DIY Faith
Grief hides in the church bathroom
By Kaitlin Curtice — February 20, 2019
(RNS) — We chose to grieve together in that moment instead of holding things together for the sake of others’ comfort.
Today’s Mormon missionaries: Clingy, soft, and immature?
By Jana Riess — February 18, 2019
Some reactions to last week's announcement about Mormon missionaries can be summed up in three words, delivered in your crankiest and most stereotyped elderly male voice: “In MY day. . . .”
As Americans disengage from religion, a California institution encourages questioning
By Diana Kruzman — February 14, 2019
OJAI, Calif. (RNS) — For three decades, seekers have been drawn to this city's Krishnamurti Foundation center to question the teachings of the religions they've grown up with.
Witchcraft becomes a political stance — and a booming business
By Tara Isabella Burton — February 14, 2019
(RNS) — Once a fringe spiritual practice, witchcraft has become a key, and increasingly popular, component of feminist political resistance.
Meet Sadaf Jaffer, America’s first female Muslim mayor
By Simran Jeet Singh — February 14, 2019
(RNS) — 'I hope my example helps provide a different vision of what it means to be a Muslim woman in America today,' she says.
Why some young Muslim women are leaning into arranged marriages
By Aysha Khan — February 13, 2019
(RNS) — Halal dating apps are gaining traction among young Muslims. But dating often comes with its own set of headaches, so many young Muslim women say they are bypassing the drama by leaning into their family’s traditions of arranged marriage.
‘Brewery church’ is the latest in craft of luring folks to church
By Ken Chitwood — February 12, 2019
ORLANDO, Fla. (RNS) — What its founders call their town's 'newest premier destination brewery' is also a spiritual community known as Castle Church.
Christian leaders, time to check your own yearbooks for past racist actions
By Jemar Tisby — February 11, 2019
Pastors should not wait for their racist past to be exposed before they deal with it.
The evolution of sin
By Tara Isabella Burton — February 7, 2019
(RNS) — Virtue and vice have long been inextricably linked to self-control. But lately we've been asking, what's it all for?
Nikahnama wants to bring back a lost Islamic marriage tradition
By Aysha Khan — February 7, 2019
(RNS) — Nushmia Khan was tired of seeing Muslim couples treat their sacred marriage contracts as boring legalese. So last month, she launched a small business to help bring decorative keepsake Islamic marriage contracts to Muslim couples across the globe.
Students at Sundance explore film through the eyes of faith
By Bob Smietana — February 4, 2019
(RNS) — Students from Fuller Seminary and a number of Christian colleges attended this year's Sundance Film Festival for a look at how spirituality and storytelling meet.
Composting may offer the latest option in green burials
By Tracy Simmons — February 4, 2019
(RNS) — The approach, called recomposition, is currently being discussed by lawmakers and, if approved, could become a legal third option for after-death care by 2020.
Secular saints, folk saints and plain old celebrities
By Tara Isabella Burton — January 31, 2019
(RNS) — A Martin Luther King Jr., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Anna Nicole Smith may also carry many Americans' desire for a radical reframing of our collective values.
Why Sikhs don’t throw Muslims under the bus
By Simran Jeet Singh — January 28, 2019
(RNS) — Why do Sikhs like me challenge anti-Muslim hate when our religion is completely distinct? The answer starts with fairness but extends to our communities' long history of mutual regard.
If God is dead, is it OK if we save ourselves?
By Tara Isabella Burton — January 22, 2019
(RNS) — The rash of 'new utopian' groups isn't just about the collapse of traditional religion. It's about putting our faith in human self-improvement.
