Religion

Several pyramids in the morning light in the royal burial grounds in Meroe, Sudan.

Chester Higgins' camera brings a 360 degree view to Black life

3:47pm March 31, 2022

by Jon Kalish

Acclaimed African-American photographer Chester Higgins has made dozens of trips to Africa since the 1970's to document the continent's history and culture. Now 75, he has no plans on slowing down.

The latest controversies surrounding the collapse of global megachurch Hillsong

4:43pm March 30, 2022

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Roxanne Stone, managing editor of Religion News Service, about the latest controversies surrounding the downfall of Hillsong megachurch.

Flags mark the spot where the remains of over 750 children were buried on the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Cowessess first Nation, Saskatchewan, June 25, 2021. More than 750 unmarked graves have been found near a former Catholi

Canadian Indigenous leaders meet with the pope in hopes of apology

8:23am March 28, 2022

by The Associated Press

Indigenous leaders are speaking with Pope Francis about abuses committed against them by Catholic priests and school workers.

Religion

Supreme Court backs a prisoner who sought his pastor's touch at the time of execution

4:57pm March 24, 2022

by Nina Totenberg

Thursday's ruling was clear, and close to unanimous, with only Justice Clarence Thomas in dissent.

Queue Listen Now

Pope Francis has issued the "Praedicate Evanglium" — or "Proclaiming the Gospel" — as part of his reform work for the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis gives greater support for the Vatican to fight sexual abuse

4:07pm March 19, 2022

by The Associated Press

His long-awaited reform program includes new institutional weight to efforts tight clerical sex abuse. He also envisages more decision-making roles for lay members of the Catholic Church.

Judith Kaplan, the eldest daughter of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, became the first American girl to have a bat mitzvah ceremony on March 18, 1922 in New York, N.Y. A clipping from the temple bulletin of Rhoda Shapiro's bat mitzvah announcement.

The bat mitzvah turns 100. It marks more than a coming-of-age for Jewish girls

1:00pm March 17, 2022

by Deena Prichep

Since girls in the U.S. began having the public ceremony 100 years ago, more and more women have taken on a larger role in Jewish life, including becoming rabbis.

Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball championship game at the West Coast Conference tournament on March 8 in Las Vegas.

Gonzaga is coming in hot to March Madness. But what's behind the name?

5:28pm March 16, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

The first round of the NCAA tournament kicked off this week, and Gonzaga University's Bulldogs sit at the top of the rankings. Here's what's behind the school's name.

Pope Francis waves during the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday.

Pope Francis issues an urgent plea for an end to the war

4:13pm March 13, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

The pope urged people to take in refugees from Ukraine. More than 2.5 million people have already fled because of the invasion, according to the United Nations.

Michael Schudrich, Poland's chief rabbi.

A Polish hotel recovering from its own tragic past has become a refuge for Ukrainians

1:33pm March 10, 2022

The Hotel Ilan in Poland has a renowned and troubled history for the country's Jewish community. Now, it has found a new purpose helping Ukrainians fleeing the war Russia has wrought on their country.

A building in Poland is being used for a purpose its designers couldn't have imagined

5:23pm March 09, 2022

In Lublin, Poland, a decades-old building has taken on a purpose its designers could never have imagined. Members of the Jewish community say this may have been the building's purpose all along.