DIY Faith
After centuries of persecution, ‘lost’ Brazilian Jews struggle to regain their place
By Eduardo Campos Lima — May 28, 2019
SÃO PAULO (RNS) — Thanks to new tools for the study of genealogy and the help of a welcoming rabbi, the Bnei Anusim, or 'children of the coerced,' have taken their first steps to be fully recognized as Jews again.
Getting in on — and tossed out of — the Satanist Temple joke
By Tara Isabella Burton — May 24, 2019
(RNS) — As more and more millennials identify with spiritual or philosophical movements outside the bounds of 'traditional' religions, how will these groups police their ideology while remaining inclusive?
During Ramadan, virtual spaces help stave off the loneliness for some Muslims
By Aysha Khan — May 23, 2019
(RNS) — More and more Muslims are turning to digital spaces during Ramadan to help bridge the distance between friends, family and religious leaders.
Hip-hop’s mourning for Nipsey Hussle shows beauty can be found in brokenness
By Chris Karnadi — May 20, 2019
(RNS) — Whenever the hip-hop community loses an artist, it loses a member of the family. The mourning binds people together as they reflect on the life and legacy of an artist taken too soon and reveals the foundation of hip-hop culture: beauty from brokenness.
Entrepreneur markets interfaith meats to combat surge in religious hate crimes
By Jonathan Harounoff — May 16, 2019
NEW YORK (RNS) — An Iranian-American interfaith activist and businessman is looking to unite the Muslim and Jewish communities by producing meats that satisfy both faiths' dietary laws.
A stand-up comedian tackles his Muslim upbringing and the world of uncertainty
By Yonat Shimron — May 16, 2019
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) — Andrew Aghapour follows in the footsteps of comedians who grew up Muslim, such as Aziz Ansari, Kumail Nanjiani and Hasan Minhaj. But his one-man show gives religion the starring role.
For many Muslims, Ramadan is a built-in digital detox program
By Aysha Khan — May 15, 2019
(RNS) — For years, Muslims around the world have used the holy month of Ramadan as an opportunity to scale back on social media and smartphone usage.
The priest and the ‘Fleabag’ forge mutual faith in Amazon comedy series
By Catherine Pepinster — May 15, 2019
(RNS) — In the second season of a popular TV comedy series, a handsome, swearing, gin-swilling cleric won over a 'lying, acerbic sex addict' — not to mention the famously secular U.K. America is next.
How ‘joke religion’ turns deadly serious when the online alt-right comes to life
By Tara Isabella Burton — May 14, 2019
(RNS) — The nihilism of today's alt-right is both a religion and a rejection of the transcendence that religion holds out as a balm.
In a rural corner of Britain, a farm reconnects Judaism with the land
By Catherine Pepinster — May 10, 2019
(RNS) — At Sadeh, a farm in Kent, Talia Chain and her small staff are reconnecting Judaism with its agricultural roots and biblical principles of growing food.
How Jean Vanier broke my heart and saved my life
By Cathleen Falsani — May 9, 2019
(RNS) — Confronted by love and grace — the undeserved gift we cannot earn or merit, but that is given to all equally — the natural impulse is to pay it forward. To take a small risk or a leap of faith; to extend love to someone else. And to learn, as Vanier discovered, that a single act of kindness has the power to change your life — and the world.
Swept up in Muslim genocide crisis, Hindu Rohingyas are stuck in Bangladesh
By Jennifer Chowdhury — May 8, 2019
(RNS) — When the Bangladesh government prepared to return 2,000 Muslim refugees to Myanmar, Hindu Rohingya were hopeful they would be sent back, too. But no one came for them.
In African refugee camps, app replaces Bibles left behind
By Doreen Ajiambo — May 6, 2019
KAMPALA, Uganda (RNS) — The digital library has done much to replace the reference books many Sudanese churches lost to their country's decade of civil war.
Remembering a woman of valor: 4 gifts Rachel Held Evans gave us
By Katelyn Beaty — May 4, 2019
(RNS) — Instead of throwing out God or church, Rachel Held Evans demonstrated a robust Christian faith outside the bounds of evangelicalism, making sure that that world’s gatekeepers don’t have the final say about one’s standing before Christ.
For Sri Lankan Americans, Easter shooting gives homeland a painful jolt of notoriety
By Ben Sales — May 3, 2019
NEW YORK (RNS) — The world almost never hears about Sri Lanka. Young Americans with Sri Lankan roots are asking why it has to learn about the country this way.
