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Love songs in Hindu devotion – the Tamil poets who took on the female voice...
An image of a reclining Lord Vishnu with the alvar poets arrayed below him. The Nadar Press Ltd., Sivakasi, ca. 1920s. From the personal print collection of Archana Venkatesan and Layne...
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AI ‘companions’ promise to combat loneliness, but history shows the dangers...
Would flattery from an AI set your heart aflutter?quantic69/iStock via Getty ImagesThe United States is in the grips of a loneliness epidemic: Since 2018, about half the population has reported that it...
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Why having human remains land on the Moon poses difficult questions for...
Sending human remains to the Moon on the first commercial lunar lander, Peregrine 1, on Jan. 8, 2024, along with scientific instruments, caused a controversy.Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation,...
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Several companies are testing brain implants – why is there so much attention...
Brain-computer interfaces have the potential to transform some people's lives, but they raise a host of ethical issues, too.Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty ImagesPutting a computer inside someone’s...
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Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques - here’s why this matters
The imam of the Khadija Mosque, in the Pankow district of Berlin, talks to visitors.Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty ImagesFor decades, the Turkish government has sent imams to work in mosques...
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Children are expensive – not just for parents, but the environment − so how...
Protecting the planet for future children might mean having fewer children.Halfpoint/iStock via Getty Images PlusPeople born in the future stand to inherit a planet in the midst of a global ecological...
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As a rabbi, philosopher and physician, Maimonides wrestled with religion and...
A bas-relief of Maimonides, sculpted by Brenda Putnam, hangs in the U.S. House of Representatives among statues of historical lawmakers. Architect of the Capitol/WikimediaI teach a philosophy of...
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Making it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could...
Thinking about issues’ impact on their own lives can help people envision more common ground.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images PlusPolitical polarization can be reduced when people are told to think...
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Anti-immigrant pastors may be drawing attention – but faith leaders,...
A 2010 protest in Phoenix by faith groups against Arizona's new immigration law.AP Photo/Matt York, FileA convoy of far-right Christian nationalists calling themselves “God’s Army” have been staging...
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What the ancient Indian text Bhagavad Gita can teach about not putting too...
This famous scene from the Bhagavad Gita, featuring the god Krishna with his cousin, Prince Arjuna, on a chariot heading into war.Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesA 2023...
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Gifts that live on, from best bodices to money for bridge repairs: Women’s...
Women's wills and last testaments provide a more nuanced picture of life in the Middle Ages than medieval stereotypes allow, such as that depicted in "Death and the Prostitute" by Master of Philippe of...
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Bias hiding in plain sight: Decades of analyses suggest US media skews...
Palestinian families seeking refuge in makeshift tents in vacant areas in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty ImagesNews organizations are often accused of lacking impartialitywhen...
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The tools in a medieval Japanese healer’s toolkit: from fortunetelling and...
An 'onmyoji,' an expert on yin and yang, performs divination with counting rods in an Edo-period illustration. Kyoto University Library/Wikimedia“The Tale of Genji,” often called Japan’s first novel,...
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My Malaysia ordeal shows how religion can fuse with populist nationalism to...
Malaysian Islamists rally in favor of sharia law on Nov. 20, 2023.Zahim Mohd/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesI hadn’t expected my book tour in Malaysia to end with a confrontation with men who identified...
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Israeli peace activists are more anguished than ever − in a movement that has...
A demonstration on Dec. 28, 2023, in Tel Aviv, organized by the peace group Standing Together, calls for a cease-fire. Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe months since Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, have been...
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How non-English language cinema is reshaping the Oscars landscape
Best picture nominee 'Past Lives' was directed by South Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song and has scenes in Korean and English.A24/Everett CollectionOver the past few years, the Oscars have taken a...
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Can witches fly? A historian unpacks the medieval invention − and skepticism...
One of the earliest depictions of flying witches is in a 15th-century text entitled "Le champion des dames," or "The Defender of Ladies."Martin Le Franc/W. Schild. Die Maleficia der Hexenleut' via...
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Scorsese’s gods of the streets: From ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to...
Even in films where religion isn't front and center, Martin Scorsese's attention to ritual and devotion comes through. Apple TV+A widely circulated still from the set of Martin Scorsese’s latest film,...
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Tattooing has held a long tradition in Christianity − dating back to Jesus’...
Christian Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash draws a tattoo on the arm of a Coptic Egyptian pilgrim on April 28, 2016, at his studio in Bethlehem.Thomas Coex /AFP via Getty ImagesHoly Week and...
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Reeling religion: From anime and sci-fi to rom-coms, films are full of faith...
Seeing the light − at the movies.igoriss/iStock via Getty ImagesIn some movies, religion hits viewers over the head – including films that take home the industry’s biggest prizes. No one could miss...
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