"There's definitely something spiritual about working with the earth and feeling a relationship with all of God's creation," says Cara Gonzalez, a parishioner at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, Maryland, who volunteers in the church garden.

In his new book on the difference between faith and belief, this Harvard professor and scholar of religion says what it means to be religious is shifting significantly as the 21st century unfolds.

Composer and conducter Thomas Beveridge says his Yizkor Requiem is "a quest for spiritual roots" and a musical bridge between Christianity and Judaism.

People of many faiths and religious backgrounds joined Muslims on September 3 at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC for a prayer service and Ramadan dinner to celebrate interfaith service projects.

Watch interviews with delegates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's recent national assembly, which voted to allow local congregations to hire noncelibate gay and lesbian pastors.

At its national assembly in Minneapolis, the country's largest Lutheran denomination permitted the ordination and hiring of homosexual clergy who are in “lifelong, monogamous” relationships.

"We must return to the values that made the black church a true success," says Rev. Mark Whitlock, director of community initiatives at USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture, where a mentoring program trains African-American clergy in community organizing, economic development, and church leadership strategies.

Dr. Joseph Tate delivers babies the old-fashioned way, using methods some obstetricians call risky. But his patients say God guides his hands.

Florida megachurch pastor Joel Hunter says evangelicalism is changing, strong interfaith relationships are important, and faith communities should support a broad public policy agenda.

We’re segregated in housing. The job market is segregated, and we end up going to churches with people who look like us. Experts say US churches are ten times less diverse than the neighborhoods they sit in.

After ministering in inner-city Los Angeles for almost four decades, Father Peter Banks, an Irish Catholic priest, says "hope is to be able to sing in the middle of the darkness, and I can still sing in the middle of the darkness."

“Being religious or spiritual has a very profound effect on our biology and our brain,” says neuroscientist Andrew Newberg. “It can change our brain and change ourselves over time.”

Read more of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly’s July 1, 2009 interview in New York City with Riverside Church senior minister, the Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton, who resigned two months after his installation.

On May 21, 2009 the Moroccan American Cultural Center and the American Jewish Committee sponsored an interfaith panel discussion in New York City on "Women’s Spiritual Voices: Crossing Continents, Finding Common Ground." Panelists explored the roles of women religious leaders in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: As President Obama pushed health care reform a coalition of religious leaders joined the effort with a rally and interfaith prayer service in Washington. The event brought together Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and others who called for universal … More →

Contemporary expressions of the ancient art and craft of stained glass provide a way to encounter God and an interpretation of religious faith, says Florida artist Jim Piercey.

"Foreclosure is a possibility and something we are concerned about," says Rev. Jane Galloway of Long Beach, California. "If we are unable to make our mortgage payment on time, the default process can be filed and a foreclosure proceeding could begin."

Controversies about money, theology, race, and the new senior minister are dividing one of the most prominent places of worship in the country.

Some parents rely only on God, not a doctor, to heal their children. As a result, many pass away because they are not diagnosed and do not receive proper treatment. Should there be any exemptions from prosecution because of religious faith?

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