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Religion Unplugged We are an award-winning, non-profit magazine on the topic of religion in public life.

What do Joe Rogan, Charlie Sheen and Charlie Kirk have in common?On many levels, the correct answer is, “Not much.” And ...
14/09/2025

What do Joe Rogan, Charlie Sheen and Charlie Kirk have in common?

On many levels, the correct answer is, “Not much.” And I never thought that I would be discussing Sheen in the context of someone like Kirk who, whatever you thought of his MAGA messages, was maturing into an increasingly effective public apologist on topics of faith, family and public life.

(ANALYSIS) What do Joe Rogan, Charlie Sheen and Charlie Kirk have in common? On many levels, the correct answer is, “Not much.” And I never thought that I would be discussing Sheen in the context of someone like Kirk who, whatever you thought of his MAGA messages, was maturing into an increasing...

Financial instability, high unemployment and poverty in South Africa have led some women to choose prostitution as a mea...
12/09/2025

Financial instability, high unemployment and poverty in South Africa have led some women to choose prostitution as a means of supporting their children.

As South Africa commemorated its 69th National Women’s Day this past Aug. 9 and the government moves to decriminalize prostitution, Religion Unplugged interviewed Christian ministries that preach to women involved in prostitution to explore the church’s role in restoring their dignity.

Financial instability, high unemployment and poverty in South Africa have led some women to choose prostitution as a means of supporting their children. As South Africa moves to decriminalize prostitution, Religion Unplugged interviewed Christian ministries that preach to women involved in prostit

To understand the significance of the attack — and why the reactions to it have been so strong — it helps to know who Ki...
11/09/2025

To understand the significance of the attack — and why the reactions to it have been so strong — it helps to know who Kirk was, what the organization he built stood for, and the role he and his allies have played in national debates.

(ANALYSIS) The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University has drawn condemnation and renewed attention to the climate of political violence in the United States. He was one of the most visible leaders of the young conservative movement

Every decade or so, perhaps during a global pandemic, it's common to see news reports about pastors leaving pulpits in s...
11/09/2025

Every decade or so, perhaps during a global pandemic, it's common to see news reports about pastors leaving pulpits in search of less stressful work.

Consider the 2024 Hartford Institute for Religion Research poll in which more than half of pastors said they have, at some point, seriously considered quitting, with 10% admitting this often crossed their minds. According to 2022 polling by the Barna Institute, the main causes for anxiety were strong job stress (56%), feeling isolated (43%) and current political tensions (38%).

(ANALYSIS) Every decade or so, it's common to see news reports about pastors leaving pulpits in search of less stressful work. Consider the 2024 Hartford Institute for Religion Research poll in which more than half said they have considered quitting. According to 2022 polling by the Barna Institute,

Salvation Poem Project President Brennan McPherson sits down with film critic Joseph Holmes to discuss his new hand-draw...
10/09/2025

Salvation Poem Project President Brennan McPherson sits down with film critic Joseph Holmes to discuss his new hand-drawn animation movie about the life of Jesus, "Light of the World."

Salvation Poem Project President Brennan McPherson sits down with Film Critic Joseph Holmes to discuss his new hand-drawn animation film about the life of Je...

Leo Tolstoy spent half a century avoiding arguably the most essential truth of them all: Everything comes to an end. If ...
10/09/2025

Leo Tolstoy spent half a century avoiding arguably the most essential truth of them all: Everything comes to an end.

If that’s true, which it is, what’s the point?

He’d conquered every peak the world could name. “War and Peace” made him immortal. “Anna Karenina” made him rich. Critics worshipped him in tongues he didn’t even speak. Russian aristocrats name-dropped him like Scripture.

(ANALYSIS) Leo Tolstoy spent half a century avoiding arguably the most essential truth of them all: Everything comes to an end. If that’s true, which it is, what’s the point? He’d conquered every peak the world could name. “War and Peace” made him immortal. “Anna Karenina” made him ric...

Faith-based action movies are rare. Good ones are even rarer. While the faith-based film industry has been a thriving ge...
09/09/2025

Faith-based action movies are rare. Good ones are even rarer. While the faith-based film industry has been a thriving genre for more than 20 years, it’s mostly kept to inspirational dramas. There are a lot of reasons for this. One is that the primary audience for these films is Christian moms, who don’t watch as many action films. Another is that most religious observers see their faith as primarily promoting love and reconciliation, which is sometimes hard to reconcile with movies about committing violence.

(REVIEW) “Guns & Moses” is a rare film that succeeds both as compelling entertainment and as a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of faith. It’s a model that shows how believers can examine all aspects of life through their faith and art — including those they'd prefer to keep in a conc...

“Premium, quality, entertainment.” Whether or not you think the end of the AppleTV+ series “Murderbot” is irrelevant to ...
08/09/2025

“Premium, quality, entertainment.”

Whether or not you think the end of the AppleTV+ series “Murderbot” is irrelevant to the story matters little. This in-show dialogue evaluates an in-in-show — a space soap opera called, “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon” (really!) — that our friendly, neighborhood security robot chooses to watch for hours while he is supposed to be guarding planetary explorers.

The fact that he has a choice at all to stare at screens for hours (yes, it goes there) and make quality judgments is the essence of what sets this show and the character apart.

“Murderbot” follows the journey of this security-unit bot (SecUnit) in an undetermined future where corporations control planets, commerce and most of the industrial complex through technology, authoritarian policing and indentured labor. Fascism amok? Well, maybe, but sci-fi fans have been here before. The future is never sunny when the tech corps are in control.

(ANALYSIS) “Murderbot” has options, but only a few. Kill all the stupid humans and flee, which likely means another SecUnit would stop him and then the company would melt him down as scrap. Or play along, pretending to do the job you’ve always done but hope no one notices when you’re not all...

History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis — the 15-year-old tech prodigy know...
07/09/2025

History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis — the 15-year-old tech prodigy known as “God’s Influencer” — the first Millennial saint.

Before 80,000 pilgrims, many of them young families and digital natives, this wasn’t just a canonization. It was a prophetic moment for the Catholic Church as it grapples with its place in the 21st century.

(ANALYSIS) History was made on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis — the 15-year-old tech prodigy known as “God’s Influencer” — the first Millennial saint. Before 80,000 pilgrims, many of them young families and digital natives, this wasn’t just a canonizat...

While the faith-based film industry has been in its modern form for more than 20 years, there’s been little investment i...
05/09/2025

While the faith-based film industry has been in its modern form for more than 20 years, there’s been little investment in animation after Big Ideas VeggieTales collapsed in 2003. It’s no wonder. Animation is expensive and the faith-based film industry has largely built its business model on being a low-budget with an enthusiastic niche audience.

But now, faith-based movies are much bigger, while animation has gotten much cheaper. Hence, the independently animated “Flow” winning best animated feature.

This year has been evidence of that. It’s been noted before (including by me) that this has been a good year for Jesus at the movies. “The Chosen,” “The King of Kings” and “The Last Supper” were all released in theaters in time for the Easter season. All were big successes. But it’s also true that this has been a big year for Jesus in animation, particularly “The King of Kings” — and now “Light of the World” enters the fray.

(REVIEW) At times, it feels like there are two different “Light of the World” movies vying for dominance onscreen. One is a cringe Sunday school lesson with forced try-hard laughs and mini-sermons sprinkled throughout. The other is a beautifully animated character drama that shares the beauty of...

A growing number of people around the world are walking away from organized religion — but that doesn’t mean they’ve aba...
04/09/2025

A growing number of people around the world are walking away from organized religion — but that doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned spiritual beliefs altogether.

A new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God.

The study surveyed adults in 22 countries with large populations of religiously unaffiliated individuals. These “nones” typically identify as atheist, agnostic or say they have “nothing in particular” when it comes to religion. While they are generally less likely than religious people to engage in worship, prayer or other practices, the research found that belief in some form of spirituality remains surprisingly common among them.

A new study by the Pew Research Center released Thursday reveals that many religiously unaffiliated adults — often referred to as “nones” — still hold beliefs commonly associated with religion, such as belief in life after death, a spiritual realm or even God. The study surveyed adults in 22...

It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a you...
04/09/2025

It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman.

But the old-fashioned church Leanne Morgan attends in her summer Netflix sitcom does have a Philippians 4:13 poster in the fellowship hall proclaiming: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

Alas, the faithful are walking stereotypes. Asked how she's doing, a widow offers a pasted-on smile and says she is “basking in the sunshine of our Savior.” Leanne remains silent about her marriage disaster until she cracks and dashes, shouting out the door.

(ANALYSIS) It’s hard to take Jell-O salad to the after-church brunch a few hours after your husband of 33 years runs off with a younger woman. But the old-fashioned church Leanne Morgan attends in her summer Netflix sitcom does have a Philippians 4:13 poster in the fellowship hall proclaiming: “...

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