Doctrine & Practice
This Christmas, churches are preparing for a frenzy of festivity
By Fiona André — December 1, 2023
(RNS) — You think you have a busy Christmas? The country's best-attended churches are managing a crush of Masses this year.
Israel’s mosaic of Jewish ethnic groups is key to understanding the country
By David L. Graizbord — December 1, 2023
(The Conversation) — The diversity of Israel’s Jewish population has been a source of tensions, but also strength, over the decades.
What to know about Hanukkah and how it’s celebrated around the world
By Giovanna Dell'orto — November 30, 2023
(AP) — On eight consecutive nightfalls, Jews gather with family and friends to light one additional candle in the menorah — a multibranched candelabra.
Opposing communities plan separate memorial services for Carlton Pearson
By Adelle M. Banks — November 29, 2023
(RNS) — ‘I want to show diversity,’ Pearson said in a recording near the end of his life, which has ended up being shown through the range of services.
Timekeepers no more, rank-and-file Jehovah’s Witnesses say goodbye to tracking proselytizing hours
By Peter Smith — November 27, 2023
For the first time since 1920, leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses have removed the hours-reporting requirement for rank-and-file adherents.
In the US, Hmong ‘new year’ recalls ancestral spirits while teaching traditions to new generations
By Giovanna Dell'orto — November 27, 2023
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The majority of the approximately 300,000 Hmong in the United States are animists and believe that spirits live throughout the physical world.
Houston’s Hindu youth will soon have a summer campsite of their own
By Richa Karmarkar — November 24, 2023
(RNS) — The Texas Hindu Campsite is set to open by the summer of 2024, just one year before the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp's 40-year anniversary.
A film sheds light on 11 daring women whose defiant act changed the Episcopal Church
By Yonat Shimron — November 24, 2023
(RNS) — ‘The Philadelphia Eleven’ depicts the buildup toward the so-called irregular ordination at which four bishops ordained 11 women as priests without the denomination’s approval.
For this group of trans women, the pope and his message of inclusivity are a welcome change
By Trisha Thomas and Nicole Winfield — November 21, 2023
TORVAIANICA, Italy (AP) — For the marginalized trans community of Torvaianica, it was just the latest gesture of inclusion from a pope who has made reaching out to the LGBTQ+ community a hallmark of his papacy.
How a massive all-granite, hand-carved Hindu temple ended up on Hawaii’s lush Kauai Island
By Deepa Bharath — November 21, 2023
KAPAA, Hawaii (AP) — Less than 1% of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents are Hindus and on Kauai, the number of Hindus may not even exceed 50, according to some estimates.
Bishop Carlton Pearson, Tulsa pastor declared heretic for views on hell, dies at 70
By Adelle M. Banks — November 20, 2023
(RNS) — 'I’d rather err on the goodness, greatness and graciousness of God than the opposite,' Pearson once said.
Abortion vote in Ohio pushes ‘pro-life pro-choice’ Black clergy to take a side
By Kathryn Post — November 6, 2023
(RNS) — For some clergy, the fall of Roe v. Wade has motivated them to speak out on abortion for the first time.
In the Hindu diaspora, dancers and feminists celebrate the modern cultural significance of Navaratri
By Richa Karmarkar — October 24, 2023
(RNS) — Throughout the United States, South Asian Americans young and old have come out to dance garba, the folk dance that began as a devotional form of worship and has now become a cultural phenomenon for Hindus and non-Hindus alike.
Vegetarian or vegan? What about lab-grown beef? Hindus follow scriptures for diet advice
By Richa Karmarkar — October 20, 2023
(RNS) — Many Hindus, already vegetarian, are going vegan for health and religious reasons. But fake or lab-grown beef is still up for debate among religious authorities.
Why Hamas is selling its assault on Israel as a holy war
By Michele Chabin and Yonat Shimron — October 17, 2023
(RNS) — The reference to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, was a rallying cry to unite Muslims everywhere.
