Religion

How Muslims mark Ramadan, and what makes it a holy month

By Mohammad Hassan Khalil, The Conversation

Ramadan is a period of fasting and spiritual growth and is one of the five “pillars of Islam."…

Robots are performing Hindu rituals. Some worshippers fear they’ll be replaced

By Holly Walters, The Conversation

It isn’t just artists and teachers who are losing sleep over advances in automation and artificial intelligence. Robots are being brought into Hinduism’s holiest rituals – and not all worshippers are happy about it.

Pope Francis says homosexuality is a sin but not a crime

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press

Pope Francis has criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as "unjust," saying God loves all his children just as they are.

Church of England still forbids same-sex marriages in its churches

By Sylvia Hui, Associated Press

The Church of England says it will allow blessings for same-sex, civil marriages for the first time.

‘Pray for Damar’: Wave of public prayer follows Hamlin’s collapse

By John Zenor, Associated Press

The intersection of prayer and sports has been especially prominent in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin’s frightening collapse during an NFL game.

U.S. Marine Corps compelled to allow Sikh Americans to begin basic training with turbans, beards

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

A federal court of appeals has granted a preliminary injunction to immediately allow two Sikh Americans to begin basic training in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) with their turbans, beards, and unshorn hair required by their faith.

Religiously, Congress doesn’t reflect modern America, Pew finds

By Peter Smith, Associated Press

The religious makeup of the incoming 118th Congress looks more like what America used to be than what it is today.

A timeline of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s life

By Associated Press

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the first pope in 600 years to resign, has died. Here are highlights from his life.

Benedict XVI, pope who resigned to spend final years in quiet, dies at 95

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday.

Pope Francis denounces war, poverty and injustice in Christmas Eve mass

By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press

Recalling Jesus’ birth in a stable, Pope Francis rebuked those “ravenous” for wealth and power at the expense of the vulnerable, including children, in a Christmas Eve homily decrying war, poverty and greedy consumerism.