Doctrine & Practice
Hiking, disc golf, flower arranging: UMC initiative connects people around non-church interests
By Yonat Shimron — April 19, 2024
NORWOOD, N.C. (RNS) — 'Fresh Expressions' is a denominational initiative intended to connect people who may not be interested in church but are interested in learning a new skill or making new friends.
3 things to learn about patience − and impatience − from al-Ghazali, a medieval Islamic scholar
By Liz Bucar — April 19, 2024
Hindu Lord Ram road-trips through the United States
By Richa Karmarkar — April 17, 2024
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After traditionalist churches left, UMC may be more — not less — diverse
By Yonat Shimron — April 16, 2024
(RNS) — Even after the departures, 24% of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married and ordained within the denomination.
Solar New Year celebrations unite religious groups across the South Asian diaspora
By Richa Karmarkar — April 15, 2024
(RNS) — This week, people of all South Asian backgrounds celebrated the Hindu Solar New Year in their unique, regional ways. But common threads between the holidays, many say, have the power to unite those living in the diaspora.
The worship of Shiva, Hinduism’s ‘inconceivable’ deity, finds a home in the tech sector
By Richa Karmarkar — April 11, 2024
(RNS) — Often cast as the most transcendent sect of Hinduism, Shaivism’s appeal to scientific-minded Hindus is becoming more visible.
At Yale, Christian pastors sign a declaration opposing religious nationalism
By Yonat Shimron — April 9, 2024
(RNS) — The declaration commits Christian leaders to preaching on moral issues and rejecting a political movement it says is exploiting traditional values to undermine democracy.
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.
Transgender Catholics say new Vatican document shows no understanding of their lives
By David Crary — April 9, 2024
(AP) — The dismay was heightened because recent moves by Pope Francis had encouraged some trans Catholics to hope the church might become more accepting.
For Latino Muslims, Ramadan is a celebration of ‘Islam and Latinidad’
By Fiona André — April 8, 2024
(RNS) — 'The beauty is that we're not expected to commit cultural apostasy when we convert to Islam.'
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.
In 1877, a stained-glass window depicted Jesus as Black for the first time − a scholar of visual images unpacks its history and significance
By Virginia Raguin — April 5, 2024
(The Conversation) — A stained-glass window, which shows Jesus as a Black man for the first time, tells a story not only of race but of gender, class and ethnicity.
Ahead of General Conference, queer United Methodist delegates organize a caucus
By Yonat Shimron — April 4, 2024
(RNS) — After a four-year COVID-19 delay, and the departure of about 25% of its U.S. churches, the United Methodist Church is meeting again and the issue of human sexuality is back on the agenda.
Spiritual libertarianism swatted down in Wisconsin
By Mark Silk — April 3, 2024
(RNS) — Conservative legal groups are trying to erase a distinction between religious employers and religious activity.
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