RealClearReligion Articles

Last month, as Jews around the world began our observance of the High Holy Days — the most sacred time of the year — we were once again reminded that Jewish life, though flourishing and resilient, exists under constant threat. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Hamas released a video of Alon Ohel, one of the 48 hostages still held in captivity. According to his parents, who watched the horrific footage, Alon was frail, frightened, and had lost sight in his right eye. This video, and the many others like it, captures the terror endured every day since October 7,...

Certain religious groups can easily be identified by their distinct attire. However, several decades ago, a cultural shift occurred within some traditionally conservative evangelical groups. In an effort to move away from rigid legalism and place a higher value on faith, strict dress codes were relaxed, and church members were allowed to wear more contemporary clothes in line with fashion trends among the public. As a result, many Christ followers can no longer be identified by the type of clothing they wear and can effectively blend in with society. In his book, “Quest for Piety and...

While history suggests that religious zeal often follows and quickly fades after tragedies like Charlie Kirk’s assassination, prophetic visions from more than four hundred years ago shine a light on the current situation and offer hope for a sustained faith revival. Through a 16th-17th century Ecuadorian nun, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, the Virgin Mary — under the title Our Lady of Good Success — reputedly foretold with staggering precision the ominous religious landscape in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. However, an immense loss of faith and practice — a...

In an age of hyper-individualism, funerals have not escaped unscathed. Increasingly, they are recast as secular “celebrations of life” or replaced by novel practices — planting cremains as trees, pressing ashes into vinyl records, or even launching them from a cannon. Yet how a soul is commended to God matters because it did so to Jesus Christ on Good Friday, but more so for the participants who perform the corporal work of mercy: burying the dead. A funeral is not merely symbolic, but an efficacious prayer proclaiming Christ’s victory over death. Mourners join in...

I serve as rabbi for a large Orthodox synagogue in Toronto. In a world increasingly defined by division and conflict, it is more important than ever that people of conscience and people of faith come together — not just in grief, but in hope. As we approach the second anniversary of the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, I want to share a story of solidarity that, for me personally, lights the way forward: Flags of Fellowship. Flags of Fellowship is a project launched by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) — the leading organization dedicated to...

My daughter’s first words after Charlie Kirk’s death stopped me cold: “Dad, I’m scared.”   As a Christian leader and pastor, I am accustomed to speaking out publicly and offering guidance, comfort and perspective during times of crisis. But before I could gather my public thoughts, my daughter’s voice cut through the chaos as she spoke to me privately as her father.   It was more than her words — it was the way she spoke them. Not as a little girl frightened of the dark at night, but as a thoughtful, self-aware 21-year-old young woman...

We are living in extraordinary times, perhaps a moment of history that is ripe for another Great Awakening. The shocking murder of Charlie Kirk on September 10 seems to have sparked a movement that transcends the typical response to such horrifying events. On the Sunday following his death, churches across this nation were overflowing with people, many of whom had never attended church previously, or who had not attended in many years. This trend continued on September 21, which also saw another remarkable event, the memorial service for Kirk. Every seat at State Farm Stadium was occupied,...

If you have to resort to violence, you’ve lost the debate. The assassination of Charlie Kirk two weeks ago was a case in point. They couldn’t defeat him at debate, so they killed him. Charlie’s slogan, as seen on the white tent he was in when he was shot, says it all, “Prove me wrong.” Anybody who may claim he was “proved wrong” by being shot subscribes to the view that might makes right. I once read about an English tourist visiting China about a 100 years ago recounts how two laborers were having a heated argument in the street. After watching and...

Pope Leo XIV’s meeting Tuesday with the head of the Armenian Church, Catholicos Karekin II, was a significant sign for the millions in the country who are pleading for help and protection against an authoritarian prime minister who has targeted the church and made his bed with its enemies. Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has launched an unprecedented attack on the Armenian church, the country’s oldest institution started in 301 A.D. In recent weeks, Pashinyan—a convicted felon brought to power with Russian help in 2018 and has presided over a series of...

In the overwhelming focus on the domestic political impact of Charlie Kirk's life, a critical dimension risks being overlooked: his profound influence on Christian youth worldwide. If you just scanned the crowd at his memorial on Sunday, this would be quite obvious.  Kirk's unapologetic testimony of faith in Jesus, the transformative power of the Gospel, and the civilizational foundations of Judeo-Christian democracies resonated deeply with young believers searching for bold, young leadership in an era of spiritual ambiguity. Vigils honoring Kirk sprang up across continents —...

With the passing of Charlie Kirk, we have lost a voice that resonated with young men and summoned them to be good men, even godly men, and to know that a good portion of that manhood is expressed in getting married, having babies and proudly serving as the point man for their family. I got married at 22 in large part because when I was 17, restless, aimless, hormone-pumped, I was challenged by a Charlie-like voice in the 70s, named Josh McDowell. He had the nerve to go to college campuses across America and to talk about “Maximum Sex.” Smack in the middle of the sexual revolution,...

Latinos are at the center of an incredible number of issues in our current civil discourse and political dialogue, ranging from immigration and sanctuary cities to voting power to housing insecurity and homelessness. The vast majority of Latinos reflect hardworking American values, dedicated to this country's success and prosperity. However, they face a proportionately larger set of unfortunate challenges because of the comparatively few bad actors.  Latino pastors and civic leaders are a great example of this challenging juxtaposition. Not only do they face...

In 1986, I had a dramatic spiritual encounter that changed the entire course of my life. It wasn’t just a fleeting moment — it was a divine visitation. The Lord gave me a prophetic insight concerning the United States of America, and that revelation rocked me to my core and shaped the rest of my life.   Over the next 21 years, God took me on a journey I never could have imagined. I traveled to over 35 nations, ministered in crusades, joined medical mission trips, and in 1993, I founded Richard Pearson Ministries. But everything I’ve done since 1986 has been rooted...

The assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, at Utah State University was a shocking act of depraved evil carried out by a young man whose heart was overcome by demonic hate. This horrific moment overwhelmed the hearts of countless people around the world with grief and sorrow. We were forced to reckon with the reality that this present age is indeed evil (Galatians 1:4), that the devil is now working in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), and that everyone who desires to live godly in Christ will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). As Christians, we understand the world is a...

I guess it’s no secret that the way we live our lives often speaks louder than our words. This was brought home to me in a beautiful way by a letter I received from our oldest child, Michael. The background is that in between the bookends of my career as a sports writer and columnist, I worked for SamTrans, the San Mateo (California) County Transit District in the department that was responsible for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our three children grew up during those years and from time to time would visit me at work with my wife. Michael graduated with a B.A. in...

Christianity has never been politically correct. It never will be. Therefore, there have been numerous attempts to snuff it out, beginning with its very Founder. As the saying goes, if you don’t like the message, shoot the messenger. But beginning with Him, there’s always a resurrection that its opponents had not counted on. The killing of Charlie Kirk last week was a Christian martyrdom. And that assassination could well see a positive turning point in the life of America. Martyrdom has been an historic fact in the 2000 years of the Christian faith. One of my favorite...

The assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and conservative icon, is the grim manifestation of a nation that has forgotten its essential democratic principles: not only freedom of speech and discourse — for which Kirk was killed — but the deeper moral command to love one’s neighbor and, more importantly, one’s enemy. In truth, America has lost its identity of being a “moral and religious people,” as John Adams once deemed necessary for citizens to cherish the U.S. Constitution. This reality reared its sadistic (or Satanic)...

The signs are everywhere. Posted outside of residences and businesses alike are announcements that a security service protects the premises. One of the unfortunate realities of our world is rising lawlessness, which makes people desperate for safety from the outside world. Yet the one place where they should be safe — God’s house — is not always the case. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:9-10). Spiritual...

Fifty years ago, on September 14, 1975, Pope Paul VI proclaimed Elizabeth Ann Seton a saint — the first native-born American to be canonized. For American Catholics, it was a moment of pride and recognition: one of our own, a woman shaped by the struggles and hopes of this young nation, was formally declared a model of holiness for the universal Church. As we mark the golden anniversary of her canonization this September at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, we are reminded of the enduring relevance of Mother Seton’s story — a uniquely...