Religion

Cardinal Bernard Law (right) speaks with unidentified prelates as he attends Pope Benedict XVI's last general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in 2013.

Bernard Law, Former Archbishop Of Boston, Dies In Rome At 86

12:47pm December 20, 2017

by Tovia Smith

Once considered among the most influential prelates in America, the archbishop was forced to resign amid the church's growing sex abuse scandal, which indelibly stained his reputation.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our Hanukkah Special

6:01am December 20, 2017

by Linda Holmes

While you may have wrapped up your Hanukkah celebrations, we wanted to share a conversation about the role that Hanukkah plays for kids and adults, and some of the pop culture that surrounds it.

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Religion

How The Israeli Sufganiyah, Or Jelly Doughnut, Got Its Start As A Hanukkah Treat

5:39pm December 19, 2017

Why are jelly doughnuts served on Hanukkah? The practice has a history that goes back several centuries.

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How Battles Over Sex, Gender And Sexual Orientation 'Fractured American Politics'

1:39pm December 19, 2017

Moral Combat author R. Marie Griffith says the fight for women's suffrage and legal birth control in the early 20th century helped create a political divide in the U.S. that still exists today.

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President Trump has won over religious conservatives with promises of Supreme Court nominees, hard-line support for Israel and a host of other items.

Why Trump Continues To Forge An Unlikely Bond With Religious Conservatives

2:12pm December 18, 2017

by Ron Elving

It is not that conservative evangelicals think Trump is one of them, but rather that they believe he is being used by God. As the Bible says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20)

Appearing on Christmas tables and at winter weddings, smør bullar cookies evoke powdery snowballs.

Smør Bullar: The Classic Danish Christmas Cookie No One Has Heard Of

1:34pm December 18, 2017

by Amy E. Robertson

For one writer, the small, buttery Danish cookie her Scandinavian-American family made during Christmas was the taste of the holidays. Turns out, the classic Danish cookie may not be Danish after all.

A musical group playing traditional Puerto Rican bomba music performs at a parranda in Hartford, Conn.

'We Feel Like Home': Displaced Puerto Ricans Celebrate Traditional Christmas Parranda

7:22pm December 17, 2017

by Ryan Caron King

Thousands of Puerto Ricans have moved to the U.S. mainland after Hurricane Maria. On Saturday, Hartford, Conn., welcomed some of its newcomers with a Puerto Rican Christmas tradition: a parranda.

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Mubin Shaikh: Why Did a Former Extremist Go Undercover To Fight Terrorism?

10:37am December 15, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

When his childhood friend was connected with a terrorist attack, Mubin Shaikh set out to help combat Islamic extremists--even though he used to be one. So he joined the Canadian Intelligence Service.

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The bronze statue of Cardinal Moran stands by the entrance of St. Mary's Cathedral, in Sydney, Australia.

Catholic Church Singled Out In Australian Sex Abuse Report

8:25am December 15, 2017

by Scott Neuman

A royal commission recommends that the Australian Catholic Church ask the Vatican to lift its celibacy requirement for clergy and require that evidence of abuse revealed in confession be reported.

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Supporters of Democrat Doug Jones celebrate as Jones is projected to be the winner in Alabama's special Senate election during his election night gathering Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala.

'Black Votes Matter': African-Americans Propel Jones To Alabama Win

5:37pm December 13, 2017

by Brian Naylor

More than 90 percent of African-Americans voted for Doug Jones in Alabama's special Senate election Tuesday and Jones had the support of 98 percent of black women, according to exit polling.