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History and Religion

2023-01-21T17:44:29-06:00

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.

Christianity and the Abolitionist Movement in the U.S.

Last updated on: January 21, 2023 at 5:44 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Misunderstanding abounds about the role of Christianity and the abolitionist movement, the 19th century movement to abolish slavery, in the U.S. People who don’t care for religion do love to mention that many Christian ministers of the U.S. antebellum South supported slavery. And that is true. However, they don’t seem to know that more U.S. Christian ministers opposed slavery. Indeed, northern evangelical and other Christian clergy were organizers and leaders of the abolitionist movement. The organized abolitionist movement in the... Read more

Christianity

Abolitionism

Religion in U.S. history

Second Great Awakening

2023-01-16T09:54:37-06:00

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.

Ikkō-ikki: Buddhism and the Japanese Peasant Revolts

Last updated on: January 16, 2023 at 9:54 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Ikkō-ikki was a name given to peasants’ revolts in 15th and 16th century Japan. Most of the organizers and leaders of the revolt were Buddhist priests of the Jodo Shinshu school. The fighters, mostly farmers, merchants, and artisans, were revolting against the dominance of the samurai. For a time the revolts succeeded. Some parts of Japan in effect became independent states governed by councils of commoners, free of shogun and emperor. The ikkō-ikki revolts would eventually be brutally suppressed by the... Read more

Buddhism

Religious Violence

Buddhism in Japan

War and religion

2023-01-11T12:07:32-06:00

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.

Pope Celestine V, the Reluctant Pope

Last updated on: January 11, 2023 at 12:07 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The short list of Popes Who Resigned has only three names. These are the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who resigned in 2013; Pope Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415; and Pope Celestine V, also known as Saint Peter Celestine or Saint Peter Morrone, who resigned in 1294. And if we compiled a list of popes whose resignations were entirely voluntary, there would be only two names, Benedict’s and Celestine’s. The story of Pope Celestine V is a poignant one... Read more

Catholic

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Medieval Europe

The Pope

2023-01-08T15:36:19-06:00

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.

The Legend of Pope Joan

Last updated on: January 8, 2023 at 3:36 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Pope Joan was a woman disguised as a man who allegedly became Pope John VIII in the year 854. Let me be clear right now that this never happened. Yet the story of Pope Joan, the woman pope, was so widely believed that for a time it was written into official church history. According to author Eamon Duffy (Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, Yale University Press, 2015), the story of Pope Joan first appeared in a Dominican... Read more

Catholic

2023-01-04T10:46:00-06:00

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 Pope Gregory XII Resigned

Last updated on: January 4, 2023 at 10:46 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Newspaper obituaries of the late Pope Emertus Benedict XVI (1927-2022) mention that he was the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the papacy. The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, in 1415. And since papal resignations hardly ever happen, I wanted to know why Pope Gregory XII resigned. So I looked it up, and it’s a wild story. I understand that when a pope voluntarily resigns from his office, the proper term for this act... Read more

Catholic

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2023-01-02T13:32:50-06:00

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.

A Brief History of China’s Shaolin Temple

Last updated on: January 2, 2023 at 1:32 pm By Barbara O'Brien

It is the legendary location of hundreds of martial arts action movies, including Shaolin Temple (1982) starring Jet Li and Shaolin (2011) starring Andy Lau and Jackie Chan. It was depicted in flashbacks in the popular 1970s television series Kung Fu starring David Carradine. And it’s a real place, a real Buddhist temple, with a real history. It is the Shaolin Temple of China. Are the legends about kung fu monks true? There is solid documentation of Shaolin Temple monks... Read more

Buddhism

Religious Violence

Buddhism in China

Chinese martial arts

2022-12-28T15:53:23-06:00

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.

Hildegard of Bingen, Medieval Christian Mystic

Last updated on: December 28, 2022 at 3:53 pm By Barbara O'Brien

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179; also called Hildegard von Bingen) was a nun, an author, a composer, and a mystic. Today she is probably best remembered for her music, which is still performed. For example, here is her “O Quam Mirabilis.” Her Ordo Virtutum is an early example of liturgical drama. It may be the oldest surviving morality play. But music was just one of her talents. Among her many books was one on natural science, Physica, and another called Causae... Read more

Contemplative

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Women in Religion

2022-12-24T13:39:16-06:00

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.

The Christmas Truce of 1914

Last updated on: December 24, 2022 at 1:39 pm By Barbara O'Brien

Even if you are not into World War I history, you may have heard of the Christmas Truce. The Christmas Truce was a celebrated, impromptu ceasefire observed by many British and German troops on the Western Front, December 24-26, 1914. Soldiers met between the lines, sang Christmas carols, exchanged souvenirs, and may or may not have played football (or “rugby” to us Yanks). Here is how it happened. First, a little background: World War I, 1914-1918, was an international conflict... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Christmas

The Christmas Truce of 1914

2022-12-24T10:08:58-06:00

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.

Salamone Rossi, Jewish Composer of the Renaissance

Last updated on: December 24, 2022 at 10:08 am By Barbara O'Brien

There are several Jewish composers among the greats of classical music — Copland, Bernstein, Mahler, Bloch, and many more. But one you may not have heard of was the first Jewish composer to become a notable part of classical music history. He was Salamone Rossi (ca. 1570-1630), a composer of the Italian Renaissance. Salamone Rossi was the first composer known to compose original music set to Hebrew words in the style of the music of his time, not the traditional... Read more

Jewish

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2022-12-20T18:00:29-06:00

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.

An Appreciation of Jewish Cantors

Last updated on: December 20, 2022 at 6:00 pm By Barbara O'Brien

This is an appreciation of Jewish cantors. Although I am not Jewish, I am a long-time chorister who has had the privilege of performing choral works with Jewish cantors. They were lovely people and amazing singers. In Judaism, a cantor (in Hebrew, hazzan) is a person who chants/sings worship services in a synagogue. Full-time, professional cantors are recognized as clergy who are teachers and chaplains as well as choir and music directors. We know there has always been music in... Read more

Jewish

Religious Music and Entertainment

Judaism

Jewish cantors

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