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May 2025

May 11, 2025

Pope Leo XIII: The Father of Catholic Social Doctrine

Pope Leo XIII is in the news, more than a century after his reign ended. ...

May 05, 2025

Catholicism in China: The Challenge for the Next Pope

Catholicism in China poses a formidable problem for the Vatican. The late Pope Francis is...

April 2025

April 14, 2025

Religion in Public Schools Hurts Religion (and Schools)

Religion in public schools has been a hot topic in the U.S. for decades. It...

March 2025

March 31, 2025

Myanmar Earthquake: Mosques and Temples Destroyed

On March 28 an earthquake struck central Myanmar and was felt in several Asian countries....

March 27, 2025

Mahabodhi Temple Protests: The Fight for a Sacred Site

Mahabodhi Temple -- one of the world's most sacred places -- is now the site...

March 13, 2025

When the Dalai Lama Escaped Tibet

The Dalai Lama escaped Tibet in March 1959, 66 years ago this month. March 1959...

March 06, 2025

How “Christian” Were the Nazis?

How Christian were the Nazis? Not as much as many assume. The relationship between Christianity...

February 2025

February 09, 2025

Madison, Bush, Trump and Religious Freedom

Most Americans might agree that religious freedom is a cornerstone of American liberty. Yet we...

January 2025

January 14, 2025

Padmasambhava, Tibetan Buddhism, and the Mists of Myth

Padmasambhava was probably a real person. I understand this is according to most academic scholars...

January 07, 2025

What You May Not Know About U.S. Presidential Funerals

According to the White House Historical Association, one of the first things asked of new...

January 01, 2025

The Progressive Evangelicalism of Jimmy Carter

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29, 2024, at the age of...

December 2024

December 22, 2024

How Christmas Became a Family Holiday

Today, Christmas is a family holiday. It didn't used to be. Through much of the...

December 06, 2024

Was There a Historical Buddha?

Here's a question for Bodhi Day. Was the Buddha a verifiable historical person? And was...

December 03, 2024

Buddhist Holidays in December: A Short and Confusing Guide

The world's many religions observe many holy days in December other than Christmas and Hanukkah....

November 2024

November 26, 2024

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving

President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a U.S. national holiday for the first time in 1863....

November 22, 2024

The Thanksgiving Myth

The Thanksgiving myth is the Thanksgiving story that we Americans were taught in school as...

November 15, 2024

Ashoka’s Edict on Religious Tolerance

The first person in history known to have promoted religious tolerance was Ashoka the Great....

November 13, 2024

Buddhism and the California Gold Rush: Wild West Dharma

Buddhism and the California Gold Rush may be two things that don't seem to go...

October 2024

October 15, 2024

Law and Morality: Which Came First?

There's a common assumption that laws are based on morality and morality comes from religion....

September 2024

September 27, 2024

Who Were the Aryans?

Who were the Aryans? The Aryans were an ancient people who spoke Sanskrit and gave...

September 16, 2024

The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844

The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844 are also sometimes called the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. By...

September 11, 2024

Civil Religion: A Short History

Civil religion -- sometimes calleed "civic religion" -- is a term that is defined many...

August 2024

August 21, 2024

Zen and the Martial Arts: A Short History

Everyone knows that Zen and the martial arts go together, right? Well, sorta kinda. In...

August 01, 2024

The Marathon Monks of Japan

The marathon monks of Enryakuji, a historic Buddhist temple complex in Japan, are famous for...

July 2024

July 10, 2024

Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley

Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley don't mix. The Republican U.S. Senator from Missouri has made...

July 07, 2024

What Does “Teaching the Bible” Really Mean?

"Teaching the Bible" -- what does that mean? Now that the state of Oklahoma had...

July 02, 2024

God and the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence mentions God three times, in three different ways. Near the beginning...

June 2024

June 26, 2024

What’s Wrong With the Louisiana Ten Commandments Law

The Louisiana Ten Commandments bill I wrote about last month has been signed into law...

June 20, 2024

The Quest for Original Buddhism

There are multiple views about "original Buddhism." The historical Buddha lived, we believe, about 26...

May 2024

May 30, 2024

Florida Embeds Christian Nationalism in School

The Florida Department of Education has been directing middle school and high school teachers to...

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