How different is Buddhism from the Abrahamic religions? What does it mean to be a Buddhist? What about reincarnation? And what is the Buddhist doctrine regarding the nature of reality? These are some of the questions that Professor Jay L. Garfield answers in an interview with Gary Cutting, a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame. The interview is part of a series of interviews about religion that Professor Cutting conducted for the New York Times column, The... Read more
Nicholas Kristof, an op ed columnist for the New York Times, makes a strong case for studying the humanities and religion if we want students to understand the world around us and to think deeply about it. He reminds us of Stephen Prothero’s finding that “Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion.” And he asks a number of important questions: “How can one understand Afghanistan without some knowledge of Islam?” “How can one understand America without any... Read more
Here is a fascinating and touching story about Varanasi, the most sacred place for devout Hindus. One of the things that makes it so sacred is that it is a destination for many dying Hindus who believe that they can only reach moksha, or freedom from the cycle of rebirth, by taking God’s name and dying in the holy city. Moni Basu, a practicing Hindu and a reporter for CNN, follows an 80 year old Hindu who wants to take... Read more
Teaching Islam? Here’s an interesting documentary about what it’s like for a West Virginia Christian to live with a Muslim family in Dearborn, Michigan for 30 days. The young man, Dave Stacy, is an insurance sales executive and must live, eat and pray with his Muslim hosts. Morgan Spurlock, who directed the documentary, was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 for a movie about McDonalds, called Supersize Me. This 45 minute documentary dispels many myths about Muslims and reviews Muslim... Read more
Here’s an interesting biographical review of the two popes who will be canonized this weekend, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. You can read the story on the CNN Blog here. And here’s a link to a CNN story called Sainthood Explained.Below, reporters of the PBS News Hour discuss the rules for miracles and why Pope Francis decided to canonize two popes rather than one. Read more
Did you know that Hinduism, despite its many gods, is not polytheistic. Or, that Hindus do not worship cows. Those are two of nine myths about Hinduism that Moni Basu attempts to debunk in an essay for CNN Belief Blog. This might be an interesting essay for students to read when studying Hinduism. Read more
Take a virtual tour of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It’s on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and is the third holiest site to Muslims, after Mecca and Medina. Read more
Here is a great animated review of the four major Hindu yoga traditions: Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, and Raja. Read more
Here’s an interesting debate for a religions class. Should the National September 11 Memorial Museum show an introductory film, called “The Rise of Al Qaeda,” that refers to the terrorists as “Islamist” and “jihadist?” That’s exactly what the National Memorial intends to do when it opens on May 21st, according to this fascinating story in the New York Times. To many, including an interfaith advisory group of clergy members, those words means Muslim. As Akbar Ahmed, the chairman of the... Read more
Here’s a great story about religious intolerance and how one group of young Sikhs is trying to combat it. Sikhs face more discrimination than most religious minorities in this country. And in schools, young Sikhs are often bullied and called names. Harassment increased after the terror attacks in 2001 and seemed to resurface in 2012 when a white supremacist killed six Sikhs in a Wisconsin Sikh temple. According to this interesting story in the Washington Post, Sikh middle school students... Read more
World Religions
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