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Religion News

2026-01-03T14:48:55-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Is the Bible So Complicated?

Last updated on: January 3, 2026 at 2:48 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The Guy is taking a holiday breather and re-posts a classic question from 2015 in the early days of the Patheos Religion Q&A feature. A reader filed the following on behalf of a Prison Fellowship pen pal: “If divinely inspired holy books are for our guidance, benefit, spiritual enlightenment, etc., why is much of it so obscure and beyond the common lay person’s understanding? Where do I draw the line between sticking to what I can... Read more

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2025-12-22T11:58:24-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This Christmas, How Should Jesus’s Mother Mary Be Honored?

Last updated on: December 22, 2025 at 11:58 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: How should Christians honor the Virgin Mary’s unique status as the mother of Jesus Christ? How speak of her? What believe about her? Catholics and Protestants have well-known disagreements, but now there’s vigorous debate within Catholicism over the Vatican’s lengthy November “doctrinal note” titled Mater Populi Fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People”), which concludes 30 years of discussion on Mary’s role in salvation. See www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20251104_mater-populi-fidelis_en.html/ Devotees of Mary sent a last-minute appeal against this new... Read more

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2025-12-05T10:18:00-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Do You Have Any Good Gift Book Recommendations?

Last updated on: December 5, 2025 at 10:18 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: A single columnist cannot possibly assess the flood of new religious books to rank the very best of 2025. But The Guy can attest that three new titles from really smart writers are really intriguing. Each is a good read for believers. But they’re particularly pertinent for someone without religious involvement who is open-minded, curious, and perhaps wondering amid the tinsel and eggnog whether there might be something to this whole God thing. One of the... Read more

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2025-11-10T09:29:38-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is Gambling “Killing Sports”?

Last updated on: November 10, 2025 at 9:29 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: America’s $72 billion gambling industry is expanding and fast evolving. A New York Times opinion piece November 2 was headlined “Gambling Is Killing Sports and Consuming America.” See https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/opinion/sports-gambling-major-leagues.html/. Joon Lee proceeded to describe and lament the explosion of easily accessible online betting through heavily advertised sites like DraftKings and FanDuel allied with professional sports. The headline on a simultaneous New Yorker piece by Danny Funt decried “The Sports Betting Disaster.” See https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-sports-betting-disaster/. In January, Funt... Read more

Sports and Religion

2025-10-24T14:52:47-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Should Marriage Between First Cousins Be Legal?

Last updated on: October 24, 2025 at 2:52 pm By Richard Ostling

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Should Marriage Between First Cousins Be Legal? THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: Beliefs about this depend on what faith you follow, and where you live. Let’s first explain a fuss in Britain that makes this so timely. On September 22, England’s Genomics Education Program in the government’s National Health Service (NHS) posted an online article providing “guidance” on marriages between first cousins. That was logical because a pending bill in Parliament to make such unions illegal won support from 77% of... Read more

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2025-10-10T19:24:06-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Should Christians Have Female Clergy?

Last updated on: October 10, 2025 at 7:24 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The choice of Sarah Mullally to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, 106th in a 1,428-year line of succession, is truly a world-historical moment. She is the first woman to be the spiritual leader of both the venerable Church of England and of the Anglican Communion, a major sector of world Christianity with 85 million or more members in 47 national branches — though this second role is problematic, as we’ll see. England’s national church (Scotland and... Read more

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2025-09-27T14:36:12-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why Be A Protestant?

Last updated on: September 27, 2025 at 2:36 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: On Hallowe’en 508 years ago, Catholic monk and university professor Martin Luther issued “95 Theses” against church policies, the first of many dramatic eruptions that eventually split Europe and created Protestantism as a major new branch of the Christian religion. Today, Protestants number 629 million, according to De Gruyter Brill’s World Christian Database, along with 1.72 billion Catholics, 292 million Orthodox, and 409 million “Independents” in Africa, Asia, and Latin America whose modern-day indigenous churches are... Read more

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2025-09-13T11:29:12-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Should We Go To Mars?

Last updated on: September 13, 2025 at 11:29 am By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: The only humans yet to set foot on the Moon are American astronauts in the series of six Apollo landings that ended 53 years ago. But last January, President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Address proclaimed a far more extraordinary goal: “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars. . . . Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers. The spirit of the frontier... Read more

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2025-08-29T18:34:44-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is Canada “Killing Itself” with Doctor-Assisted Suicide?

Last updated on: August 29, 2025 at 6:34 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: This is a landmark year for what’s variously labeled “medical assistance in dying” (MAID), “doctor-assisted suicide,” death by choice,” “death with dignity,” “the right to die,” “euthanasia” or “mercy killing.” As this is written, Great Britain is on the brink of joining the West European nations that allow suicide under specified conditions. The same for New York State, which would follow 11 states plus the District of Columbia that have legalized suicide, starting with Oregon in... Read more

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2025-08-16T22:28:42-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is Christianity Finally on the Rebound in Britain – or Not?

Last updated on: August 16, 2025 at 10:28 pm By Richard Ostling

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THE RELIGION GUY’S ANSWER: We don’t know when Christianity first reached the British Isles, but as early as A.D. 314, local bishops traveled to southern France for the first church council held after the Roman Empire halted persecution of the expanding faith. The succeeding 16½ centuries brought tumultuous schism and civil war in Britain, but also remarkably creative churchmanship in theology and education, pastoral work and missions, worship and devotion, nation-building and charitable outreach, the arts and music. That rich... Read more

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