Beliefs

3 things to learn about patience − and impatience − from al-Ghazali, a medieval Islamic scholar

By Liz Bucar — April 19, 2024
(The Conversation) — In religious traditions, patience is more than waiting, or even more than enduring a hardship. But what does patience look like? And when should we not exercise patience?
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As a landmark United Methodist gathering approaches, African churches weigh their future.

By Peter Smith — April 15, 2024
(AP) — Today, members from four continents vote at legislative gatherings, serve on boards together, go on mission trips to each others’ countries and are largely governed by the same rules.

US Catholics more polarized than ever about still-popular Pope Francis, survey says

By Aleja Hertzler-McCain — April 12, 2024
(RNS) — The Republican and Republican-leaning favorability rating represents a decline, creating the largest partisan gap in approval of Francis since his papacy began.

Why Sikhs celebrate the festival of Baisakhi

By Anshu Malhotra — April 9, 2024
(The Conversation) — The spirit of Baisakhi for Sikhs is reminiscent of the ideals of their gurus, who encouraged them to work toward building a just society.

A dramatic schism over social issues? The United Methodist Church has been here before – but this time, America’s religious landscape is far different

By Christopher H. Evans — April 9, 2024
(The Conversation) — The United Methodist Church will hold its General Conference, delayed several years by the pandemic, in April 2024. The meeting comes amid a dramatic divide over LGBTQ+ rights.

For some Christians, a solar eclipse signals the second coming of Christ

By Eric Vanden Eykel — April 5, 2024
(The Conversation) — A scholar of early Christian literature writes that religious theories around celestial events are part of a larger human pattern to find meaning. And they go back thousands of years.

Awe and dread: How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

By David Crary, Mariam Fam, and Deepa Bharath — April 5, 2024
(AP) — Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here's a look at how several of the world's major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.

For the Maya, solar eclipses were a sign of heavenly clashes − and their astronomers kept sophisticated records to predict them

By Kimberly H. Breuer — April 3, 2024
(The Conversation) — The skies and the gods were inseparable in Maya culture. Astronomers kept careful track of events like eclipses in order to perform the renewal ceremonies to continue the world’s cycles of rebirth.

LGBTQ-inclusive church in Cuba welcomes all in a country that once sent gay people to labor camps

By Luis Andres Henao — April 1, 2024
MATANZAS, Cuba (AP) — Cuba repressed gay people after its 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and sent many to labor camps. But in recent years, the communist-run island barred anti-gay discrimination.

One year ago, Pope Francis disavowed the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ – but Indigenous Catholics’ work for respect and recognition goes back decades

By Eben Levey — April 1, 2024
(The Conversation) — Indigenous Catholics have long argued they should be able to embrace both sides of that identity.

An annual pilgrimage during Holy Week brings thousands of believers to Santuario de Chimayó in New Mexico, where they pray for healing and protection

By Brett Hendrickson — March 28, 2024
(The Conversation) — Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the Santuario de Chimayó throughout the year, but the pilgrimage during the week before the celebration of Easter is the high point.

The roots of the Easter story: Where did Christian beliefs about Jesus’ resurrection come from?

By Aaron Gale — March 28, 2024
(The Conversation) — Ideas about resurrection had been developing for centuries before Jesus’ life, but his followers took them in new directions.

17 LGBTQ-affirming ministers face church investigations for signing belief statement

By Kathryn Post — March 27, 2024
(RNS) — The investigation by Indiana Ministries — a jurisdiction within the Anderson, Indiana-based Church of God movement — could result in the withdrawal of the ministers’ credentials.
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