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History and Religion

2024-05-23T16:01:51-05:00

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.

The Appeal to Heaven Flag and Why It’s Controversial

Last updated on: May 23, 2024 at 4:01 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The Appeal to Heaven Flag, also called the Pine Tree Flag, is a bit of genuine Americana flown during the American Revolution. It’s in the news now because a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito, displayed it beside his New Jersey beach home. And this has become a scandal. But why? Over the past couple of decades the Appeal to Heaven Flag has become a symbol of Christian nationalism. Writing in Christianity Today (February 2021), Paul Miller wrote that “Christian... Read more

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Establishment Clause

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Wall of separation

2024-05-19T15:58:09-05:00

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.

Louisiana Passes a Ten Commandments in Public Schools Bill

Last updated on: May 19, 2024 at 3:58 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The Louisiana legislature just passed a bill mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. And this one is very close to becoming law. Texas attempted such a thing last year, but the bill passed by the Texas Senate died in the Texas House. Similar bills were introduced in South Carolina and Utah but have not yet become laws. At the moment, however, it appears the Louisiana bill will go all the way to being signed... Read more

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2024-05-19T15:53:34-05:00

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 It’s Hard to Separate Church and State

Last updated on: May 19, 2024 at 3:53 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The relationship of church and state is one of the vexing issues of our time. It’s been a vexing issue for a while, in fact. This seems especially true in the United States, a nation that combines a lot of fervent religiousity with a constitution intended to freeze religious authority out of the government. Many fervently religious people don’t see the harm in using government to spread and enforce their beliefs. They consider separation of church and state oppressive. But... Read more

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2024-05-13T14:40:41-05:00

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.

The Problem With “Spiritual But Not Religious”

Last updated on: May 13, 2024 at 2:40 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Let’s talk about “spiritual but not religious.” Certainly you are free to call yourself that, but to me the classification comes with some red flags. For example, in the universe of social media memes there is a large sub-genre I’ve come to call “religion drools, spirituality rules” that claims the superiority of spirituality over religion. Spiritual people, according to memes, are smarter, more open minded, more inclusive, more compassionate, more virtuous, and possibly better looking than religious people. Well, okay,... Read more

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2024-04-18T14:39:03-05:00

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.

The Great Disappointment of William Miller

Last updated on: April 18, 2024 at 2:39 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The Great Disappointment is the name given to a time when the world as we know it didn’t end. Tens of thousands of people fervently believed the date the world would change was October 22, 1844. They sincerely thought on that day Jesus would come in glory to gather the faithful to heaven before cleansing the world of sin. Many of them even gave away all their wordly possessions, donned white robes, and waited on hilltops — or in trees... Read more

General Christian

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Religion in U.S. history

2024-04-17T12:26:47-05:00

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.

The Rapture: A Brief History

Last updated on: April 17, 2024 at 12:26 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The recent solar eclipse visible in North America inspired much social media commentary about the Rapture. And what is the Rapture? Most commonly it’s the belief that some day faithful Christians, both living and dead, will arise in the air to go to Paradise to be with Jesus. The unfaithful will be left on the earth to suffer the Great Tribulation, a time in which evil will spread and the Antichrist will rule. There are other proposed scenarios, including one... Read more

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2024-04-18T20:45:09-05:00

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.

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume: The True Story, Possibly

Last updated on: April 18, 2024 at 8:45 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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“Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” The famous encounter between journalist Henry Morton Stanley and missionary David Livingstone in 1871 is the stuff of legend. It’s also the stuff of at least a couple of films (Stanley and Livingstone, 1939, starring Spencer Tracy as Stanley; and Forbidden Territory: Stanley’s Search for Livingstone, 1997, starring Aidan Quinn as Stanley and Nigel Hawthorne as Livingstone). And it was the stuff of a Muppets skit starring Bert and Ernie. And a 1968 pop song by... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

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2024-03-12T13:30:17-05:00

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.

Wu Zetian, Ruthless Empress and Patroness of Buddhism

Last updated on: March 12, 2024 at 1:30 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The empress Wu Zetian (624-705) was one of China’s greatest rulers. She is also known by the name Wu Zhao and a few others. Wu Zetian was the only woman to rule China directly, in her own name. This is particularly remarkable considering she began her imperial career as a 17th-rank concubine. Her rule saw the early years of what is remembered as a golden age in China, when China’s culture and economy bloomed. She elevated the status of Buddhism... Read more

Buddhism

Women in Religion

2024-03-10T16:35:58-05:00

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.

Shogun the Miniseries and Real Japanese History

Last updated on: March 10, 2024 at 4:35 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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How close is the new Shogun miniseries (not to be confused with the old one from 1980) to the real history of 17th-century Japan? This historical drama, streaming on Hulu, is set in a pivotal moment of Japanese history that I’ve written about recently, a tragic chapter in the history of Christianity in Asia. Episode one begins by announcing that the year is 1600. What was significant about 1600? This was fifty-one years after the first Christian missionary, the Jesuit... Read more

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2024-03-02T09:57:04-06:00

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.

Thích Quảng Duc: The Burning Monk

Last updated on: March 2, 2024 at 9:57 am By Barbara O'Brien

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One of the most iconic images of the 20th century is the photograph of a Vietnamese Buddhist monk burning himself to death on the streets of Saigon. The monk was named Thích Quảng Duc, and he died of self-immolation on June 11, 1963 at about the age of 66. But why? Self-immolation as a form of protest is in the news after a U.S. Air Force enlisted man livestreamed his self-immolation. He killed himself in front of the Israeli embassy... Read more

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