Hate speech in India
How it became a governing strategy
Hi Religion Unplugged readers,
A 400-page report released for India in 2025 recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech events, a majority of which were carried out by Hindu nationalists and those affiliated with the ruling BJP.
In today’s top story, New Delhi based contributor Vishal Arora unpacks the report and analyzes the “steady, organised ecosystem of hate mobilised largely against India’s Muslim and Christian minorities.”
How Hate Speech Became A Governing Strategy In India
India recorded 1,318 in-person hate speech incidents in 2025, averaging more than three each day and overwhelmingly led by Hindu nationalist groups affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The report supports the inference that a political choice is behind the sustained scale of public incitement, which undermines both the rule of law and the idea of equal citizenship. by Vishal Arora
‘The Vanishing Church’ Makes The Case For Both Belief And Belonging
(REVIEW) Ryan Burge has created the most important and readable book right now to understand religious decline and polarization in the U.S. His message to commit your life to a shared community is one America needs right now. But it will be up to others to create and maintain the compelling shared vision that binds together the community that Burge wants. by Joseph Holmes
China Banned This Religion — And Now It’s Coming For Hong Kong
(ANALYSIS) Religious freedom in Hong Kong and Macau seems to be at the mercy of the ruling authoritarian Chinese Communist Party in People's Republic of China. Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that was banned by the People’s Republic of China in 1999, but remained active in Hong Kong and Macau, has been gradually losing its religious freedom. by Sonia Sarkar
Ministering To Mariners: Inside The Seamen’s Church Institute
Right now, across the waters of the world, massive cargo ships are floating from Hong Kong to Houston, from Marseille to Newark, from San Diego to Seoul. The ships carry everything from bananas to coal to toothbrushes. Some estimates claim that 90% of all goods purchased in the U.S. spent some time on the sea. Nearly 200 years ago, the Seamen's Church Institute set out to serve these mariners. They are still doing so today. by Matthew Peterson
‘Draw Closer To God’: The Power Of Sign Language Bibles Worldwide
For four million Deaf South Africans and millions across the world, a long spiritual silence has been broken. Many in the Deaf community say they yearn to connect with God, but earlier versions of the Bible, usually available in only text or audio, are inaccessible. And they cannot depend on the verbal message from the pulpit on Sundays. by Vicky Abraham
Religion Unplugged Podcast
Ryan Burge And ‘The Vanishing Church’
Religion sociologist Ryan Burge sits down with culture critic Joseph Holmes to discuss his new book “The Vanishing Church” and why Christianity and its houses of worship have lost its ability to bring Americans together.
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📰 How A Career Choice By My Wife Led Me To The Godbeat 25 Years Ago 🔌
Perhaps not surprisingly, in a Bible Belt state such as Oklahoma, religion came up even in prison reporting — from Catholic bishops making appeals at clemency hearings to Allen, the inmate whose death I witnessed, declaring in her final statement, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” by Bobby Ross Jr.
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