It should be no surprise that the largest mosque in the world is in Mecca (it’s called The Grand Mosque or Masjid al-Haram) or that the second largest mosque is in Medina (it’s called the Prophet’s Mosque or Al-Masjid al-Nabawi. (Note: not everyone agrees on the order of the largest mosques, my source is the Globe Press and Wonderous Magazine.) But do you know where the 3rd, 4th or 5th largest mosque is located? Here’s the 3rd largest mosque. It in Mashhad, Iran and... Read more
If you teach a high school world religions course, you might consider Jeffrey Kripal’s terrific new textbook, Comparing Religions: Coming to Terms. Kripal does not provide a traditional narrative or survey of the major religions. You won’t find a review of the Four Noble Truths or the five Confucian relationships, or for that matter, the sacred texts of each religion. Instead, Kripal tackles major issues and themes common to all religious traditions and compares them. For example, he examines the nature of the soul in... Read more
Stephen Prothero, the religious scholar and professor, argues that a basic understanding of world religions is a matter of “urgent citizenship.'” He notes, for example, that we all need some Biblical literacy because the two American political parties often speak the language of Christianity. Likewise, he believes that students need to understand other religions so that they can better understand important events like the recent election in India or the war between Gaza and Israel. Jeffrey Kripal, another religious scholar and professor, agrees with Prothero,... Read more
Here’s an interesting Buddhist practice reminiscent of the Janist reverence for all life, even small bugs. Tibetan Buddhist monks release tiny river shrimp stuck in a dried river bed. The practice is called “life liberation” or “early release.” Four years ago, an earthquake killed over 3000 people in a small Tibetan city called Yushu. According to this fascinating New York Times story, this practice of life liberation grew after the earthquake. One young Tibetan woman told the New York Times, “to save these lives is not... Read more
ISIS, the Islamic state that is taking over much of Iraq and part of Syria, recently issued an ultimatum to Christians in Mosul telling them to either convert, pay a poll tax, or die. Most fled with only the clothes on their back. For the first time in almost 2000 years, Mosul will have no Christians. And, ISIS is destroying churches and religious icons like the tomb of Jonah and the statute of Mary. How did Christians happen to settle... Read more
Thirty countries require their leaders to follow a specific religion. More than half, notes the Pew Research Center, require their head of state to be Muslim. Eight countries, mostly in South America, restrict members of clergy from taking the top job. Guess how many countries have a ceremonial monarch like Great Britain. There are nineteen! Thanks to my colleague, Jeff Feinstein, for sending me the link. Read more
Here’s an interesting debate for a religions class. Is this teen’s smiling selfie at the biggest concentration camp grossly disrespectful? The selife went viral with many slamming the teen for being inappropriate and others defending her. BuzzFeed printed some tweets that thought she was inappropriate like the two tweets below. And here’s an example that shows support. Craig Detweiler, a professor working in Europe this summer, wrote an interesting defense of the selife for CNN’s Belief Blog. He notes that... Read more
Vox explains the causes of the war in this short and excellent clip that you might use with students at the beginning of the year. The Vox story also includes a couple of good maps. And here is a second short clip from the Washington Post explaining the conflict. Read more
This map comes from the Global Post which writes that it used the CIA fact book to label the countries where, they say, “more than half the population considers themselves religiously affiliated.” If you go to the Global Post page, you can see the map above along with colorful regional maps. Students can easily see where the different religions are practiced. Thanks to F.C. Tymrak for tweeting the link. Read more
What does a sociological reading of Islam tell us? Reza Aslan, the author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, shows that it explains the essence of Mohammad’s message and the nature of Islam’s divine truth. Jahanzeb Hussain interviewed Aslan in Vancouver where the writer was participating in the Indian Summer Arts festival. We learn, for example, the significance of the social context in the rise of... Read more
World Religions
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