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Select a Category Buddhism Christianity Daoism Hinduism Indigenous religions Islam Judaism Mysticism New Age Origins of religion Paganism Popes Popular Religious Movements Protestantism Psychology and religion Religion and current events Religion and folklore Religion and News Media Religion and politics Religious Art and Music Religious Freedom Religious mistakes Religious philosophy Religious scriptures Religious Violence science and religion Spiritualism Technology and religion The Catholic Church The Dalai Lama The Reformation Uncategorized

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May 2024

May 23, 2024

The Appeal to Heaven Flag and Why It’s Controversial

The Appeal to Heaven Flag, also called the Pine Tree Flag, is a bit of...

May 19, 2024

Louisiana Passes a Ten Commandments in Public Schools Bill

The Louisiana legislature just passed a bill mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in...

May 17, 2024

Why It’s Hard to Separate Church and State

The relationship of church and state is one of the vexing issues of our time. ...

May 10, 2024

The Problem With “Spiritual But Not Religious”

Let's talk about "spiritual but not religious." Certainly you are free to call yourself that,...

April 2024

April 11, 2024

The Rapture: A Brief History

The recent solar eclipse visible in North America inspired much social media commentary about the...

February 2024

February 26, 2024

Frozen Zygotes and the Middle Way of Compassion

The recent consternation about frozen zygotes, in vitro fertilization and "fertilized egg personhood" laws made...

January 2024

January 26, 2024

Why Are There More Nones?

Why are there more nones? The "nones," you probably know, are people who have no...

January 02, 2024

Christian Public Schools in the U.S. ?

Will there be Christian public schools in the U.S.? Recently Heidi Przybyla reported for Politico...

November 2023

November 19, 2023

The Wall of Separation Has Two Sides

The wall of separation between church and state is in the news again. Recently Rep....

November 06, 2023

Is “In God We Trust” Religious or Patriotic?

A new law in Louisiana requires posting "In God We Trust" in every classroom in...

October 2023

October 12, 2023

Reflections on War and Religion

A horrific new war involving Israel and Gaza evokes the old subject of war and...

October 09, 2023

The Boy Who Is the Bogd

Very old history has a way of keeping its grip on current events. Now some...

September 2023

September 18, 2023

Faith and Football: What’s the Deal With Prayers Before Games?

What's the deal with prayers before football games? I don't know when it became the...

September 03, 2023

Kennedy v. Bremerton: The Praying Coach Returns

On Friday night, September 1, 2023, an event happened that will be a footnote in...

August 2023

August 20, 2023

Oklahoma Approves a Religious Charter School

Last month, the state of Oklahoma approved the first religious charter school in the nation....

June 2023

June 16, 2023

The Afterlife of the Bamiyan Buddhas

The giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, were destroyed in March 2001 on orders of...

June 09, 2023

The First Buddhist Same-Sex Wedding

The first Buddhist same-sex wedding (that we know of) took place in about 1970 in...

June 08, 2023

Pat Robertson’s Legacy

Pat Robertson died today, June 8, in his home at the age of 93. He's...

May 2023

May 02, 2023

Coronations in Westminster Abbey: A History

King Charles's coronation on May 6 will be a really fancy Anglican Church service, and...

April 2023

April 22, 2023

Do the Ten Commandments Belong in Public School Classrooms?

The Texas Senate has passed a bill that mandates posting the Ten Commandments in every...

March 2023

March 12, 2023

The Determined Buddhist Nuns of Sri Lanka

The Buddhist nuns of Sri Lanka have needed determination for there to be nuns at...

February 2023

February 05, 2023

The Golden Urn and the Succession of Dalai Lamas

The government of China is in possession of a particular golden urn. This urn, it...

January 2023

January 31, 2023

China’s Claim to Tibet and the Seventh Dalai Lama

China's claim to Tibet as a territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is...

January 03, 2023

Why Pope Gregory XII Resigned

Newspaper obituaries of the late Pope Emertus Benedict XVI (1927-2022) mention that he was the...

November 2022

November 23, 2022

Arguments Against the Wall of Separation Between Church and State

I've written a number of columns looking at issues involving religion and the U.S. Constitution....

November 21, 2022

Jefferson’s Wall of Separation Between Church and State

There is no more controversial phrase in U.S. history than Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation...

November 18, 2022

Thomas Jefferson v. Establishment of Religion

In the 18th century establishment of religion, or designating an official state religion, was common...

November 12, 2022

The Problem With Bible Readings in U.S. Public Schools

In 1956, a student in a public high school near Philadelphia protested his school's daily...

November 10, 2022

When the U.S. Supreme Court Didn’t Ban School Prayer

It has been sixty years since a U.S. Supreme Court decision ended class recitations of...

October 2022

October 29, 2022

A Brief History of Christian Nationalism: Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority

This is a continuation of A Brief History of Christian Nationalism that will look at...

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