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.
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.
Kai M. Thaler, University of California, Santa Barbara
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.
Gaza’s Omari Mosque embodies the history of Gaza – as a site of frequent destruction, but also of renewal, writes a scholar of Islamic architecture and archaeology.
A sociologist of religion explains how atheist churches are helping people find meaning and community – serving many of the same purposes as religious churches.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.