Series

The ‘Splainer: What’s the United Methodist special session all about?

By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 22, 2019
(RNS) — You’ve probably heard that the United Methodist Church meeting this weekend in St. Louis has something to do with sexuality and a possible schism. Let us ’Splain …

SoulCycle, capitalism and the selling of self-care

By Tara Isabella Burton — February 21, 2019
(RNS) — At the heart of the SoulCycle faith is a value system of capitalist consumerism, which it imbues, through sweat, with a metaphysical significance.

Hindu monastic order is reclaiming transgender people’s status in Indian society

By Soumya Shankar — February 20, 2019
PRAYAGRAJ, India (RNS) — A reality TV star-turned-transgender activist is using the ancient Hindu tradition of akharas to go beyond activism's limits to change religious attitudes toward her community.

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.
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