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Articles on Religion and society

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An engraving from 1992 representing a voodoo rite in Haiti. Nicolas Jallot/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

How the word ‘voodoo’ became a racial slur

Shows, movies and day-to-day language promote myths about voodoo that reinforce more than a century of stereotypes and discrimination, writes a scholar of Africana studies.
A ceremony to punish people for heresy, called an ‘auto da fe,’ in the town of San Bartolome Otzolotepec, in present-day Mexico. Museo Nacional de Arte/Wikimedia Commons

Latin America’s colonial period was far less Catholic than it might seem − despite the Inquisition’s attempts to police religion

Conversion was often a violent affair, but that doesn’t mean it was 100% successful. Colonial Latin America was home to many different spiritual traditions from Indigenous, African and Asian cultures.
A priest and Catholic worshippers pray in front of an image of ‘Sangre de Cristo,’ burned in a fire on July 2020, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua. Oswaldo Rivas/AFP via Getty Images

Nicaragua released imprisoned priests, but repression is unlikely to relent – and the Catholic Church remains a target

When President Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2006, church figures supported him. Violent repression after the 2018 protests has soured the relationship and made clergy targets for intimidation.
In the ‘big tent’ philosophy of free speech, the more views, the better. But how does that hold up in practice? imageBROKER/Manuel Kamuf via Getty Images

In the ‘big tent’ of free speech, can you be too open-minded?

Intellectual humility doesn’t mean anyone can change your mind, a philosopher writes – but it might mean learning from the ‘other side’ in surprising ways.
Pope Francis baptizes 16 infants in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 7, 2024, in Vatican City. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Pope Francis called surrogacy ‘deplorable’ – but the reasons why women and parents choose surrogacy are complex and defy simple labels

Surrogacy can exploit women, but others may choose to be involved for altruistic reasons. A scholar points out that surrogacy’s ethical value is dependent upon the people and systems who use it.
Daoism, which emphasizes harmony with nature, can inform individuals on their relationship with the environment. Ma Yuan 'Walking on Path in Spring.' National Palace Museum via Wikimedia Commons

What Taoism teaches about the body and being healthy

A scholar of Daoist rituals explains how the indigenous tradition of China understands the human body as being part of the larger cosmos.
Catarina was revered in Puebla, Mexico – but devotion to her attracted Catholic authorities’ disapproval after her death. Image from the collections of the Biblioteca Nacional de España

From South Asia to Mexico, from slave to spiritual icon, this woman’s life is a snapshot of Spain’s colonization – and the Pacific slave trade history that books often leave out

Accounts of Asian American history often stop at the US border, but Asians were living in Latin America for centuries before the Declaration of Independence.
A Lotus Sutra scroll praising the manifold mercies of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Universal Gateway chapter of the Lotus Sutra/Calligrapher: Sugawara Mitsushige/The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection

The Lotus Sutra − an ancient Buddhist scripture from the 3rd century − continues to have relevance today

For many Buddhists today, both in East Asia and across the world, the Lotus Sutra offers religious support for various gender identities.
Russian riot police detain gay rights activists during World Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in St. Petersburg in 2019. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

As Russia ramps up ‘traditional values’ rhetoric − especially against LGBTQ+ groups − it’s won Putin far-right fans abroad

Far-right American Christians once viewed Soviet culture as a menace to their values. Today, some authoritarian-leaning admirers wish their country were more like Putin’s Russia.
Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez stands with people celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe’s feast day in 2022. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Viva Guadalupe! Beyond Mexico, the Indigenous Virgin Mary is a powerful symbol of love and inclusion for millions of Latinos in the US

The famous apparition of the Virgin Mary has come to symbolize Mexico, but other groups – particularly migrants and Latinos north of the border – also feel a special connection to Guadalupe.
People gather for Pagan sunrise celebrations in Ireland, on the morning of the winter solstice. Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images

Yule – a celebration of the return of light and warmth

Yule, celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice, is a time for reflection.

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