Author Salman Rushdie's book goes to the heart of Muslim religious beliefs and challenges some of the most sensitive tenets.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Ethics + Religion – Articles, Analysis, Opinion
Displaying 1 - 25 of 279 articles
The US$2 billion that the Amazon founder and his wife are donating to help the homeless and educate young kids may appear selfless. But this money may also soften calls to raise taxes on the rich.
Hosay, a religious ritual performed by Trinidadian Muslims, combines the somber Islamic observance of Ashura, brought by immigrant Indians, and the joy of Trinidad's famous carnival.
An expert explains why the Jewish practice of abstaining from food on Yom Kippur is so out of step with the rest of Jewish tradition.
Cuba is avowedly secular. But as the country debates a new Constitution that would protect LGBT rights, churches have come out strongly against gay marriage — a sign of change on the Communist island.
An expert argues our connection with these figures is longstanding. They are embedded in our myths and help us explore deeper questions about being human.
Images of famine or poverty are often used by human rights groups to galvanize support. And they often do. The ethics of these images is a more complex story.
An expert argues why the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times can hardly be considered an act of civil disobedience and why it might make things even worse in the Trump administration.
Early Christians were open to marriage for priests. It wasn't until the 12th century that celibacy became mandatory in the Catholic Church.
During the Cold War, American evangelicals smuggled Bibles and other Christian literature to the Soviet Union and other communist countries. They still see Russia as a partner on evangelical values.
Several companies are trying to develop life extension methods that could enable some people to live far longer. There are some ethical dilemmas.
President Trump has promised to protect religious liberty. But there was a time when evangelicals believed that a religion that needed protection from government had no reason to exist at all.
Pope Francis has been accused of a cover-up in the sex abuse scandal involving Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop. Experts explain why it's hard for the Catholic Church to hold clergy accountable.
An expert explains how a complex set of canon laws and trials are the major obstacle to holding priests accountable. The power to take action is often vested in the Vatican.
A growing body of evidence points to how animals are aware of death, can experience grief and will sometimes mourn for or ritualize their dead.
While many American Catholics believe demons and exorcism to be part of a distant past, an expert explains how beliefs that sexual desires could be part of demonic temptation still persist.
Each year, Muslims from all over the world go on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, known as Hajj. A scholar explains its spiritual significance.
Israel's increasingly conservative policies on social and religious issues appears to be playing a role.
Despite the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, passed by the US Congress 40 years ago, Native Americans still struggle to protect public lands where they practice their religions.
Saudi Arabia has arrested a number of feminists, while bringing in reforms for women. An expert argues why this goes to show that the kingdom remains adamant on not opening space for more voices.
American Sikhs have been the target of many racist attacks. An expert explains the Sikh faith and its history in the United States.
Technological professionals are the first, and last, lines of defense against the misuse of technology.
A religious minority of Pakistan, the Ahmadis have been boycotting elections for decades. Casting a vote would require that they denounce themselves as 'non-Muslims.'
The coworking company, WeWork, has banned meat, citing an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint. For centuries, philosophers have made a moral case against meat-eating.
Abortion support is high in Argentina, even among Catholics. That puts the church, which opposes an abortion bill up for vote on August 8, in the awkward position of fighting a law its members demand.