Religion Unplugged

The Vatican, together with civil and religious leaders in Jordan, recently began preparations to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’s baptism in al-Maghtas, also called Bethany Beyond the Jordan, in 2030. religionunplugged.com/news/jordan-to…

Walk into any suburban megachurch on a Sunday morning and you will witness a massive production designed entirely to evoke transcendent emotion. Thousands of believers lift their hands toward the rafters, waiting for that familiar, spine-tingling sensation of holy awe.

There’s just one problem, and it’s impossible to ignore.

Many of those same worshippers washed down some mood-altering medication with their morning coffee before piling into the minivan. Roughly 17% of American adults take antidepressants. That undeniable biological reality runs right alongside contemporary religious life. religionunplugged.com/news/have-we-d…

From state ballot measures to closely watched U.S. Senate and House contests, several races highlighted the complicated relationship between faith and American democracy. Some asked voters to translate moral convictions directly into law. Several races, meanwhile, featured candidates who drew on their faith to explain their priorities, raising questions about the role of religion in electoral politics. religionunplugged.com/news/election-…

At a time when most news organizations are forced to cut back on on-the-ground reporting, Religion Unplugged is doubling down on its investment in journalism. Our journalists and columnists around the world adhere to our publication’s anti-AI policy. Every word you read on our website is written by a human and edited by humans.

This giving season, we invite you to join our mission. Any tax-deductible donation made now through Dec. 31 will be matched (up to $15,000) thanks to the generous support from the Institute for Nonprofit News and The Media Project’s board. religionunplugged.com/news/your-dona…

(REVIEW/@NormalGuy8) There is a kind of Christian who hates Christians and will love “Ken Russell’s The Devils.” I’m not one of them. That’s not to say Christians don’t sometimes give people good reason to dislike them, nor that every movie that validates people’s experiences of church hurt is bad. religionunplugged.com/news/2026/10/3…