May 12 Watch 8:12 America is less religious today, and it’s not just about the Millennials By PBS News Hour While the U.S. is still an overwhelmingly Christian country, since 2007 there has been a notable drop in the number of Americans who call themselves such, and the number of people who don’t identify as any religion has risen dramatically. Continue watching
May 12 Fewer Americans are calling themselves Christians By Anna Sillers Fewer Americans identify as Christian, a Pew Research Study recently found. While the change in affiliations crosses nearly all demographics, the Millennial generation appears to be driving the growth. Continue reading
May 09 Watch 8:14 Is Cape Town’s women and gay-friendly mosque a sign of new Muslim attitudes? By PBS News Hour A Muslim academic recently opened a gay- and women-friendly mosque in Cape Town, South Africa, which was largely regarded as a response to the culture of exclusion and conservatism in the Muslim faith. And despite receiving death threats and fierce… Continue watching
May 07 Watch 6:13 Destruction of Nepal’s temples puts spiritual culture at risk By PBS News Hour Since a massive earthquake struck last month, Nepal has been overwhelmed by the unfolding humanitarian crisis, as well as a culture crisis. Home to a rich heritage of art and architecture, the mountainous, remote country has suffered significant damage to… Continue watching
Apr 16 Watch 4:26 Under Pope Francis, Vatican changes its tone toward American nuns By PBS News Hour The Vatican ended its crackdown on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the major umbrella group for American nuns. Under the previous pope, an investigation and overhaul was launched against the group for straying from church teachings. To discuss the… Continue watching
Apr 03 Your holiday cheat sheet to Easter By Wendy Thomas Russell Ironically, secular parents often have an easier time explaining Easter (without religion) than many Christian parents do (with it). The Passion is just such a darn mystery. Continue reading
Apr 03 Your holiday cheat sheet to Passover By Wendy Thomas Russell Most Christians (current and cultural) are all too familiar with the story of the Last Supper. What’s rarely made clear, though, is that Jesus’ final meal was quite likely a Passover meal. Continue reading
Mar 31 10 Commandments for talking to your kids about religion By Wendy Thomas Russell Secularism is on the rise. Between 2012 and 2014 alone, some 7.5 million Americans lost their religious faith. And a great many of them are parents — or will be someday. So how do we, as first-generation secular parents, go… Continue reading
Mar 04 Quick! What the heck is Purim? By Wendy Thomas Russell I always think of the Bible as sort of dry reading — difficult to understand, weighted down by archaic language and vague descriptions, full of stories that just kind of go on and on. But, of course, that’s not always… Continue reading
Feb 18 Everything you were embarrassed to ask about Lent and Ash Wednesday By Wendy Thomas Russell Today is the beginning of Lent (AKA Ash Wednesday) — the day that millions of people around the world stop buying Starbucks, swearing like sailors, gossiping about their co-workers, and eating entire sticks of butter while watching porn. Continue reading