World Religions
How fair is the media in its coverage of the Israeli-Gaza conflict? Read more
How fair is the media in its coverage of the Israeli-Gaza conflict? Read more
Is the ISIS declaration of a new caliphate in Iraq about religion or power? William Dalrymple, a writer and historian, argues that the recent claim by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is more of a “jihadi nostalgia for a golden era of Islam” than it is about religion.” To prove his point, Dalrymple reviews the history of the caliphate in this fascinating essay for The Guardian. He notes that it “is far more troubled, bloody and contested than many realise.” That’s because... Read more
Here’s a fascinating animated clip describing the endless fighting in Israel that began over 2000 years ago and continues today. It comes from Nina Paley’s blog which you can view here. Jenna Kagel, writing for World Mic, describes the video this way: The video at first glance is startling and the use of humorous animation is galling, but the message is important: This historical loop of fighting, ingrained with intricate layers, has affected and will continue to affect the lives... Read more
Rohingya are ethnic Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma) which, as you can see from the map below, borders Laos, Thailand, China, Bangladesh, and India. The Rohingya are not among the 134 minorities recognized by the Myanmar government. Radical Buddhist monks, led by Ashin Wirathu, charge that the Rohingya Muslims want to create an Islamic state. Wirathu, who once called himself the “Burmese bin Laden,” wants to make sure that doesn’t happen. He leads a movement, called the 969 movement, that... Read more
Jain monks in the sacred city of Palitana in northwestern India recently launched a hunger strike. According to the Independent, they want the sacred city to become a vegetarian zone. They want to ban the sale of eggs and the slaughter of animals. Sounds reasonable. Jains believe that plants and animals have living souls so they are strict vegetarians. But Jains are not the only ones who live in Palipatana. Muslims also live in the city. They make up almost... Read more
How do countries challenge religious freedom? What abuses constitute that challenge? Nicholas Kristof argues that some of the worst abuses occur in conservative Muslim countries. Kristof, a New York Times columnist, tackled the issue of religious freedom in a recent column. He was reluctant to do so because the most egregious challenges seemed to come from conservative Muslim countries, like Sudan where a Christian woman was sentenced to be hanged, or Malaysia which restricts the use of the word “Allah”... Read more
Teaching Hinduism? The Himalayan Academy, which publishes Hinduism Today magazine, just released a new 23 minute documentary about the origins and features of Hinduism. It is ideal for both world history students and religion students. The documentary is engaging and includes great photography. It’s divided into five short parts: origins, sacred texts, Hindu society, beliefs and practices, and finally, festivals. One way the film engages students is by juxtaposing ancient beliefs and ritual with modern beliefs. For example, you’ll see... Read more
Students love stories about meditation. Here’s one that suggests that the practice may actually slow down aging. That’s exactly what science writer, Jo Marchant, writes about in an essay for Informed Comment called “Can Meditation Slow Ageing? One Nobelist thinks So.” Elissa Epel, now director of the Aging, Metabolism and Emotion Center at UCSF, and Elizabeth Blackburn, a 2009 Nobel Prize winner in the Physiology of Medicine, discovered that a part of human chromosomes that relate to aging degrades over time.... Read more
Here’s a fascinating news clip from Meet the Press about Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan. Dearborn is home to the largest population of Muslims in the country. We discover that Muslims in Dearborn worry about fitting in and share concern about events in the Middle East and Islamic fundamentalism. Read more
A mandala is a Hindu or Buddhist symbol in the shape of a circle. Monks make them out of sand. The symbols represent deities. Soon after the monks complete the mandala, they destroy it, demonstrating the impermanence of life. “According to Buddhist scripture, ” notes the Freer Sackler Museum, sand mandalas transmit positive energies to the environment and to the people who view them. While constructing a mandala, Buddhist monks chant and meditate to invoke the divine energies of the deities... Read more
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