Doctrine & Practice
Thousands of Christians attend Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem against a backdrop of war
By Associated Press — March 25, 2024
JERUSALEM (AP) —The annual celebration came as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in Gaza. However, the conflict appeared to have had little effect on the procession, which swelled to a similar size as last year.
Hindu advocate slams General Mills for using beef-based gelatin in Yoplait yogurt
By Richa Karmarkar — March 20, 2024
(RNS) — Hindus commonly abstain from eating beef, believing cows are sacred and revered companions to the gods.
As Hindu wellness gains in West, chakra healing practitioners root their art in science
By Richa Karmarkar — March 18, 2024
(RNS) — These teachers are working to dispel myths of chakra healing, starting first by recognizing the ancient roots of this spiritual science.
Fasting at school? More Muslim students in the US are getting support during Ramadan
By Darren Sands, Corey Williams, Giovanna Dell'orto, and Mariam Fam — March 18, 2024
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Fasting is not required of young children, but many Muslim children like to fast to share in the month's rituals and emulate parents and older siblings, according to the Islamic Networks Group.
As threats to Black cemeteries persist, a movement to preserve their sacred heritage gains strength
By Darren Sands and Giovanna Dell'orto — March 15, 2024
MIAMI (AP) — When sites of sacred cultural memory are desecrated, it adds additional trauma to the indignity of being segregated even in death, said the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
Israel’s army exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are part of a bigger challenge: The Jewish state is divided over the Jewish religion
By Michael Brenner — March 15, 2024
(The Conversation) — The Israel-Hamas war has fueled tensions around military exemptions, but the issue has long roiled Israeli politics.
Indigenous people rejoice after city of Berkeley votes to return sacred Native land to Ohlone
By Janie Har and Olga R. Rodriguez — March 14, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Before Spanish colonizers arrived in the region, the area held a village and a massive shellmound with a height of 20 feet and the length and width of a football field that was a ceremonial and burial site.
In ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ film, what’s his faith? And why is marijuana deemed holy to the Rastafari?
By Luis Andres Henao — March 14, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — The Rastafari message was spread across the world in the 1970s by Marley and Peter Tosh, another Jamaican reggae legend and globally known Rastafari.
Virgin of Charity unites all Cubans — Catholics, Santeria followers, exiled and back on the island
By Luis Andres Henao and Giovanna Dell'orto — March 14, 2024
EL COBRE, Cuba (AP) — The cult of the Virgin of Charity became part of Cuban nationalism in late 19th century.
Spring for Amish people in Pennsylvania means ‘mud sales,’ from pitchforks to pies
By Mark Scolforo — March 14, 2024
GORDONVILLE, Pa. (AP) — In booming Lancaster, among the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania, large Amish families and the cost of farmland has put pressure on the traditional lives they prefer.
Evangelical Christians are fierce Israel supporters. Now they are visiting as war-time volunteers
By Melanie Lidman — March 14, 2024
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Tourism Ministry estimates around one-third to half of the approximately 3,000 daily visitors expected to arrive in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips.
US-mandated religious freedom group ends Saudi trip early after rabbi ordered to remove his kippah
By Jon Gambrell — March 13, 2024
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Displaying any religious symbols other than Islamic ones remains criminalized in Saudi Arabia.
Mexico’s presidential candidates sign commitment for peace with church leaders concerned by violence
By MarÍa Teresa HernÁndez — March 12, 2024
MEXICO CITY (AP) — According to the church leaders, Mexico suffers from a “deep crisis of violence and social decomposition.”
A Gaza family uprooted by war and grieving their losses shares a somber Ramadan meal in a tent
By Samy Magdy and Mohammed Jahjouh — March 12, 2024
MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — Some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced in the war, more than half of them crammed into the far south around the town of Rafah.
Ramadan kicks off in much of Asia, a day after most of the Middle East
By Niniek Karmini — March 12, 2024
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The government set the start of the holiday for Tuesday after teams from more than 100 regions failed to sight the new moon Sunday.
