For much of American history, the only December holiday to be recognized in the White House was Christmas, but menorah lightings are now an annual tradition.
Many young people learn about the Holocaust in school, but their knowledge and understanding of the subject can be limited and based on inaccuracies and misconceptions.
People have always searched for meaning in their misfortunes. It can be comforting to believe that things happen for a reason and something can be learned in chaotic situations.
Faith communities are changing many traditional practices to deal with coronavirus restrictions. A historian of the Bible argues how innovation has long been part of religious practice.
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are quintessentially Jewish holidays, but an ethicist argues that their values around becoming a better human being, transcend any one religion.
The annual Jewish pilgrimage of the Ghriba to the island of Djerba used to attract tens of thousands of people. After numbers dwindled in recent years, the 2019 event saw a big increase in visitors.
An evolutionary biologist makes the case that there’s no reconciling science and religion. In the search for truth, one tests hypotheses while the other relies on faith.
Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture, the visibility of Hanukkah in pop culture reminds Jews that they have their own holiday in which they can take pride.
Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, but its popularity in the US has a lot to do with America’s Jews trying to fight assimilation into a culture that welcomed them.
Loren Jacobs’s prayer for victims of the Tree of Life congregation offended many Jews. Jacobs is part of a group called Jews for Jesus – a messianic Jewish organization with a complicated history.
A national survey of over 1,300 congregations found that religious leaders struggle to balance security concerns with carrying out a mission to be open to the communities they serve.