How did Halloween get associated with the spooky?
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A folklorist explains how Halloween continues an ancient Celtic tradition of the celebration of the dead.
Many elevators do not have a floor numbered 13 because of common superstitions about the number.
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A sociologist unpacks how common superstitions like fear of 13 can gain steam.
Asian American voter turnout increases when an Asian American is on the ballot.
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As the fastest-growing racial group in the US, Asian Americans form an important voting bloc and could play a key role in swing states, write two political scientists.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, right, and his challenger Evan McMullin before their debate Oct. 17, 2022.
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Many Republicans have wrestled with whether to embrace Donald Trump and his brash political style. Latter-day Saints are an especially telling example.
The worship of the goddess Lakshmi on Diwali is said to bring prosperity.
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Shri is the earliest name given to the goddess Lakshmi in Hindu texts. The word originally meant splendor and refers to all that is auspicious.
Do students’ views of people with different beliefs really change on campus?
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College can be a time to interact with people with different worldviews, but meaningful exchanges often require intent.
Simchat Torah celebrations in Netanya, Israel, in 2013.
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Simchat Torah is about more than beginning to read the Torah all over again. It’s about the need to reexamine what we think we know, over and over again.
Shamans from the organization Tengeri conduct an offering ritual in 2013 to Bukhe Bator, the spirit master of the Selenga River, Republic of Buryatia, Russian Federation.
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Animism describes religions in which humans are connected to the landscape around them but do not dominate it.
The romantic image of the writer doesn’t do justice to the tedious reality of churning out words, one after another.
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Since the earliest days of the written word, students and scholars have pleaded for help from higher powers, a sure sign that writing and frustration always have – and always will – go hand in hand.
Iranian newspaper headlines about the protests that started with death of Mahsa Amini.
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Controversy of veils goes back more than a century, a scholar of Iran explains.
Boddhisatva Avalokiteśvara, considered to be a compassionate protector, is believed to regularly visit Earth.
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Buddhists believe that bodhisattvas reside in heavenly realms but can also appear on Earth disguised as humans, animals or other types of beings.
Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini.
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Imposing restrictions on women has been a way for many countries to demonstrate to the world what policies they want to pursue.
Girls chant religious slogans while celebrating Mawlid al-Nabi in Karachi, Pakistan in 2021.
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The Wahhabi school of Islam has spread throughout the world, along with its disapproval of the holiday.
A woman holds a sign denouncing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, with syringes in the shape of a swastika, during a 2021 rally at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort.
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Many Americans know a simple version of Holocaust history, in which their country played the savior. The reality isn’t so comfortable, a historian writes.
Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii, with an observatory visible on its summit. Native Hawaiians consider the mountain sacred and object to construction on it.
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Native Hawaiians see Mauna Kea mountain as sacred. Scientists use its summit for research. A new policy called co-management may help resolve this land conflict and similar ones across the US.
Nicaragua’s lawmakers have closed NGOs in a string of decrees.
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These crackdowns are occurring around the world in countries that are becoming less free because of what’s known as ‘democratic backsliding.’
Two women embrace before a Yom Kippur service held outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles.
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Many religions value forgiveness, but the details of their teachings differ. A psychologist of religion explains how Christian and Jewish attitudes compare.
Women holding up photographs of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, on Sept. 24, 2022.
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A scholar of Iranian politics explains how Iranians have organized resistance movements for the past several decades while risking arrest and public flogging.
Pastor Silas Malafaia, second from left, prays alongside President Jair Bolsonaro, far left, at the Assembly of God Victory in Christ Church in Rio de Janeiro.
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Trump and Bolsonaro use religion in similar ways, but there are key differences between the two countries’ evangelical communities – and politics.
Judaism possesses an elaborate system that determines what foods Jews can eat and which ones can be eaten together.
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A historian of American Judaism explains how cookbooks across the 20th century have influenced and reflected the shifting tastes of American Jews.