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A dramatic schism over social issues? The United Methodist Church has been...
Debates over LGBTQ+ issues have divided Methodist congregations for years leading up to the current schism.AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, FileThe United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in...
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Why Sikhs celebrate the festival of Baisakhi
On the festival of Baisakhi, celebrated usually on April 13, Sikhs the world over will joyously wear yellow saffron colors, symbolizing spring harvest and the solar new year, when the Sun enters the...
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In a future with more ‘mind reading,’ thanks to neurotech, we may need to...
Our minds are buffeted by all kinds of influences, though some seem more menacing than others.wenjin chen/DigitalVision Vectoria via Getty ImagesSocrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, never wrote...
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Bollywood is playing a large supporting role in India’s elections
A man walks past posters of the film 'PM Narendra Modi,' a biopic on the Indian prime minister, during its launch in Mumbai, India, in 2019.AP Photo/Rafiq MaqboolAs the largest electorate in history...
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Elephant tourism often involves cruelty – here are steps toward more humane,...
A tourist on National Elephant Day in Thailand.oneclearvision/Getty ImagesSuju Kali is a 50-year-old elephant in Nepal who has been carrying tourists for over 30 years. Like many elephants I encounter...
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Medieval Europe was far from democratic, but that didn’t mean tyrants got a...
Richard II became king of England when he was 10 and was deposed at 32.British Library/Wikimedia CommonsMy students tend to imagine the Middle Ages as something like the “Kingdom Come” or “Total War”...
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Indian protesters pull from poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism
A Muslim protester shouts at security personnel on the streets of Shaheen Bagh, a neighborhood in Delhi, in 2020.Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty ImagesIndia’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra...
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Reagan’s great America shining on a hill twisted into Trump’s dark vision of...
In August 1982, Ronald Reagan’s father-in-law was dying. Nancy Reagan’s beloved dad, Loyal Davis, was an atheist – a troubling fact to the 40th president. So Reagan penned a private, handwritten note...
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Know thyself − all too well: Why Taylor Swift’s songs are philosophy
'Fearless' on stage − and in introspection. Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights ManagementTaylor Swift isn’t just a billionaire songwriter and performer. She’s also a philosopher. As a...
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3 things to learn about patience − and impatience − from al-Ghazali, a...
Al-Ghazali's book 'Alchemy of Happiness,' held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.Al-Ghazali - Bibliothèque nationale de France via Wikimedia CommonsFrom childhood, we are told that patience is a...
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Are tomorrow’s engineers ready to face AI’s ethical challenges?
Finding ethics' place in the engineering curriculum.PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images PlusA chatbot turns hostile. A test version of a Roomba vacuum collects images of users in private situations. A...
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From sumptuous engravings to stick-figure sketches, Passover Haggadahs − and...
Haggadah shel Pesah, translated by Sonia Gronemann and illustrated by Otto Geismar. Made in Berlin, 1927.Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica , CC BY-NDThe Jewish festival of Passover recalls the...
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The Anglican Communion has deep differences over homosexuality – but a...
Members of the Church of England's Synod, at Church House in central London, on Feb. 9, 2023. James Manning/PA Images via Getty ImagesIn recent years, churches in many Christian denominations have...
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Passover: The festival of freedom and the ambivalence of exile
The Passover Seder – like this one in Azerbaijan – commemorates the story of the Israelites' escape from slavery, and the start of their long sojourn in the desert. Reza/Getty ImagesThe Jewish holiday...
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Gender-nonconforming ancient Romans found refuge in community dedicated to...
A relief showing a Gallus making sacrifices to the goddess Cybele and Attis.Saiko via Wikimedia Commons, CC BYA Vatican declaration, the “Infinite Dignity,” has brought renewed attention to how...
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What is ‘techno-optimism’? 2 technology scholars explain the ideology that...
When venture capitalist and techno-optimist Marc Andreessen speaks, many people listen.Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunchSilicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen penned a 5,000-word...
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For the ancient Maya, cracked mirrors were a path to the world beyond
The Maya used mirrors as channels for supernatural communication. In this image, a supernatural creature speaks into a cracked, black mirror.K2929 from the Justin Kerr Maya archive, Dumbarton Oaks,...
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The biblical character who goes ‘down the rabbit hole’ into an alternate...
Stained glass designed by Geoffrey Webb depicts Lewis Carroll's characters in All Saints Church in Daresbury, Cheshire, England.Peter I. Vardy/Wikimedia CommonsThe Bible’s Book of Job opens on an...
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How ‘apocalypse’ became a secular as well as religious idea
Climate change is causing extreme weather, prolonged droughts and more bushfires.Andrew Merry/Moment via Getty ImagesThe exponential growth of artificial intelligence over the past year has sparked...
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As humans, we all want self-respect – and keeping that in mind might be the...
Looking to persuade someone? Start with respect.dusanpetkovic/iStock via Getty Images PlusWhy is persuasion so hard, even when you have facts on your side? As a philosopher, I’m especially interested...
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