The role of women in the development of early Christianity  is a question we consider in AP World History when we compare the role of women in the development of other major religions like Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism or Hinduism. In a new book called Band of Angels,  Kate Cooper argues that women played a significant role. She writes,  “early Christians usually gathered in private homes, with families and communities praying together, and women were a vital part of this process.”  The Guardian... Read more

Great pictures of Ramadan in Jerusalem at the blog, The Electronic Intifada. A resident of Jerusalem decided to document how Palestinians celebrate Ramadan and uploaded dozens of beautiful pictures. The photographs below show food stalls that open up after the breaking of fast. I copied the captions directly from the blog. “Restaurants are normally closed during the day in Ramadan but some open a few hours before the breaking of fast (the iftar).” “Baraze’ is a snack made of sesame... Read more

Brain scans of experienced mediators might help those of us who are new to meditation learn how to practice it effectively.  That’s what Judson Brewer, a faculty member at Yale School of Medicine, suggests in the video clip above.  This might be a nice clip to show students when studying Buddhism and Hinduism. Read more

Muslims number 1.6 billion and make up 26% of the world’s population, according to the Pew Research Center.  And with almost a billion Muslims, Asia/Pacific has more than 3 times more Muslims than the Middle East.  The report also includes Muslim beliefs about Sharia, morality, and politics. Thanks to F.C. Tymrak for the link. The material here could work for a web-quest for a unit on Islam in religion classes. Read more

Thanks for all the page views!  We just exceeded 15,000 after just seven months. By far, the most popular post was the timeline of religions above. The seond most popular post was about the huge Hindu holiday, Kumbh Mela, that happens every twelve years and attracts over 100,000,000 Hindus. The third most popular post was about the Zoraostrian community in India called Parsis. A famous Indian photographer, Sooni Taraporevala developed a photographic exhibit of the community. Read more

Studying Islam? Here’s a great primer on Sharia Law, what it is and what is not. The Huffington Post put together this overview because a number of states recently prohibited judges from considering “foreign laws” when making decisions.  The so-called foreign laws really refer to Sharia law.  The Huffington Post story also includes a good slide show showing a historical timeline of Sharia Law. Read more

Fox news anchor, Lauren Green, grilled Reza Aslan, author of   “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazaretth,” because  she could not believe that a Muslim was qualified to write about Jesus. Although Aslan reminded her that he has taught and studied religion for two decades, has four degrees including one in the New Testament, and is fluent in classical Greek, she continued to press him. Earlier this year, Leslie Hazleton, an English journalist, wrote a biography of... Read more

Journalist Mehdi Hasan defends Islam as a peaceful religion in this awesome debate at Oxford Union. It’s only 13 minutes and absolutely worth showing to a religion class when studying Islam. UpWorthy, where I found the video, describes the debate as a “totally-mesmerizing-insanely-eloquent-defense.” And it is exactly that! Read more

Here’s a great essay about the value of the Bhagavad Gita today, written by Charles Martin who co-authored a new translation of the Hindu classic. The Gita is part of the great Indian classic, the Mahabharata and Martin sees a number of lessons from the story that are still valuable today. The Gita is a drama that pits Arjuna in battle against his cousins and teachers for control of the kingdom of Bharata in northern India. The moral dilemma that... Read more