Muslims respond to renewed debates about Islam and extremism; a charity in India provides free orthopedic care to poor people with disabilities and missing limbs; church leaders in Ferguson, Missouri, try to help their divided community heal
Author Archives: Fred Yi
Muslims and the Paris Attacks
Muslims around the world are “the only ones that can actually win this battle because it is about an extremist ideology that they are going to have to stand up against,” says Haris Tarin, director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Restoring Community in Ferguson
Black and white religious leaders in Ferguson, Missouri, are trying to help their divided community heal. “Here is an opportunity, a living laboratory by which we try intentionally to work toward that beloved community that Dr. King invited us to,” says Rev. Mike Trautman, pastor of First Presbyterian Church.
“Come to Selma”
As the movie opens today (January 9) in theaters around the country amidst controversy over its portrayal of former president Lyndon Johnson, we speak with director Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo, the actor who portrays Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., about what it means to them to tell the story of the historic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, This weekend the film is also up for four Golden Globe awards (best picture, best director, best actor, and best original song.)
Social Media Ethics; Raising Children in Two Faiths; Orthodox Epiphany
Controversy over experiments conducted by social media companies—like Facebook—on their users; interfaith families that observe the religious traditions of more than one faith; and celebrating Orthodox Epiphany at the Jordan River
Social Media Ethics
Some social media companies—including Facebook—have run experiments to learn what influences user behavior. Many of these experiments have troubled both social media users and privacy advocates, who worry that this research and use of personal information is unethical.
Raising Children in Two Faiths
How do interfaith couples decide which faith their children should adopt? “We both wanted to keep our own religions and our own identity for ourselves, so we knew from the beginning that we didn’t want our children to be just one of our faiths,” says Amy Schombs, who is Jewish and whose husband is Catholic.
Orthodox Epiphany
For some Christians, celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany means marking the manifestation or appearance of Jesus. Western churches emphasize the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. But Eastern Orthodox churches focus on Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.
Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land
Every Good Friday, in every Catholic parish in the country, a special collection is taken up for the Franciscans of the Holy Land. Ever since the 14th century, the Franciscans have been assigned the task of caring for the holiest sites of Christianity in and around Israel—54 shrines and sanctuaries in total. The Franciscans have also created a monastery in Washington, DC where tourists can visit exact replicas of the most revered Holy Land sites. “We call it an oasis of peace, and it really is,” says the monastery’s Father James Gardiner.
Gun Violence and the Faith Community
While the Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut horrified the nation last year, every month even more children are killed by guns. Since Newtown, some faith leaders and religious groups have supported new gun restrictions. Others have advocated a need both to use force and to have the guns to do so.
