Invoking religion in an unusually direct manner, Kerry said understanding the importance of faith is essential in diplomacy and working with religious leaders can help solve complex problems in foreign countries.

President Barack Obama's decision not to attend the April 2 inauguration of a new mosque near Washington D.C. might have spoild the party a bit. The event was billed, after all, as the highlight of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent trip to the United States.

Seventeen-year-old Muslim student Usman Nawaz was nervous about coming to the United States. [...] Usman is a high-school student ambassador from Pakistan who arrived in Winona last August through a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs youth exchange and study program. 

The incident was the latest in a string of cultural flashpoints surrounding the centuries-old Indian practice, and has made many a yogi rethink the lines between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation.

A new video campaign seeks to turn the "see something, say something" mantra on its head. Released by progressive nonprofit People For the American Way this week, the 49-second advertisement urges viewers to "pledge that when I see anti-Muslim bigotry, I'll call it out and make clear that religious discrimination has never been the American way."

Despite once claiming to be a technological dinosaur, Pope Francis has expanded his social media presence by joining Instagram, launching the new account with a picture of himself knelt in worship alongside the caption “pray for me”.

Religious actors bring three “I’s” to the public sphere: institutions, ideas and imagination. Catholic actors working across national borders bring a deep bench of institutions, rich ideas and religious imagination to international religious freedom issues.

The historic meeting between Pope Francis and Russian Patriarch Kirill, which took place in Havana on Friday, could act as a soft force contributing to the resolution of the Syrian crisis, experts told Sputnik.