Faith Profiles of the 2020 Democratic Candidates

Most of the American Democratic candidates for president identify with a religion. Our guide highlights the faiths of the 2020 candidates and explains the impact on their policy views.

Judge rules doctors can decline to perform transgender surgery on religious grounds

A U.S. federal court ruled on Tuesday that doctors will not be required to perform gender transition surgeries if it runs contrary to their religious beliefs. The decision reversed a requirement put forth by the Obama administration three years ago.

Hope in the face of despair: Ethiopian PM Abiy’s rise to the Nobel Peace Prize

Abiy Ahmed is an inspirational leader and an evangelical Christian hailed as a Moses figure for Ethiopia. He ended nearly two decades of a stalemate from a war with Eritrea that had killed 70,000 people. But the country is far from peaceful yet, and his leadership challenges are just beginning.

As the vaccine debate continues, religious exemptions face scrutiny

Amid a measles outbreak, New York became the second state this year to end religious exemptions from vaccines. Forty-five states still allow religious exemptions, and 15 states allow exemptions for personal beliefs, which can encompass religion or can be philosophical or moral.

The prayers for Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge to run a marathon in under two hours

One woman said, “If he ever needed God, and Mother Mary and all the Saints, this is the time — that is why we are here, praying hard.” Kipchoge runs Oct. 12 in Vienna and has compared the feat to landing on the moon.

Singer Jaci Velasquez Talks About Her New Book 'When God Rescripts Your Life'

Multi Platinum Christian artist and actress Jaci Velasquez talked to Religion Unplugged about her struggles of family and faith in her new book, “When God Rescripts Your Life,” released Oct. 8.

Why the Vatican is debating priestly celibacy in the Amazon

A discussion in Rome this week will include whether the church should allow flexibility in its traditional vow of celibacy for priests to ordain married men in the remote Amazon. The decision could very well impact Catholicism around the world.

Everything you need to know about Yom Kippur

Considered the most important holiday on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is also known as the day of atonement. It begins at sundown on October 8 and ends at nightfall the following day. The holy day also marks the end of the “10 Days of Repentance.”

The Chinese Muslim whose legacy is still guarding Indonesia from radicalization

A Chinese apostle of Islam is a symbol of religious and racial harmony in the world’s largest Muslim country.

TED Talks For The Religiously Minded

Out of more than 3,200 talks listed on the TED website, less than 80 center on religion, and the ones that do often approach the topic from a secular humanist perspective. We rounded up our top seven picks focused on religion and faith.

Meet the Greek Orthodox wood carver chiseling sacred artifacts for a living

For a man who has encountered hardship from his youth in Greece to dealing with the loss of his wife in 2012, Papadakis says the craft of carving is more than just a job or hobby. It relates to his own Orthodox Christian faith. “I love my God,” he says in between taps on a gouge. “I have to do something best. If I give something, it needs to be as godly as God is. It has to be worthy.”

The Hong Kong Protests Are Inspiring Tibetan Refugees in India

Many young Tibetan exiles feel solidarity with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and want a free Tibet independent from China, a more radical view than the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way approach. But living in India under asylum means they have to be cautious about protesting against China.

Kashmiris talk business losses amid India's shutdown

Taxi drivers, hotel managers, and a musician working wedding gigs share how the shutdown in Kashmir is affecting their bottom lines.

Meet the Catholics who practice Voodoo in New Orleans

For many, the thought of Voodoo conjures images of witchcraft and nefarious supernatural forces. But for these Catholics who grew up around it, it’s a part of their city’s heritage and inseparable from the practices they were raised with.

Why many evangelicals believe climate change is a hoax

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old from Sweden, received widespread support for her recent actions to combat climate change — except from those who believe it’s a hoax. Among them: evangelical Christians. Here’s why so many of them oppose the politics of climate change.

Jewish pilgrimage to a Ukrainian rabbi’s grave is growing

Pilgrimages to Rabbi Nachman’s grave site resumed at a trickle under communism. Now, more than 70 years after the devastation of World War II and communism, Jews of all kinds are visiting Uman and moving back.

U.N. Warns About Ethno-Religious Tensions In Sri Lanka

(NEWS ANALYSIS) The U.N.’s appointed expert on freedom of religion or belief gave recommendations for how Sri Lanka should address underlying tensions that predate the April 2019 Easter bombings that killed more than 200 people.

'Notre Dame is our church’: Why famed cathedral must be rebuilt to its past glory

Despite Europe’s increased secularization, traditionalists argue Notre Dame’s renovation should include no contemporary flair as part of a larger effort by Christians to protect their religious heritage wherever it may be located around the world,

Fear and Confusion Grips India’s Northeast as 1.9 Million People Face Statelessness

The Indian government is building detention camps for those left off the citizenship list, many of whom have lived in India for generations, fueled by suspicions of Bengali Muslims migrating illegally.

Kenyans are debating whether cremation is anti-Christian and un-African

As funeral costs rise, the deaths and cremations of three high-profile Kenyans have sparked a nationwide discussion over the spiritual merits and harms of non-traditional burial methods.

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