After the 1967 war between Israel and the Arab states around it, the internationally approved “Green Line” defined the border between Israel and the Palestinian Arab territories. Now, the Israelis want to wall themselves off from the Palestinians. But in … More →

Aki Ra is a truly remarkable and extraordinarily brave man. He is a Cambodian, and was orphaned as a child. Then, before he was a teenager, he became a soldier. Now, he is devoting his life -- and risking it, almost daily -- compensating for, atoning for, the harm he once did. Ra defuses and clears ...

Southern California's Soka University resembles a charming Mediterranean village. Opened in 2001 by a powerful Japanese religious sect called Soka Gakkai International, it is the first college campus in the United States whose academic values and teaching principles are inspired by Buddhism. Inside, ...

As U.S. officials debate who should run Iraq after the war, one reality is the division between the two main branches of Islam, Shi'ite and Sunni. Dr. Phebe Marr, a historian and expert on Iraq, joined us to discuss the future of the conflict.

The latest weapon in anti-abortion protest, photography, has triggered an ethical and legal debate. Before, the anti-abortion protestors only yelled at women, while targeting blame at doctors and staff members. Recently, they have started to take pictures of the woman … More →

Every year the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assigns a summer reading book for its incoming freshmen. This year that book was called APPROACHING THE QUR'AN: THE EARLY REVELATIONS, and it's generated a lot of controversy both within the state and outside of it.

In France, the government has stepped into a furor over whether there is or should be a right not to be born. The highest court implied there should be, but the National Assembly said no. The issue came to a head when the court awarded money on behalf of a handicapped child, saying that he could ...

Should a pastor offer people any counseling on sex other than to maintain abstinence outside of marriage? Does saying anything about safe sex seem to condone behavior the Bible forbids? It's a real issue in the deep South, especially in black churches, and especially regarding women.

Paryushana Parva is a festival of fasting, friendship, and forgiveness. Members of the Jain faith are celebrating the holiest time of the year. It coincides with monsoon season in India, which is where Jainism began.

One of the most difficult of all religious teachings is the importance of forgiving. Forgiveness is taught as something a person should do for God or for others. But, more and more, both religious and secular counselors are encouraging forgiveness … More →

One of the greatest powers a president has is appointing new justices to the Supreme Court. In the next few years, the Court is expected to rule on a variety of closely-disputed and controversial issues, many of them of special interest to religious communities: school prayer, for instance, and ...

At St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, Reverend Johnny Ray Youngblood has developed a powerful program of music, dance and theater. The pageant is called the "Ma'afa Suite", and the objective of the show is to help African-Americans heal slavery's hidden wounds.

As corporate farming displaces more and more family farms in America's Great Plains, ranchers and farmers move away. Local businesses are forced to shut down, schools consolidate, and congregations become so small they have to close their churches.

Dorchester Temple Baptist Church is home to what is perhaps best known and most successful church-based program in the country fighting violence among inner-city youths. Through Boston's Ten-Point Coalition, religious leaders and police are working together to make the area safer for all.

With modern neonatal technology and under federal law, doctors can keep alive tiny premature babies, even if the babies' parents want to let them die. But often those babies survive to grow up significantly damaged and in pain. Should they be kept alive? Who should decide?

The House is preparing to vote on a bill that could severely curb a doctor's ability to prescribe lethal drugs for the purpose of suicide. That ability is at the heart of the Oregon law that went into effect last fall. At age 35, Brian Lovell was diagnosed with colon cancer and was given six months ...

"Home from the Hajj," is the last chapter in our story of one man's journal of faith. In April, almost two million Muslims converged on Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage. One of this year's pilgrims is Abdul Alim Mubarak from Maplewood, New Jersey. We first met him as he ...

Previously, we told the story of Abdul Alim Mubarak, a Muslim, a CNN videotape editor, who lives in New Jersey, as he said good-bye to his family and took off for Saudi Arabia on his first religious pilgrimage, the hajj. Now, we have the story of Mubarak's hajj, reported by our correspondent Anisa ...

On April 5, Muslims around the world will begin observing events associated with the annual hajj, one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith. Millions are converging on Mecca, located near the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Anisa Mehdi accompanies one American pilgrim as he says good-bye to his ...