As widespread immunity and milder coronavirus strains have spread across the United States, pagans and witches, like their neighbors, have begun to gather more freely this summer at annual community events after two years of relative isolation. So have some…
Doug Mastriano Says Discouraging ‘Conversion Therapy’ Is ‘Disgusting’
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, says it’s “disgusting” that the state is directing its agencies to discourage the scientifically discredited practice of “conversion therapy.”
AI Can Preach and Sing. So Why Can’t It Worship God?
Visit the Kodaiji Temple in Tokyo, Japan, and a six-feet-four, 132-pound robot priest named Mindar will give you a 25-minute sermon on Heart Sutra. Mindar’s ability to preach suggests a near future where artificial intelligence (AI) robots broadly replace human…
Oz’s Senate bid could be a Muslim first but is ‘complicated’
If Dr. Mehmet Oz is elected to the U.S. Senate this fall, he’ll be the first Muslim ever to serve in the chamber. It’s something he hardly brings up while campaigning, his Democratic opponent isn’t raising it and it’s barely…
Montana Jewish Project buys Helena temple built in 1891
The Jewish community in Montana’s state capital has reached its goal of buying a synagogue built in Helena 130 years ago to use as a community and cultural center for Jews in the state, the Montana Jewish Project announced Thursday.
As India turns 75, Muslim girls are suing to wear the hijab — and protect secularism
Ayesha Shifa is a 16-year-old with a passion for playing badminton with her younger siblings, and a knack for crunching numbers. She loves math and wants to be an accountant. But her dreams — and those of millions of Indian…
Trump-backed Kari Lake pulls endorsement for Oklahoma candidate over antisemitic comments
Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee for Arizona governor, has pulled her endorsement of an Oklahoma state legislative candidate over antisemitism remarks he has made.
Russian patriarch scrubs meeting where he was to meet pope
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has canceled his planned attendance at an interfaith meeting in Kazakhstan next month where he was expected to meet with Pope Francis, a top Orthodox official said, in a sign of further deterioration…
Hare Krishna movement draws ever more diverse set of spiritual seekers in NYC
More than 50 years after the movement began in Manhattan’s Tompkins Square Park, ISKCON is having a new moment in New York City. A religion once known for its popularity among white hippies, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or…
Are We in a New Civil Rights Movement?
Are we in a new civil rights movement? Sam Heath, manager of the Evangelical Network, posed this question to historian and author Jemar Tisby during a recent webinar.
Why Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’ Remains So Controversial Decades After Its Publication
One of the most controversial books in recent literary history, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was published three decades ago this month and almost immediately set off angry demonstrations all over the world, some of them violent.
There Are Many Mansions in Heaven, but We’d Like Something Sooner
I refresh my email compulsively, stealing moments between toddler snacks and sunscreen reapplications, cracking open a LaCroix as I scroll through my inbox.