Employers navigating employees’ requests for religious accommodations face some confusing guidance. A new Supreme Court case could clarify – and shift the norm.
Which is it?
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A historian of the late Roman world, who visited earthquake-devastated Antakya several times, writes about the city’s rich history and recovery after being devastated in the past.
Prisoners at a yard at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, Neb.
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
A scholar who has studied imprisonment explains why the promise of sentence reductions in return for organ donation raises ethical issues about whether inmates can ever consent freely.
In the Hindu tradition, the story of the divine love of Radha and Krishna features prominently.
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On Valentine’s Day, a scholar of South Asian religions tells the story of the divine love of Radha and Krishna and the lessons in it for our world today.
Lucian of Samosata, a high-ranking Roman official.
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Lucian’s work provides insight into the second-century Roman world, which fostered multilingualism and multiculturalism.
Figuring out what to do with the ‘Song of Songs’ has preoccupied people reading the Bible for centuries.
'Song of Songs' illustrated by Florence Kingsford/Southern Methodist University/Wikimedia Commons
The famous biblical book alludes to God only once. Historically, though, most interpreters have argued the poem’s about love between the divine and his people.
Video footage of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols may be key to any criminal trial.
City of Memphis via AP
Ancient Greece and Rome may have handed down the image of rosy-cheeked Cupids, but their myths about him explore the messier – sometimes scarier – sides of love.
Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests celebrating Sunday Mass in Lviv, in western Ukraine.
AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has a history going back to the 16th century, when some Orthodox bishops and their followers agreed to become Catholic.
People gather around the body of a man who was killed when an enraged mob stoned him to death for allegedly desecrating the Quran, in eastern Pakistan in February 2022.
AP Photo/Asim Tanveer
A political scientist explains the history of blasphemy laws in Muslim-majority nations and how they play a role in silencing dissent.
The exterior view of the Bethel African American Methodist Episcopal Church at 125 S. 6th St. in Philadelphia.
Breton, William L., circa 1773-1855 Artist via the Library of Congress, World Digital Library
Millions of enslaved Africans were forcefully converted to the Christian faith. The Black church came about when African Americans began to establish their own congregations.
Involuntary treatment for homeless people aims to help – but also raises ethical debates.
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New York City’s plan has garnered the most attention – and criticism – but several cities are expanding their own intervention programs.
The cultural significance of Tu BiShvat has taken on new meaning in modern Israel.
Teddy Brauner/National Photo Collection, Government Press Office (Israel)
It was in the 1990s that the idea of Christian environmental stewardship disappeared from the rhetoric of the religious right, paving the way for the anti-environmental position it holds today.
Cells at Alcatraz, a famous former prison on an island off the coast of California.
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The term, coined in 2011, refers to people who seek to use their money and time to make as much progress as possible toward solving the world’s most pressing problems.
The depiction of Prophet Muhammad at Hamline University has opened up a debate about what sacred images can or cannot be shown in a classroom.
Friscocali via Flickr
Fierce debates about visual depictions of the sacred have existed for centuries. An art historian explains the controversies in the Byzantine Empire over images of Christ.
People pray in front of the tomb of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI inside the grottos of St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, on Jan. 8, 2023.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
A specialist in Catholic liturgy and rituals explains that while several popes have been canonized, it is a long process that may take several years to examine and uncover any hidden flaws.
Technology is increasingly important in Holocaust education – seen here in ‘The Journey Back’ within The Richard and Jill Chaifetz Family Virtual Reality Gallery at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
Courtesy of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Constituents’ willingness to overlook deception may depend, in part, on whether politicians lie well and with a good purpose.
Actor Ricardo Darín, left, and director Santiago Mitre pose at the Golden Globe Awards after “Argentina, 1985” won Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language.
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Several films have portrayed violence and fear under Argentina’s most recent dictatorship, but the Oscar-nominated ‘Argentina, 1985’ is the first to explore the trial that brought junta leaders to justice.
Prince Harry sits on an Apache helicopter at the British-controlled flight line in Afghanistan on Dec. 12, 2012.
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