things” — what Sojourners has always made clear was a campaign, not a line — does not address Sojourners’ central concerns over reinforcing confusion ...

The Senate’s vote against background checks shows that public opinion is not the driving — or defining — force behind America’s gun culture. In fact, to find that force, you don’t have to look any farther than ...

Several atheist protests planned for Thursday outside Bangladeshi embassies and consulates were postponed in the wake of Wednesday’s building collapse that killed at least 244 people in that country’s capital, ...

I believed that Victoria’s Secret was putting profits above girls’ self-esteem, self-pride, and self-worth. I wanted my voice to be heard even though I had no idea if they would even listen. I wanted to share ...

On a recent rainy Saturday, about 125 Catholics packed a basement conference room, many of them older, most of them lay people. Many were representing their parishes. On a recen ...

JERUSALEM — Women who want to wear prayer shawls while praying in the women’s section of the Western Wall are not breaking the law, according to a landmark decision handed down Thursday by the Jerusalem Distri ...

five foreign gods since the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 17:30-31) and the one Samaria worships now ...

Half of young Christians favor the legalization of marijuana, says a new survey out today from the Public Religion Research Institute. Half of young Christians favor the legaliz ...

Black clergy have launched a new coalition to fight gun violence, saying they are undeterred by the recent failure of legislation on Capitol Hill and all too aware of the problem of gun violence. ...

Just what is the best response to a horrendous act of public violence? There's no right answer, Kawakami says. “One strategy might be to do something in your own community that honors the victims and also ...

Rather than just offer you more “ideas” about the common good, we are going to offer you some stories about how ordinary people are creating it. Stories are what change the world ...

Many of today’s evangelical Christians seem to be taking to heart the words traditionally attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” ...

For these victims, the path forward involves relearning almost everything, from getting out of bed to getting in a car. Whether they go on to lead satisfying lives depends largely on how they handle the spirit ...

Conservative and liberal religious leaders may not agree on much, but both are expressing displeasure with the Boy Scouts’ proposal to accept gay members but reject gay leaders. ...

An international consortium of nonbelievers is planning rallies Thursday outside Bangladeshi embassies and consulates to demand the release of several Bangladeshi bloggers who were arrested on charges of blasp ...

Sandberg’s big nod to work-life balance is that she leaves the office at 5:30 to go home for dinner with her children, and then spends another couple of hours working at home. Every day! ...

Jesus has called me to love my neighbor as myself, but what does that really mean when my neighbor is Mormon, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, secular humanist, or Hindu? There's no ...