At times we just don’t know what’s the right thing to do. St. Ignatius, who founded the Society of Jesus, developed a method of discernment that can be useful even to those who are not religious.
Wounded Knee Memorial at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
AP Photo/Russell Contreras
Wounded Knee is among the worst massacres in Native American history, when in 1890 the US military shot and killed 146 unarmed men, women and children in South Dakota.
For many Muslim women, a hijab is a way of expressing resistance.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
Most tech companies make it difficult for users to say no to aggressive surveillance practices. But it is helpful to know about the default settings on your smartphone and how to change them.
A smarter use of social media can improve your sense of well-being.
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There is rich Catholic heritage of resistance. Catholic protesters have used powerful religious symbols, including vials of their own blood, as an extension of Christ’s blood, to demand change.
More and more Americans are choosing to be single.
mimagephotography/Shutterstock.com
Singles can face mistaken stereotypes and value judgments that they are less happy, or lonelier. For many, being single is simply a relationship preference or even an orientation.
Catnip induces changes in cat behavior.
Anna Hoychuk
Forty-five years ago, ‘The Exorcist’ terrified viewers with its portrayal of a practice that goes back several centuries and continues today in Christianity.
Supporters of Shiite Houthi rebels attend a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, in 2017.
AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File
The Houthis belong to the Shiite branch of Islam. The Houthi insurgency began in the early 1990s, spurred in part by growing influence of different Sunni branches of Islam.
The Blackfeet always faced their tipis towards the rising sun, including on winter solstice.
Beinecke Library via Wikimedia Commons
For indigenous peoples, winter solstice has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. Their rituals reveal a deep understanding of the natural world.
A person dressed as Santa Claus waves as part of the festivities, during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Lisa Bitel, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Behind today’s mythical Santa Claus from the North Pole, is a real saint – St. Nicholas. How he came to be today’s gift-giving jolly figure from the North Pole is a fascinating story by itself.
What might have motivated the young missionary killed on a remote island in India?
AP Photo/Sarah Prince
In their zeal to evangelize the world, at the end of 19th century, young families were sent overseas with little to no training in anything beyond the Bible and no promise of funding.
A sculpture of Meister Eckhart in Germany.
Lothar Spurzem
Meister Eckhart was a 14th-century Dominican friar, who gave sermons on the direct experience of God. His words are finding resonance among today’s spiritual seekers.
Hanukkah demands fewer religious rituals than most other Jewish observances.
Golden Pixels LLC
Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture, the visibility of Hanukkah in pop culture reminds Jews that they have their own holiday in which they can take pride.
In the United States, Hanukkah has gained much significance.
Tercer Ojo Photography/Shutterstock.com
Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, but its popularity in the US has a lot to do with America’s Jews trying to fight assimilation into a culture that welcomed them.
Dorothy Day with publisher Robert Ellsberg.
Jim Forest/Flickr.com
The founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day, led a life full of paradoxes. An expert explains how there’s much to learn from her life - especially how to see beauty in the least.
The Salvation Army is among the top few U.S. charities.
CityOfFortWorth
Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Around this time of the year, the Salvation Army’s red kettles become visible as part of holiday giving. How this British evangelical organization came to the US is interesting history.
Researchers have found people use the ‘like’ button on social media posts for many reasons.
Worawee Meepian
The ‘like’ button does far more than just express how much a person likes a particular picture or post. It could be used to make social comparisons.
The largest public housing complex in the country, Queensbridge Houses, is located near the spot where Amazon plans to put a new headquarters.
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
When large companies move into an area, the result is often gentrification. When this happens, the economic and social costs for displaced residents is typically high.
Vaccine work because they help create herd immunity.
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Billboards spreading misinformation on the risks of vaccination have popped up around American cities. A bioethicist explains why decisions not to vaccinate children are indefensible.
‘Protest chaplains’ came together to pledge their support to the Occupy Wall Street protests at Judson Memorial Church in New York in 2011.
AP Photo/Andrew Burton
Loren Jacobs’s prayer for victims of the Tree of Life congregation offended many Jews. Jacobs is part of a group called Jews for Jesus – a messianic Jewish organization with a complicated history.
Pakistani religious groups protest against a Supreme Court decision that acquitted Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
AP Photo/B.K. Bangash
There has been outrage over the release of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. An expert explains how blasphemy laws are hardly obsolete throughout the West.