After years of marginalization, the bèlè dance has been embraced by a growing community who see it as a form of social and spiritual healing.
An art installation by Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg in remembrance of Americans who have died of COVID-19, near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Gregory Grieve, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
A scholar of digital religion and Buddhism argues that not all Western Buddhism practice is inauthentic. Here’s a way to know what’s real.
Drought in Navajo Nation. Indigenous people around the world are dealing with many environmental problems, such as access to water.
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An Anglican Aboriginal pastor who attended the COP26 climate conference shares his perspective on Indigenous knowledge in dealing with climate change.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron in northern Israel on April 29, 2021, as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer.
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An anthropologist writes that despite best efforts, there is no guarantee that children may not have been exploited in the production process of chocolate.
Debate about abortion is often a debate about rights – but whose?
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
The definition of personhood is a key and contested philosophical issue that has made legalized abortion such a longstanding controversy.
The Washington National Cathedral hosted a public vaccination event in March 2021 to help demonstrate trust by faith leaders of all denominations in the COVID-19 vaccines.
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A scholar of constitutional law and American religious history explains how the abortion issue has been historically rooted in religious beliefs, giving a moral certainty that law cannot provide.
The headstone of Father Damien, a Catholic saint who was canonized in 2009.
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Father Damien’s legacy has inspired health providers and humanitarians for over a century.
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, center, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, at the consecration of the Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces outside Moscow, June 14, 2020.
Oleg Varov, Russian Orthodox Church Press Service via AP
Relics often provided a way to bring more pilgrims into a church – and therefore, more offerings.
Sri Lankan students march during a protest over the economic crisis outside the residence of prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, April 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
The country has a long history of ethnic and religious conflict, but the worst economic crisis in decades has brought protesters together.
Pedestrians walk near three flag poles flying the American flag, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts flag, and the City of Boston flag, from left, outside Boston City Hall, May 2, 2022.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
As Muslims congregate in their local mosques in communal prayer for Eid, the Women’s Mosque of America, located in Los Angeles, will provide an exclusive religious space for its female congregants.
The temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along the Capital Beltway in Kensington, Md.
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Four scholars of race, religion and immigration explain how US refugee and asylum policy has long been racially and religiously discriminatory in practice.
A man identified only as Viktor shows his neighbor’s grave in Bucha, Ukraine. It was too dangerous to go to the cemetery.
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Several US universities now recognize caste as part of nondiscrimination policies. Two scholars of South Asian studies explain how caste-based violence isn’t limited to Hinduism, or to India.
Muslims regard acts of charity as mandatory.
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A sociologist found in her research that many Americans who are opposed to abortion may nonetheless be willing to support a friend or family member seeking one.
Tibetan monks at Sera Jey Monastery in Mysore, India, experience using microscopes for the first time.
Courtesy of Dan Pierce
Religious beliefs and modern biology sometimes seem to collide. But exploring those ideas with compassion and an open mind can lead to deeper learning across cultures.
Resurrection of Christ depicted in 14th-century fresco in Chora Church, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Christians have engaged in passionate debates over the meaning of the resurrection. Baptists may be distinct in that they believe an external religious authority cannot enforce views on such matters.