Series
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.
How can one person take us closer to racial justice? These three bywords will help
By Jemar Tisby — January 21, 2019
(RNS) — Christians must undertake courageous and urgent action to correct historic wrongs and their ongoing ramifications.
The spirituality hiding in our self-help New Year’s resolutions
By Tara Isabella Burton — January 11, 2019
(RNS) — In the rhetoric of self-improvement, ridding ourselves of the old year's bad energy is a matter of social, physical and emotional health. But the notion is loaded with spiritual significance.
‘Vacationing’ to reconnect with India’s Zoroastrian culture
By Bhavya Dore — January 7, 2019
MUMBAI, India (RNS) — Return to Roots, a organization inspired by Birthright Israel, is fostering connections among young Zoroastrians around the world to bolster the once-thriving religious minority centered in northwestern India.
What I learned teaching Islamic studies in Texas
By Simran Jeet Singh — January 4, 2019
(RNS) — It’s not always easy to dismiss others’ fears, even if you are not really the thing they are scared of.
From ‘cafeteria Catholics’ to New Age nones, religion is getting personal
By Tara Isabella Burton — January 2, 2019
(RNS) — It makes perfect sense that we would curate our religious self-conceptions the same way we silo ourselves on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
‘Hacking the good’ from religion at a secular solstice
By Tara Isabella Burton — December 20, 2018
(RNS) — A secular solstice celebration in wintertime is not for everyone. But attending one of these rituals for the religiously unaffiliated helps define our own ideas of 'sacred' and 'profane.'
India’s conviction of a mass killer falls short of justice
By Simran Jeet Singh — December 20, 2018
(RNS) — How can people trust their own government when its leaders have been involved in mass atrocities and crimes against humanity?
Report on slavery is only a start for Southern Baptists’ reckoning with racism
By Jemar Tisby — December 14, 2018
(RNS) — A new report detailing the history of slavery and racism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ends more than 50 years too soon.
Why we should stop using the term religious ‘nones’
By Tara Isabella Burton — December 13, 2018
(RNS) — Most of America's religiously unaffiliated millennials are not so much religious 'nones' as they are religious 'manys.'
The spiritual legacy of Doom
By Kaitlin Curtice — December 11, 2018
(RNS) — I experienced a combination of terror and awe: gun in hand, destroying demonic monsters and those who guarded them anytime they came into our path.
Religion declining in importance for many Americans, especially for Millennials
By Jana Riess — December 10, 2018
Americans are less religious than ever, especially if they're under 30 -- but even middle-aged Gen Xers are part of the trend away from religion, a new study shows.
Canadians, led by millennials, show broad tolerance for religion in public life
By John Longhurst — December 6, 2018
(RNS) — Canada may appear very secular compared with its southern neighbor, but a new poll suggests there is more openness to religion than it appears, especially among younger Canadians.
