The filmmakers and cast of one of the most popular faith-based films of all time are hosting a Facebook watch party on Friday, with the hope of entertaining and encouraging moviegoers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick will host the watch party while watching and commenting on War Room, the 2015 prayer-themed film that climbed to No. 1 in the nation on its second weekend of release. Key cast members also will participate.

The watch party will begin at 8 p.m. EST Friday on the War Room and Kendrick Brothers Facebook pages, one day after the National Day of Prayer.

Although the watch party is free, participants will need to rent or own a copy of War Room to fully enjoy the experience. Multiple retailers are offering limited-time discounted pricing on digital copies ($4.99 to own and $2.99-$3.99 to rent). Fans of the film also can use a DVD/Blu-ray copy.

Alex Kendrick, the film’s director, said the watch party offers families a unique opportunity to get behind-the-scenes insights while watching the film with the cast and crew.

“One of our favorite things to do is to be able to watch a movie and share the Easter eggs in the scenes – funny stories – and talk about how God showed up on the set,” Stephen Kendrick, the film’s producer, said in a promotional video. “… We’re going to enjoy time together, talk about the Lord, and we’re going to have a prayer…

The share of Americans who claim any religious affiliation has declined in recent decades, but the United States nevertheless remains one of the most religious countries in the world, according to a new report.

The study by Lyman Stone, an adjunct fellow for the American Enterprise Institute and a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, examined the history of religion in the U.S. and the causes behind its recent decline.

For example, the share of adults attending any religious service in a typical week has fallen from 50 percent in 1960 to about 35 percent today, Stone writes, while the share of Americans who self-identify “or report being affiliated with any religion” has plummeted from over 95 percent to around 75 percent today. Further, the share of Americans “claimed as members by any religious body has fallen from over 75 percent to about 62 percent.”

The decline is “striking,” Stone writes in the report, yet he cautions against “making overbold statements about what such a decline might portend.” That’s because, he says, America’s religiosity has risen and fallen in the past.

“At the dawn of the American republic in the 1780s, probably just a third of Americans were members in any religious body, and just a fifth could be found at church on a given Sunday,” he wrote. “This was a historic low ebb in American religiosity. Thus,…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A record-breaking 50 million people in 2019 were internally displaced, or refugees within their own country, according to a recent study. Pope Francis and the Vatican championed their cause on Tuesday (May 5), with new guidelines for Catholic dioceses and parishes.

“In this time of pandemic, the virus does not seem to distinguish between those who are important and those who are invisible, those who are settled and those who are displaced. Everyone is vulnerable and each infection is a danger for everyone,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the migrants and refugees section of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, during an online news conference on Tuesday.

“In the post COVID-19 world that is emerging, the contribution of internally displaced people — like everyone’s contribution — will be very much needed,” he added.

Pope Francis created the migrants and refugees section to spearhead initiatives for the millions who are forced to leave their homes due to war, natural disasters and climate change. To further prove his commitment, Francis chose to preside over the section himself.

The news conference was held to release a new volume called “Pastoral Orientations on Internally Displaced People.” Inspired by Francis’ call to “welcome, protect, promote and integrate” all those who live “in the…

The U.S. Supreme Court held its first religious liberty case on Wednesday to determine if a Christian organization must provide contraception under the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate.

The case, entitled Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, involves the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international religious organization that has been active since 1839.

“They are an order of Catholic nuns who serve the elderly poor and dying – truly the most vulnerable among us, especially in the midst of this pandemic,” said senior counsel Diana Verm from the Becket religious rights legal group which is helping to defend them.

The Catholic News Agency reports that the Little Sisters, who have been in a seven-year-long legal battle over the contraceptive mandate, were victorious over the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 and were issued a religious exemption from the mandate by the Trump administration in 2017.

The exemption, however, was challenged in court by State attorneys general for Pennsylvania and California.

Last July, The Little Sisters lost their cases against Pennsylvania at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and last October against California at the Ninth Circuit Court.

As such, the group appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed in January to hear their case.

The May 6 case was initially scheduled for April 29, but it was postponed by the court…

On Tuesday, World War II veteran Rev. Fred Lunsford prayed for a spiritual awakening in an online prayer meeting with more than 250,000 people.

Lunsford, who has pastored for 70 years in North Carolina, fell ill two years ago and prayed that  God would take him home, but God had other plans for the war hero, CBN News reports.

“Two years ago, I thought I was going to die at the age of 93,” Lunsford said. “I was very sick and asked the Lord to let me die. I wanted to go to heaven, but God said, ‘Not yet!'”

Lunsford challenged God asking him, “Why are you leaving me here?” 

God answered Lunsford by requesting he “pray for a spiritual awakening!”

Since then, a faithful servant of Christ, Lunsford has done just that. In his personal prayer garden nestled in the mountains of Marble, N.C., Lunsford has steadfastly prayed for a revival.

“[God] extended my years for a reason, and He wanted me to pray for spiritual awakening and to get as many people praying as I could,” Lunsford told CBN News. “God spoke into my heart, and I yielded to it. It’s not me; it’s the Lord,” he asserted.

In January, Lunsford invited Mud Creek Baptist Church pastor Rev. Greg Mathis to pray for a revival with him.

Mathis described the prayer experience as powerful, noting that he had “felt God in a way that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.”

“Heaven came down and the area in which we were praying…

One of television’s best-known game shows will air a special next week benefitting the country’s largest abortion provider. 

The Price Is Right at Night, a primetime spinoff of the popular daytime series, will feature model and actor RuPaul playing alongside other contestants. Although the contestants will be trying to win prizes, RuPaul’s winnings will benefit Planned Parenthood, according to a news release.

The special, hosted by Drew Carey, will air May 11 on CBS. It was recorded prior to the pandemic.

Planned Parenthood’s annual report for 2018-19 showed its clinics performed more abortions (345,672) than any other organization in the U.S. It was a record for Planned Parenthood. 

RuPaul is the executive producer and host of VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race and is the “most commercially successful drag queen of all time,” the press release from CBS said. 

It isn’t the first time The Price Is Right at Night has benefited other organizations. Seth Rogan appeared on The Price Is Right at Night last December and earned money for his charity, Hilarity for Charity, which raises awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. Another episode featured cast members from the series SEAL Team playing for the charity Headstrong Project, which provides mental health treatment for post-9/11 veterans. 

News of The Price Is Right-Planned Parenthood tie sparked plenty of pushback…