Weekly religion news roundup (February 14-20, 2025)
Each Friday in The Christian Citizen, we publish a Religion News Roundup with summaries of religion news stories and links for those who want to read more.
Our collective failure to truly honor the victims of the Holocaust
The shadow of the Holocaust, a genocide that happened in the middle of a supposedly civilized world, while that so-called civilized world refused to believe in the barbarism despite repeated reports and pleas, is never far for me as someone who grew up in Poland, even though I was born forty years after it happened and its memorialization was neatly limited to official places with plaques. These memories are everywhere, it just takes a bit of unearthing.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
Therapists, chaplains, but also clergy serving in congregational ministry are uniquely positioned to reduce stigma around suicide. Through preaching explicitly compassionate messages and being open about their own mental health struggles, clergy can authoritatively dispel myths around suicide that stem from toxic theologies.
Frederick Douglass’ 1852 Independence Day speech is still relevant for America today
Douglass’s speech was prophetic. In 2024, as millions in the United States prepare to celebrate Independence Day, Black Americans, Native Americans, religious minorities, immigrants and LGBTQ+ folks are still surviving an unequal, exploitative legal, social and economic system.
Celebrating National Arab American Heritage Month in 2024
“The Middle Eastern Christians have been always open and diverse, and culturally engaged, both with the West and with the East and with the local people. They can be bridges and communicate things from different perspectives, besides sharing their own perspective.”