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In death, as in life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg balanced being American and Jewish
No lengthy viewing of the body, but no quick burial either.Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty ImagesAs news of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spread on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, a...
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Quarantine rule breakers in 17th-century Italy partied all night – and some...
The 17th-century plague in Rome.Photo by DeAgostini/Getty ImagesSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts between religious freedom and public health regulations have been playing out in...
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Sacred violence is not yet ancient history – beating it will take human...
Pope Urban II giving marching orders ahead of the First Crusade.Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty ImagesAlong with their swastikas borrowed from Nazi Germany, white supremacists marching in the...
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What is charismatic Catholicism?
Members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal organization, which began in Pennsylvania in 1967, holding a meeting in FrancePhoto by Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty ImagesAmy Coney Barrett reportedly...
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Why there is no ethical reason not to vote (unless you come down with...
Voting, the right thing to do?Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty ImagesAmericans are being implored by politicians of all stripes to do their democratic duty on Nov. 3 and vote.Current polling...
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Why 'namaste' has become the perfect pandemic greeting
Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and French president Emmanuel Macron greet one another with a 'namaste' in London on June 18.Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesHands...
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What makes a 'good' patriot? Donald Trump may be surprised by an ethicist's...
Your country needs YOU to be a critical friend.Alex Wong/Getty ImagesWhen President Donald Trump talks about “patriots” – and he does, a lot– he probably doesn’t have in mind a fictional Black American...
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In the midst of deep grief, a scholar writes how Hindu rituals taught her to...
Hindu cremation being performed on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India.Photo by Tim Graham/Getty ImagesCultures have built elaborate rituals to help humans process the grief of losing...
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Why is it so hard for atheists to get voted in to Congress?
Above it, only skies? In it, only believers? Imagine that!Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty ImagesEvery election cycle has its “firsts.”This year, the selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s...
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As Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingya refugees, a scholar explains what...
Rohingya refugees wait during distribution of food items in 2017 in Bangladesh.AP Photo/Dar Yasin, FileOver 1.1 million Rohingyas continue to remain strandedin crowded camps in Bangladesh while the...
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Finding joy in 2020? It's not such an absurd idea, really
You don't need rose-tinted spectacles to find joy – even in the most stressful times. MEDITERRANEAN /Via Getty ImagesThe year 2020 hasn’t been one to remember – in fact, for a lot of people it has been...
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Amid COVID-19 spike in ultra-Orthodox areas, Jewish history may explain...
COVID-19 has spiked in ultra-Orthodox Jewish parts of New York City.Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesA spike in coronavirus cases in several Orthodox Jewish areas of New York has prompted state and city...
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Celebrating Sister Ardeth Platte, anti-nuclear activist and 'peacemaker in a...
Sister Ardeth Platte, wearing black to honor the international Women in Black movement, being hugged by a supporter ahead of being sentenced in 2003.AP Photo/David ZalubowskiTo Sister Ardeth Platte,...
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Evangelical leaders like Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell Sr. have long talked...
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House..AP Photo/Alex BrandonPresident Donald Trump sees many conspiracies around him.He has described investigations into both Russia’s...
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Indigenous Peoples Day comes amid a reckoning over colonialism and calls for...
Native American protesters at the Black Hills, now the site of Mount Rushmore.Micah Garen/Getty ImagesIn many parts of what is now the United States, communities have in recent years replaced Columbus...
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Appealing to evangelicals, Trump uses religious words and references to God...
Reading material or preparing a speech?Brendan Smialowski/AFP via GettySpeaking from the hospital while undergoing treatment for COVID-19, Donald Trump faced the camera and touted therapeutics that...
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How the needs of monks and empire builders helped mold the modern-day office
The East India House, 1928. From 'A History of Lloyd's,' by Charles Wright and C. Ernest Fayle. Macmillan and Company Limited, London, 1928P. hoto by The Print Collector/Getty ImagesThe coronavirus...
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Religious identity and Supreme Court justices – a brief history
Amy Coney Barrett testifies before the Senate.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds Pool/Getty ImagesAmy Coney Barrett’s confirmation process has put focus not only on the would-be Supreme Court justice’s faith...
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The history of oath ceremonies and why they matter when taking office
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in Oct. 12 for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.Leah Millis/Pool via APThe confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett...
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How the Supreme Court can maintain its legitimacy amid intensifying partisanship
Sen. Kamala Harris speaks via video link during the second day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 13, 2020 in Washington, D.C.Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty...
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