Doctrine & Practice
Religious but not spiritual? Meet the skeptics favoring ritual over the supernatural
By Kathryn Post — January 23, 2024
(RNS) — Ten percent of Americans can be categorized as religious but not spiritual, according to a December 2023 study from Pew Research Center.
Ruth Wilson stirs up trauma of Magdalene laundries in ‘The Woman in the Wall’
By Alicia Rancilio — January 22, 2024
(AP) — In an interview with The Associated Press, Wilson spoke about learning of these Magdalene laundries, her complex thoughts on religion and how Sinéad O’Connor left her mark on the project.
Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans
By Jacqui Frost — January 19, 2024
(The Conversation) — A sociologist of religion explains how atheist churches are helping people find meaning and community – serving many of the same purposes as religious churches.
How a leaderless Chabad movement led to an illegal tunnel brawl
By Yonat Shimron — January 18, 2024
(RNS) — The tunnel’s discovery was just the latest in a 30-year clash among factions of the Hasidic group led by the late Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died 30 years ago.
The Vatican’s top expert on AI ethics is a friar from a medieval Franciscan order
By Frances D'emilio — January 18, 2024
ROME (AP) — Benanti is the Vatican's go-to person on the technology and he has the ear of Pope Francis as well as some of Silicon Valley's top engineers and executives.
Jehovah’s Witnesses go to trial against Norway after state registration is revoked
By Kathryn Post — January 16, 2024
(RNS) — ‘It’s certainly the most important trial about a religious freedom issue in Norway in decades,’ said Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers.
From South Asia to Mexico, from slave to spiritual icon, this woman’s life is a snapshot of Spain’s colonization – and the Pacific slave trade history that books often leave out
By Diego Javier Luis — January 9, 2024
(The Conversation) — Accounts of Asian American history often stop at the US border, but Asians were living in Latin America for centuries before the Declaration of Independence.
How to deal with same-sex unions? It’s a question fracturing major Christian denominations
By David Crary — January 9, 2024
Strikingly, the flare-up of debate in Catholic ranks coincides with developments in two other international Christian denominations that are fracturing over differences in LGBTQ-related policies.
Filipino Catholics pray for Mideast peace in massive procession venerating a black statue of Jesus
By Aaron Favila, Joeal Calupitan, and Jim Gomez — January 9, 2024
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of police and plainclothes officers were deployed, along with drone surveillance and commandos positioned on rooftops along the route of the procession.
Orthodox mark Christmas, but the celebration is overshadowed for many by conflict
By The Associated Press — January 8, 2024
(AP) — Orthodox Christians packed churches Saturday night for Christmas Eve services, a holiday overshadowed for many believers by conflict.
Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child
By Nicole Winfield — January 8, 2024
ROME (AP) — He said the life of the unborn child must be protected and not “suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking.”
The Lotus Sutra − an ancient Buddhist scripture from the 3rd century − continues to have relevance today
By Megan Bryson — January 5, 2024
(The Conversation) — For many Buddhists today, both in East Asia and across the world, the Lotus Sutra offers religious support for various gender identities.
What is the Epiphany? Why is it also called Three Kings Day? And when do Christians celebrate it?
By Associated Press — January 4, 2024
(AP) — Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water.
What does a total abortion ban look like in Dominican Republic?
By MarÍa Teresa HernÁndez — January 3, 2024
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Abortion rights activists argue that the country’s total abortion ban not only restricts women’s reproductive choices but also puts their lives in danger.
Native Hawaiian salt makers combat climate change and pollution to protect a sacred tradition
By Deepa Bharath — January 3, 2024
HANAPEPE, Hawaii (AP) — Over the past decade, this tract has been under constant threat due to development, pollution from a neighboring airfield, sand erosion from vehicle traffic and littering by visitors to the adjacent beach.
