What makes a good friend?
Friendship requires that we be open to our friends’ ways of seeing things, even when they differ from our own. Is being…
August 6, 2018
555
Ethics
Can you be Christian and support the death penalty?
Pope Francis has said that death penalty violates the dignity of a person. But, this might just deepen the debate among…
August 3, 2018
528
It's harder than you might expect for charities to give back tainted money
After scandals or sea changes make the association with certain names too awkward, universities, museums and other nonprofits…
August 3, 2018
549
What the early church thought about God's gender
In early Christian texts, God gives birth to Israel and is described as a woman in labor and a mother comforting her children.
August 1, 2018
613
What Richard Dawkins doesn't get about the Muslim call to prayer
The Muslim call to prayer has often been misconstrued. A scholar explains how Islamic prayer is the heart of Islam that…
July 31, 2018
571
Congress could declaw restrictions on politicking from the pulpit — over the objections of many chur
Deactivating the tax provision known as the Johnson Amendment could increase the flow of dark money, reducing accountability…
July 30, 2018
569
What are madrasa schools and what skills do they impart?
Madrasas, or Islam-centered schools, have long spread knowledge and literacy throughout the Muslim world. However, can they…
July 30, 2018
512
Why the rescued Thai soccer team has ordained as Buddhist novice monks
In Theravada Buddhism, ordaining to be a monk and donating the merit thus gained is one of the greatest honors that a person…
July 26, 2018
516
What exactly is the point of the border?
Conflicts about policing the border have erupted in much of the world. How people respond depends on the many distinct visions…
July 25, 2018
543
How the Mormon church's past shapes its position on immigration today
On July 24, 1847, Mormon leader Brigham Young and 146 followers entered Salt Lake City to escape persecution. This history…
July 23, 2018
647
What is behind belief in weeping Virgin Mary statues
Throughout Catholic history, miracles have been attributed to Virgin Mary's power. She is understood to cry not only…
July 23, 2018
563
What is heaven?
Different cultural groups respond with numerous, often conflicting, answers to questions about life after death. An expert…
July 19, 2018
564
The rescued Thai boys are considering becoming monks — here's why
In Theravada Buddhism, ordaining to be a monk and donating the merit thus gained is one of the greatest honors that a person…
July 17, 2018
521
Revisiting Jimmy Carter's truth-telling sermon to Americans
At at time when hypernationalism and xenophobia are increasing in the world, Jimmy Carter's speech -- a theological…
July 13, 2018
539
Why the case of Jahi McMath is important for understanding the role of race for black patients
California teenager Jahi McMath's family refused to accept the diagnosis of brain death. Her case opens up a number…
July 12, 2018
552
Inside the sacred danger of Thailand's caves
A scholar, who has conducted research on the Thai caves in which 12 children were recently trapped, explains their power…
July 9, 2018
652
How the Catholic Church came to oppose birth control
July marks 50 years of Pope Paul VI's encyclical prohibiting contraceptive use. For many years prior to it, the church…
July 9, 2018
565
What the Nazis driving people from homes taught philosopher Hannah Arendt about the rights of refuge
The 20th-century philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote how refugees, in the absence of legal rights, were forced to live in a…
July 6, 2018
572
Why Americans have long been fascinated by gunfighting preachers
There is a long line of well-armed American preachers -- both real and fictional -- in US history and culture, confirming…
July 3, 2018
548
Reggae's sacred roots and call to protest injustice
Reggae is the musical expression of Rastafari, a belief system of migrants to Jamaica. A popular song, 'Rivers of Babylon,'…
June 29, 2018
542