Arts & Culture
A Turkish artisan has kept the Istanbul skyline lit during Ramadan for decades. He may be the last
By Robert Badendieck and Emrah Gurel — March 11, 2024
ISTANBUL (AP) — The future of Mahya, the unique Turkish tradition of stringing religious messages and designs between minarets, hangs in the balance.
Reeling religion: From anime and sci-fi to rom-coms, films are full of faith in unexpected places
By David W. Stowe — March 11, 2024
(The Conversation) — Plenty of movies have explicitly religious themes, but some of the most interesting examples of faith or transcendence on screen are much more subtle.
Animal chaplains offer spiritual care for every species
By Kathryn Post — March 8, 2024
(RNS) — 'This is beyond animal blessings and pet funerals,' said animal chaplain Sarah Bowen.
Greta Gerwig didn’t get an Oscar bid for ‘Barbie’ but she does get Genesis
By Dwight Lee Wolter — March 7, 2024
(RNS) — There’s a candy-coated biblical parallel to be found in the best-picture nominee.
Scorsese’s gods of the streets: From ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to ‘Silence,’ faith is rarely far off in his films
By Anthony Smith — March 7, 2024
(The Conversation) — Though only a few of Scorsese’s films focus on religious stories, deeper questions about faith, doubt and living in a violent world tend to haunt his movies.
Tattooing has held a long tradition in Christianity − dating back to Jesus’ crucifixion
By Gustavo Morello — March 7, 2024
(The Conversation) — Historically, many Christians got tattoos around Holy Week − usually a cross − to honor Christ’s martyrdom.
Carrie Sheffield’s journey to forgiveness after childhood in cultlike family
By Kathryn Post — March 5, 2024
(RNS) — In ‘Motorhome Prophecies,’ Sheffield chronicles her path toward forgiving her father, a self-declared Mormon prophet.
How Orthodox Jewish women are creating a parallel entertainment market
By Yonat Shimron — March 4, 2024
(RNS) — Jessica Roda's new book explores how women in Haredi communities are embracing and creating digital arts tailored to the gender-segregated world of women.
Aaron Zigman’s ‘Émigré’ oratorio, about Jews who fled Nazi Germany for Shanghai, has US premiere
By Ronald Blum — March 4, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — His 90-minute, two-act work, given its U.S. premiere by the New York Philharmonic on Thursday night, evokes a World War II-era sound reminiscent of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.
No twerking. No drinking. No smoking. But it’s still a party at this Christian nightclub
By Jessie Wardarski and Luis Andres Henao — March 4, 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The pop-up, 18-and-up Christian nightclub was launched last year by seven Black Christian men in their 20s who sought to build a thriving community and a welcoming space for young Christians outside houses of worship.
Dating app burnout and COVID-19 make Indian matchmaking cool again
By Richa Karmarkar — March 1, 2024
(RNS) — Indian matchmaking is having a comeback in the United States, say elite matchmakers.
‘How Great Thou Art’ gets new ending on 75th anniversary of famed English translation
By Adelle M. Banks — March 1, 2024
(RNS) — ‘When we approached all the people to be part of it, we had a lot of green lights very quickly,’ singer Matt Redman said of participating recording artists.
A decade after Reverend Ike’s death, his son writes about his impact on Black church
By Fiona André — March 1, 2024
(RNS) — Writing this book was an occasion to place his father's legacy in the lineage of religious Civil Rights figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, said Reverend Ike's son.
Liev Schreiber dons a collar to play a Catholic priest in revival of ‘Doubt’ on Broadway
By Mark Kennedy — March 1, 2024
NEW YORK (AP) — The play is set in 1964 in New York City, and Schreiber plays the charming, charismatic and jovial Father Flynn, a new middle school teacher and basketball coach.
‘Interspiritual’ former pastor talks faith beyond church in new book
By Kathryn Post — February 29, 2024
(RNS) — Felicia Murrell’s ‘And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World,’ is an invitation to explore an untethered spirituality where God doesn’t belong to any one institution.
