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History and Religion

2024-01-02T14:44:02-06:00

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.

Christian Public Schools in the U.S. ?

Last updated on: January 2, 2024 at 2:44 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Will there be Christian public schools in the U.S.? Recently Heidi Przybyla reported for Politico that “Groups aligned with the conservative legal movement and its financial architect, Leonard Leo, are working to promote a publicly funded Christian school in Oklahoma, hoping to create a test case to change the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state.” Leonard Leo is a controversial figure who has been much in the news this past year for the way... Read more

General Christian

Catholic

Christianity

Establishment Clause

Religion and current events

Religion and politics

Religion in U.S. history

Wall of separation

2023-12-19T23:35:04-06:00

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.

The Commercialization of Christmas: A Short History

Last updated on: December 19, 2023 at 11:35 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The commercialization of Christmas is something both endorsed and lamented. Many people imagine Christmas to have been less gaudy and more religious in the past. But Christmas Past was a lot of things that might surprise you. For example, during the Tudor period of England and Wales — 1485 and 1603 — Christmas was mostly an adult holiday marked by lots of drinking, gambling, games, more drinking, feasting, dancing, and drinking. And other adult activities. Of course, there were church... Read more

General Christian

Business, Finance and Religion

Christianity

Christmas

Religion in U.S. history

2023-12-18T19:12:28-06:00

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.

When Christmas Was Banned in Boston

Last updated on: December 18, 2023 at 7:12 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Christmas was banned in Boston, and the rest of Massachusetts, by the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1659. It was a criminal offense to publicly celebrate Christmas. The law declared, “whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way” would be subject to a 5-shilling fine. Shops and schools were to remain open on Christmas day. Churches were closed. This was the work of... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Christmas

Religion in U.S. history

Seasonal Holidays

2023-12-10T23:03:31-06:00

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.

Wonhyo, Buddhist Folk Hero of Korea

Last updated on: December 10, 2023 at 11:03 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The story of Wonhyo (617-686 CE), who was among the most important philosophers of east Asian Buddhism, begins with a folk tale. When Wonhyo was a young monk, he and his friend Uisang decided to go to China to study Buddhism. They lived on the Korean Peninsula in the kingdom of Silla, and to reach China they walked through forests and villages toward a port on the Yellow Sea. One night they were caught in a pounding rainstorm. They stumbled... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in Korea

2023-11-28T10:25:55-06:00

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.

Muslims in Colonial America

Last updated on: November 28, 2023 at 10:25 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Yes, there were Muslims in colonial America. Some of them — not all — were Africans sold into slavery. The slave trade from Africa to the Americas began in the 1520s, and it’s estimated 10 to 15 percent of the enslaved Africans were Muslim. Enslaved Africans were pressured to convert to Christianity, and those who continued to practice Islam had to do so in secret. According to the PBS series History Detectives, “There was an enclave of African-Americans on the... Read more

Muslim

Islam

Religion in U.S. history

2023-11-19T17:28:34-06:00

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 Wall of Separation Has Two Sides

Last updated on: November 19, 2023 at 5:28 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The wall of separation between church and state is in the news again. Recently Rep. Mike Johnson, the new U.S. Speaker of the House, told an interviewer that “separation of church and state” is a “misnomer.” “People misunderstand it,” Johnson said. “Of course, it comes from a phrase that was in a letter that Jefferson wrote. It’s not in the Constitution. And what he was explaining is they did not want the government to encroach upon the church — not... Read more

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Christianity

Establishment Clause

Religion and current events

Religion and politics

Religion in U.S. history

Wall of separation

2023-11-17T19:13:53-06:00

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.

Anagarika Dharmapala, a Missionary for Buddhism

Last updated on: November 17, 2023 at 7:13 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933) was a pivotal figure in the modern history of Buddhism, both in Asia and the West. Much of the way Buddhism is understood in popular western culture today is thanks to Dharmapala. The story of Anagarika Dharmapala begins where an earlier post ends; see “Henry Steel Olcott: The White Buddhist.” Here’s a quick recap: Olcott and his spiritual partner Helena Petrovna Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society in New York in 1875, and in 1879 they established the... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in southeast Asia

2023-11-10T12:48:59-06:00

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.

Dorothy Buxton and the Children of War

Last updated on: November 10, 2023 at 12:48 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Dorothy Buxton (1881-1963) was a peace activist in a time of war and a humanitarian to war’s helpless victims. During the First World War she worked to show Britons the humanity of the enemy. And after the war she organized food drives for the starving people, especially children, in former enemy countries. November 11 has been Veterans Day in the United States since 1954, when an act of Congress renamed the former Armistice Day. The original Armistice Day marked the... Read more

General Christian

Religious Events

2023-11-06T13:24:59-06:00

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.

Is “In God We Trust” Religious or Patriotic?

Last updated on: November 6, 2023 at 1:24 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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A new law in Louisiana requires posting “In God We Trust” in every classroom in every school, from elementary to college, in the state. The law went into effect August 1, 2023. It replaces a previous law that mandated posting “In God We Trust” somewhere in every school building. The law provides that the motto “shall be displayed on a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches. The motto shall be the central focus... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Establishment Clause

Religion and current events

Religion and politics

Religion in U.S. history

Wall of separation

2023-11-06T08:33:29-06:00

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.

Henry Steel Olcott, the “White Buddhist”

Last updated on: November 6, 2023 at 8:33 am By Barbara O'Brien

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In front of the main railway station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is a golden statue of Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907). Olcott was a U.S. Civil War veteran and insurance lawyer from Orange, New Jersey. And every year on February 17, Buddhist monks gather at the statue to lay a wreath and make offerings. Similar ceremonies are held in temples and schools throughout Sri Lanka. These are in grateful remembrance of Olcott, possibly the most interesting man you never heard of.... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in southeast Asia

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