The Media Project Africa

The Media Project Africa The Media Project challenges and prepares journalists to cover the role of religion in public life.

Could the flourishing history of journalism provide clues for enabling it to flourish in future? Why is society’s watch...
07/25/2025

Could the flourishing history of journalism provide clues for enabling it to flourish in future? Why is society’s watchdog, the press, with its long and often honorable pedigree, going feral? Failing to bark at misrepresentation and fraud, while snarling at truth?

Why does journalism have the privileged position it does? As commercialization collides with the greatest communication revolution since Gutenberg, why are both revenues and media ethics in meltdown?

(EXCERPT) Could the flourishing history of journalism provide clues for enabling it to flourish in future? Why is society’s watchdog, the press, with its long and often honorable pedigree, going feral? Failing to bark at misrepresentation and fraud, while snarling at truth? Why does journalism hav...

The number of countries who impose heavy government restrictions on religious freedom peaked in 2022, according to a new...
12/18/2024

The number of countries who impose heavy government restrictions on religious freedom peaked in 2022, according to a new study.

While the global median score on the Government Restrictions Index (based on several factors) held steady in 2022 at 3.0 out of 10, the number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government religious restrictions rose to 59, which accounts for 30% of the 198 countries and terri...

The conflict in Northern Ethiopia has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, characterized by widespread atrocities s...
09/20/2024

The conflict in Northern Ethiopia has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis, characterized by widespread atrocities such as war crimes, mass killings and sexual violence committed by all parties involved — the federal government, the TPLF and Eritrean troops.

These violations have been confirmed by Joint Report of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as by organizations Amnesty International.

The ongoing violence highlights Ethiopia’s fragile peace, further strained by instability in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia. Despite the Pretoria Agreement offering a glimmer of hope, achieving lasting peace remains uncertain due to persistent political distrust and a struggling economy. Transitional justice has yet to be realized, leaving many grievances unresolved. In this challenging context, faith communities are called to emerge as crucial actors in peacebuilding.

(OPINION) Ethiopia — with its rich historical heritage and 84 ethnolinguistic groups — faces ongoing challenges despite its democratic aspirations. The nation has struggled with cycles of political violence and persistent poverty, shaped by the 1974 Marxist military revolution and the 1991 rise ...

“If you want peace, work for justice.”Those were the famous words uttered by Pope Paul VI in 1972. But a community in Zi...
09/05/2024

“If you want peace, work for justice.”

Those were the famous words uttered by Pope Paul VI in 1972. But a community in Zimbabwe thinks this is not necessarily the case with local Jesuits. In fact, community residents and the Catholic order have engaged in a years-long court battle after the church tried to evict them from their ancestral land on the outskirts of the capital, Harare.

The more than 1,000 families were relieved in mid-June when a high court agreed to halt moves by the Jesuits to evict them from their land that the church wants to turn into an urban residential area. The court, however, ordered that the church consider the objections raised by local communities who are opposed to the urbanization project on the basis that it would “impoverish us and make us destitute.”

Local residents and the Catholic order have engaged in a years-long court battle after the church tried to evict them from their ancestral land on the outskirts of the capital Harare. The more than 1,000 families, however, were relieved when a court agreed to halt, for now, a move by the Jesuits to

News audiences have been consumed by the onrush of the Donald Trump assassination attempt, Joe Biden’s extraordinary fal...
07/30/2024

News audiences have been consumed by the onrush of the Donald Trump assassination attempt, Joe Biden’s extraordinary fall and Kamala Harris’s rise. But Catholics who follow religious events got other eye-popping news July 1 from CruxNow.com, an excellent and influential journalistic outlet on church events.

(ANALYSIS) Why rake muck? For one thing, it’s biblical. Recall Scripture’s narratives about the venerated King David’s adultery and homicide or St. Peter’s multiple denials of Jesus Christ. It encourages healthy reflection on the forgiveness of sins, the ways power is misused, the dangers of...

On the night of June 18, 1983, 10 women, from a 57-year-old mother to a 17-year-old student, were held in Adel Abad Pris...
07/19/2024

On the night of June 18, 1983, 10 women, from a 57-year-old mother to a 17-year-old student, were held in Adel Abad Prison they were executed in Chowgan Square in Shiraz, Iran, on charges that they belonged to the Baha’i faith.

Even though the Ukrainian Orthodox Church tries to stay independent of Russian officials, agents have dressed in priestly robes to get information.

While Muslim athletes from other countries can wear hijabs during the upcoming Paris Olympics, athletes from France are banned from donning the head coverings.

These were just a few of the stark examples of religious intolerance that were discussed at the fourth annual Religious Liberty Summit at the University of Notre Dame from July 9-11.

The theme of the conference, which took place at the school’s campus in South Bend, Indiana, was “Depolarizing Religious Liberty,” which still depends too much on one's race, faith or nationality. The highlight of the summit was an awards program and gala where the Religious Liberty Clinic was...

For Cosmas Pikinini, a 61-year-old an insurance salesman, one thing that has kept him awake at night are the recurrent d...
07/11/2024

For Cosmas Pikinini, a 61-year-old an insurance salesman, one thing that has kept him awake at night are the recurrent droughts that have seen many farmers return from their plots empty-handed. It is because his retirement plans involve investing his pension into farming on a family piece of land in Mhondoro, his rural home some 90 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of the capital.

With the droughts increasingly making rain-dependent farming careless gambling, his crucial retirement plans had been thrown into turmoil. However, as the father of six worried himself sick, one day at his church on the outskirts of the city, Pikinini’s eyes were opened to something that he had never taken notice of before: a green corn crop and a flourishing vegetable and tomato plot — all at the peak of the dry season.

At the Divineyard Church of His Presence, a Pentecostal church whose leader John Chibwe is always emphasizing the importance of self-sustenance while stressing the reality that climate change will not be making life in the future any better, the place has become an oasis in contrast to the surrounding communities whose residents barely have enough water to drink.

From the church’s horticultural project that relies on drawing underground water for irrigation, congregants and the local communities learn that it is not all doom and gloom and that it is practicable to produce food — even with little to no rainfall.

As the effects of climate change become more apparent in Africa and in other parts of the world, eco-anxiety is becoming prevalent. This is true especially in Africa, a continent that is home to a disproportionate share of climate change-related disasters but also has limited resources to deal with

Imagine a world where AI is omnipresent. It occupies your home, your car, your workplace, your pocket. Even your mind. E...
07/06/2024

Imagine a world where AI is omnipresent. It occupies your home, your car, your workplace, your pocket. Even your mind. Every aspect of your daily routine is seamlessly integrated with this sophisticated technology.

It anticipates your needs, completes your thoughts, deciphers your emotions, plays your favorite songs, drafts your emails and even suggests your next meal. It serves as your personal assistant, confidant, entertainment hub and your lover. Life becomes smooth, convenient and tailored to your every whim.

But something crucial is missing. A sense of unease begins to take root. Interactions feel hollow, conversations lack depth and relationships become superficial and transactional. The more we rely on AI, the more we find ourselves yearning for something it cannot provide: authenticity, meaning and opportunities to connect on a fundamentally human level.

(ANALYSIS) The more we rely on AI, the more we find ourselves yearning for something it cannot provide: authenticity, meaning and opportunities to connect on a fundamentally human level. This is where the church reenters the scene, not as a relic of the past, but as a symbol of the present, a sanctu

Millions continue to suffer religious persecution globally, with wars and civil conflicts exacerbating already existing ...
06/28/2024

Millions continue to suffer religious persecution globally, with wars and civil conflicts exacerbating already existing ills in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the U.S. State Department documented in its 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom.

The report on 199 countries and territories attempts to present a nonbiased overview of persecution by governments, extremists and members of society, relying on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organizations, journalists, human rights monitors, academia, media and others.

Millions continue to suffer religious persecution globally, with wars and civil conflicts exacerbating already existing ills in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the U.S. State Department documented in its 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom. The report attempts to present an over

How did religious tensions from India get mixed up with an event focused on South Africa’s recently-concluded elections?
06/20/2024

How did religious tensions from India get mixed up with an event focused on South Africa’s recently-concluded elections?

Over the last decade, under the Modi government (which has retained power following the recent elections), Hindu nationalism has become the dominant political ideology in India. Proponents of Hindu nationalism argue that being Indian should be synonymous with being Hindu, which has led to increased

An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christie’s in London. This...
06/04/2024

An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christie’s in London.

This codex is a mid-fourth century book from Egypt containing a combination of biblical and other early Christian texts.

The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was discovered alongside more than 20 other codices near Dishna, Egypt, in 1952. These manuscripts are collectively known as “the Dishna Papers” or “the Bodmer Papyri,” after the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer.

(ANALYSIS) An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christie’s in London. This codex is a mid-fourth century book from Egypt containing a combination of biblical and other early Christian texts.

A prominent South African politician and pastor said God will judge the ruling African National Congress for “robbing th...
05/30/2024

A prominent South African politician and pastor said God will judge the ruling African National Congress for “robbing the poor” and attempting to corrupt the church in a vote-buying scheme that mixed religion with politics.

The stern rebuke by Mmusi Maimane — former president of the main opposition party, Democratic Alliance, and now leader of the new party Build One South Africa — came after it was reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa of the ANC had pledged to build 1,000 houses for members of the Shembe Baptist Church.

Ramaphosa announced the pledge a few months before national elections, which will start on Wednesday and are considered the most important since the end of apartheid 30 years ago.

A prominent South African pastor said God will judge the ruling African National Congress for “robbing the poor” and attempting to corrupt the church in a vote-buying scheme that mixed religion with politics. The stern rebuke came after it was reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphos...

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