A scholar of constitutional law and American religious history explains how the abortion issue has been historically rooted in religious beliefs, giving a moral certainty that law cannot provide.
Pupils in a school in Nairobi, Kenya, pray before a meal.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Statistics on religious affiliation in Africa are often questionable - partly because of religion’s link to ethnicity and politics.
Gerald Antoine, Northwest Territories regional chief and Assembly of First Nations lead delegate to Rome, is flanked by Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, left, and Cassidy Caron, Métis National Council president, in St.Peter’s Square in Rome, after their meeting with Pope Francis on April 1.
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
As a theologian who studies church apologies for historical wrongs, I understand why the Pope was moved to speak this week, but I hope this was not his definitive apology.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Pope Francis for a private audience at the Vatican in May 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
It is worth considering whether efforts to enlist the church in reconciliation have been helped or hindered by how settlers think about early written records.
A family takes part in shiva, a traditional Jewish time of mourning, on Zoom.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
A scholar conducted over 70 hours of interviews with people involved in the medical and funerary professions to understand the impact of changes in death rituals during the pandemic.
The number of women religious leaders is growing, but the 2018-2019 National Congregations Study, which surveyed 5,300 U.S. religious communities, found that only 56.4% of these communities would allow a woman to “be head clergy person or primary religious leader.”
AP Photo/Young Kwak
A papal apology, if done in ‘a good way,’ could help remove barriers to transforming harmful relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church.
Physical touch at the end of life has a special significance in many cultures and offers solace.
Valerie Winckler/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
An article that used geolocation data to place a priest at gay bars raises questions over journalistic ethics, and shines a light on the Catholic media landscape.
Pope Francis is presiding over a divided church.
Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI expanded the Latin Mass in 2007 in an olive branch to traditionalists. His successor hopes reversing that decision may better serve unity in the church.
Communion has been described as the ‘fount and apex of the whole Christian life.’
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Amid controversy over US bishops’ plans to deny Communion to pro-abortion rights Catholics, a scholar of sacramental theology explains the importance of the ritual to members of the church.
Scrutiny of the Catholic Church’s accountability for systemic harms and abuses perpetrated by and in residential schools has also turned attention on how the church has responded to wider calls to prevent and respond to sexual abuse.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Rossiter
Research on how the Catholic Church has responded to sexual abuse shows it’s not only time for the church to walk the talk, but to change the talk away from a defensive legalistic approach.
The Vatican has warned U.S. bishops not to deny Communion to President Biden.
L'Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP
A debate over whether President Biden’s views on abortion disqualify him from taking Communion serves to expose a rift between US bishops and the pope, and is a threat to the church itself.
Members of the Tsuut'ina Nation take part in a silent march in memory of the 215 children whose remains were found in Kamloops.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Acts of genocide were strategically implemented by church and the Canadian government to remove Indigenous people from their land and, in turn, their culture.
Prayers and symbols have the power to bind people together, writes a religion scholar, and so it is important to understand the history and context of Good Friday prayers.
Holy cards are highly collectible but also very, very numerous.
Ryan O'Grady, The Marian Library, University of Dayton
The mass production of religious items such as rosaries and holy cards poses a problem for the curators of religious artifacts at libraries and museums. How do you dispose of unwanted donations?
Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Environment & Sustainability; Holcim (US), Inc. Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan