The soulful, hilarious memoir of a chronic people pleaser who surprised everyone in her life by abandoning an unfulfilling career and marriage to join a convent—and learned how much we stand to gain when we fully embrace our authentic selves.

Discover the 60-year history of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, sustaining NCR's commitment to covering the nation, the world, the Catholic Church, and the Catholic faith.

Sanctuary is the inspiring story of a church that left evangelical exclusion behind to become fully inclusive and wound up healthier, happier, and more deeply faithful than before. As they welcomed LGBTQ+ members, this Iowa congregation transformed into a more loving and caring Christian community.

Drawing on forty years of teaching and mission experience, leading missiological anthropologist Darrell Whiteman brings a wealth of insight to bear on cross-cultural ministry.

Our major world religions all contain a promise of uniting humanity. Yet as we look at human history, we easily conclude that a major cause of our ongoing strife is religious differences.

On this journey, Wilbert shares her story of alienation and disorientation after years of religious and political unrest in the evangelical church. In doing so, she looks to an unlikely place—the forest—to learn how to live and even thrive when everything seems to be falling apart.

In the darkest corners of our lives, where sorrow, trauma, grief and pain reside, there exists a profound capacity for resilience and hope. Telling Stories in the Dark by Jeffrey Munroe is a uniquely inspiring non-fiction book that illuminates the transformative power of sharing our most profound experiences of suffering.

She’s just found the most powerful relic in history – and she’ll need all the help she can get to protect it.

Into the wilderness of our hearts let springs rains come, cracking open the hard shells of seeds, cleansing old wounds of shame and strife,

I was recently asked about ways that folks who might be more homebound than others can impactfully participate in resisting fascism and Christian Nationalism. I thought it was a great question!  

In these Holy Days of Lent, Ramadan, and with Passover coming soon, my mind and heart are troubled by how much violence happens in the name of God.

Today marks the end of the first 100 days of Trump 2.0. Simply put, it has been horrible. We’ve seen early capitulation and collusion from major American institutions. A full-on attack on valued programs that support civic life. The purposeful undermining of the Constitution, especially when it comes to civil rights and freedom of speech.

In July of 1925, a 24-year-old high school teacher named John Scopes was arrested for teaching the theory of evolution through natural selection. At the time, Tennessee’s newly passed Butler Act made it illegal to teach anything in the classroom that contradicted the Bible. A century later, states are once again attempting to force the Bible into public education, this time not by banning evolution, but by promoting scripture as curriculum.

Anyone who is threatened by evil will struggle with the admonition to appease bullies, even when they are violent and seek to take away everything. Was Jesus really telling us to give in to bullying and violence? Is that the essence of pacifism?

When it becomes clear that their beloved pastor is all too non-human, it’s then up to the faithful themselves to offer their own particular gifts for ministry in order to keep the Spirit moving.

The story I try to impress upon folks is that we are Beloved Partners who have agency, choice, gifts and callings that we must use to heal ourselves and the world. This partnership is our responsibility.

Court orders are being ignored, people are unlawfully detained, those who speak out are intimidated and threatened, universities lose grants, and millions of innocent people are treated as though they did not exist.

Queer & Christian by Brandan Robertson offers a powerful and affirming perspective for those at the intersection of queer identity and Christian faith.

Most nights, for the last few months, at 7pm—the time we once banged pots and pans in appreciation of healthcare workers during COVID—I stand on my front porch and play “We Shall Overcome” on my French horn for the neighborhood to hear. I do it to remind me about hope.

I am sick of white supremacy. I am sick of white people thinking they are smarter, better, sharper, more gifted, more entitled, more beautiful, more holy, more pure, more saved, and more predestined for goodness, love, fortune, blessedness, and thriving than people who are BIPOC.

Trump himself has seriously called for Canada to become our 51st state. Suppose, on the other hand, that various US states would choose to join Canada, if the neighbor to the north would be so kind.

I began to write this reflection on a historic Monday in January, when Donald Trump was sworn into office as our president on the same day our nation observed the annual commemoration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nowadays, the most obvious current flashpoints are the Israeli/Palestinian and Russia/Ukrainian conflicts. Turf wars by either dreams of empire, or religiously inspired claims of a so-called “promised land,” are nothing new. Just peruse the history books or biblical scriptures.

For years, the celebration of Black History Month, especially among white conservatives, has always brought up their ire around "identity politics" and "special rights. 

Living the teachings of Jesus is an important focus of all progressive Christians. The teachings of Jesus are beautiful... The problem is there is no practical advice in the New Testament on how to attain them. The teachings of Jesus come with no how-to suggestions.

A modern, ex-Christian, tree-hugging American woman comes up against a strange wish for church--but only if it could be radically different from what she's known. It would have to be one steeped in women's equality and freedom of thought. Unexpectedly, she finds herself on a journey like a canoe trip. T

Inclusivity has always been a core value in progressive Christianity.  We're reminded, for example, of Jesus' practice of open table commensality.  Radically inclusive, this was a core practice of Jesus' ministry.  At his table, everyone was welcome.  As Christians, therefore, we are encouraged to do the same.  It is in this way, as we lift up the common good, that the new covenant in Jesus is served.  

This Valentine’s Day my focus is on black love.  African American life in the U.S. is primarily depicted as a struggle devoid of romantic love rather than a radical act of living, liberation, and loving families. Under the tyranny of colonization, slavery, Jim Crow, and simple everyday life, how do we have time for love? 

I seriously doubt that the great majority of Americans want to treat immigrants and refugees with the callous disregard currently aimed at them by the Trump administration. 

In English, the word ‘love’ is a much-abused term. For example, someone might say, “I love apple pies,” or “They made love in the bedroom last night.” Therefore, it is important to have some idea of what Jesus meant when he used the term. From what we know of Jesus from the gospels, when he said to love your neighbour, the noun ‘love’ means a self-giving concern for others.