Sharing a special meal and performing rituals of spiritual cleansing help Tibetan Buddhists get ready for the upcoming new year. More →

February 13, 2015

“There’s really no widespread religious objection to the [measles] vaccine…It’s that I have a belief that these vaccines are harmful, or that they don’t work, or I don’t believe that somebody else should be telling me how to raise my kids,” says Religion News Service editor-in-chief Kevin Eckstrom. More →

February 6, 2015

In most states, parents can choose not to vaccinate their children based on a personal or religious objection. It’s a choice that has begun raising concerns about the ethics of refusal and the rising risk of outbreaks. More →

February 6, 2015

People from many faiths gathered in Washington for the 63rd annual National Prayer Breakfast, including the Dalai Lama. One major theme this year was fighting religious extremism, which President Obama said “is not unique to one group or one religion.” More →

February 6, 2015

“If our earth is not the only inhabitable world, what does that imply?” asks Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, director of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “That’s an exciting question and the kind of thing I hope will be discussed with joy in these institutions.” More →

January 30, 2015

Jockin Arputham started his campaign to build a network among the urban poor by organizing a critical mass of India’s slum-dwelling population, especially women’s collectives. Today they pressure local governments to be more responsive to their needs, especially toilet and sanitation facilities. More →

January 30, 2015

Social justice and civil rights activists had a lot to like in President Obama’s address, but religious conservatives were concerned by the “reframing” of issues such as gay marriage as matters of freedom and justice. More →

January 23, 2015

“We are confident that someday this school will reopen, and we have to prepare ourselves for that day,” says Metropolitan Elpidophoros, the abbot of Halki. He has reestablished a monastery at the site of the distinguished Eastern Orthodox seminary closed by the Turkish government for 43 years. More →

January 23, 2015

“I don’t see how you can have a relationship with God that doesn’t involve a state of receptivity—and a receptivity to lots of stuff, because God does show up in all kinds of odd ways.” More →

January 23, 2015

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. More →

January 16, 2015