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Murray Bridge, South Australia — In the early morning hours of March 25, 2025, police responded to an unusual call from a local church. Security footage had captured a man entering the building around 3:30 a.m. Authorities soon arrested a 25-year-old man who was found with a sacred book believed to belong to the church. But what truly caught national attention was the charge that followed: sacrilege—a seldom-used offense in Australian law with roots in ancient Christian tradition. In South Australia, it carries the same maximum penalty as murder: life in prison. The charge, applied so rarely that many Australians…

A new book by sociologists explains why organized religions have lost their relevance to streaming new agers and DIY spirituality Traditional religion in America, once a cornerstone of public life, may be heading the way of butter churns, lace antimacassars, and wind-up Victrolas—nostalgic artifacts tucked away on the walls of a Cracker Barrel, remembered fondly but no longer functional. So says Christian Smith, a sociologist at the University of Notre Dame, whose new book, The Sacred Project of American Sociology, published by Oxford University Press, maps the quiet unraveling of institutional faith in the United States. But Smith’s study is…

Illegal migrant crossings at European borders fell 30% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year. This has resulted in a decline in rights groups, partly due to EU policies that emphasize deterrence while appearing to be turning a blind eye to the risks of rights abuse. EU border agency FrontX said in a statement that all major migration routes to Europe had seen decline, saying that nearly 33,600 people had arrived in the first three months of the year. The biggest 64% decline was along routes across Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia,…

St. George’s Cathedral, Lviv. Credit: Fed4ev/Wikimedia. CC with SA 4.0The US International Religious Freedom Committee raised concerns last month in a report on a new Ukrainian law designed to regulate religious groups with ties to foreign forces. However, while critics of the law say it limits religious freedom, voices within the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine have said they believe that the law is necessary to monitor the situation carefully and fight Ukraine’s dangerous ideology.Leave a comment-Ukrainian President Voldy Meezelensky signed a legislation granting state authorities restricting religious groups affiliated with foreign companies operating in countries engaged in war against…

“It’s not good for Europe to become a permanent security vassal in the United States.” JD Vance says in a phone conversation with Unherd on Monday, it is his first major interview with European outlets since taking office as vice president. The background is a week of financial market disruption caused by Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs. The decision to apply (and partially withdraw) large tariffs to European allies, combined with a barrage of harsh statements about Europe from Vance, is both a public and a leaked private message, which makes me wonder if America is still considered a friend. Vance’s…

Quebec’s Bill 94 represents a legislative assault on religious expression, impacting Christians and Muslims alike, under the guise of promoting state neutrality. Premier François Legault’s administration, through expanding prohibitions initially set forth by Bill 21 in 2019, has now included not only teachers and government employees but janitors, cafeteria workers, and volunteers within public schools. Far from achieving neutrality, the bill actively undermines religious liberty by forbidding religious symbols such as Christian crosses and Islamic head coverings in public educational spaces. While superficially framed as an attempt to maintain fairness, Bill 94 unmistakably targets visible expressions of faith. Christians who…

The pain was “ten out of ten,” according to Takeuchi Shuntaro. But he wasn’t describing the performance of the portfolio of Japanese stocks he manages from San Francisco, California—he was talking about his appendix. It had to come out, just as a colleague from Matthews Asia called to discuss navigating the turmoil engulfing their $7 billion asset management business. “I was on a conference call two minutes before surgery,” Takeuchi said. “The nurse asked me, ‘Do you really have to attend this?’” Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Nikkei was plunging towards a 4% loss by Wednesday, with trillions of dollars wiped…

Tehran, Iran – US and Iranian representatives have agreed to hold more talks next week after completing “indirect” nuclear talks in Muscat, Oman’s capital. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the talks on Saturday were “constructively based on a constructive atmosphere and mutual respect,” and the chief negotiator “speaked for a few minutes in front of the Omani Foreign Minister while leaving the negotiation venue.” Envoy Steve Witkov led the US delegation, while the Iranians were led by Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut. He was accompanied by Majid Tak Ravanchi, vice-chairman of political affairs, Kazem Galibabadi, vice-chairman of international affairs, and Esmail Baghhai,…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denounced Prime Minister Mark Carney about his reaction to protesters’ comments against Gaza. Kearney took the stage at a rally in Calgary Tuesday evening when protesters cried out, “Genocide is happening in Palestine!” As the crowd jealously replied, the liberal leader replied: “I know, so we have an arms embargo.” On Wednesday, Mr. Carney said he hadn’t heard clearly what the protesters said. On Thursday, he said he would leave it to the international court to determine whether what is happening in Gaza is equivalent to genocide, adding that he would never politicize…

People have been poking fun at marriage-obsessed cultures for a long time, from Mrs. Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice” to current TikTok videos of the mom from India who doesn’t care that her daughter gets nominated for a Nobel Prize because, unfortunately, she’s not married. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, both Mom and Dad and the entire overbearing Portokalos family get on Toula’s case for her lack of prospects. Even in Greek school, Toula wryly observes, “I learned valuable lessons such as, ‘If Nick has one goat and Maria has nine, how soon will they marry?‘”In the centuries before…