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Articles on Religion and society

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When Pope John Paul II was beatified, Zimbabwe’s ruler, Robert Mugabe, was in attendance and given Communion. Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Controversy over Communion in the Catholic Church goes back some 2,000 years

Biden is not the first public figure to whom the Catholic Church wants to deny Communion. Over the centuries, the Church has often come under criticism for either denying or giving Communion.
Gov. Andy Beshear is in favor of making Kentucky the 21st state to ban conversion therapy. AP Photo/Bryan Woolston

Conversion therapy is discredited and increases risk of suicide – yet fewer than half of US states have bans in place

Kentucky lawmakers are trying to make the state the 21st to enact a ban on conversion therapy. In states that are ‘silent’ on the issue, nonprofessionals are allowed to continue the harmful practice.
Like their ancient ancestors, contemporary Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and consider baptism the most important of their religious rituals. Hadi Mizban/AP

This tiny minority of Iraqis follows an ancient Gnostic religion – and there’s a chance they could be your neighbors too

Mandaeans are followers of ancient Gnostic religion, whose traditional homeland was the region of Iraq and Iran. Today, this small minority lives in many parts of the world, including the US.
Many of the tombs in Japan are elaborately decorated. Nearby visitors can buy flowers, buckets. brooms and other gardening tools to tidy up the graves. John S Lander/LightRocket via Getty Images

Lack of burial space is changing age-old funeral practices, and in Japan ‘tree burials’ are gaining in popularity

In a Japanese tree burial, cremated remains are placed in the ground and a tree is planted over the ashes to mark the gravesite. Environmental responsibility is part of Buddhism.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders believe women’s ordination violates biblical teaching. Women have long protested against such views. AP Photo/Julie Bennett

How women in the Southern Baptist Convention have fought for decades to be ordained

Southern Baptists are calling for an investigation into the ordination of three women. A scholar explains why this continues to be a fraught issue, even though 2,500 women have been ordained to date.

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