religion

At Congregation Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh, families across the Jewish community will gather at the annual "Latkepalooza" to mark their first Hanukkuh since the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in October.

A Grieving Pittsburgh Focuses On Community And Light In Hanukkah Celebrations

6:25am December 03, 2018

by Virginia Alvino Young

Jewish families are grappling with how to celebrate the first major Jewish holiday since 11 people were killed in October's shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue.

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Bush Family Pastor Speaks On His Friendship With President George H.W. Bush

5:40pm December 01, 2018

Former president George H.W. Bush's pastor, Reverend Russell Jones Levenson Jr. of St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his friendship with the president.

Sikh worshippers gather outside their holiest site, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. It is believed to be the place where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, died in the 16th century. In a rare goodwill gesture this week, India and Pakistan broke grou

In Gesture To India, Pakistan To Open Cross-Border Pathway To Sikh Holy Site

9:27am November 30, 2018

For decades, India's Sikhs have longed to reach one of their holiest sites, a soaring white temple, built on a river bank. A new corridor will allow them visa-free access to the temple.

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John Allen Chau, an American self-styled adventurer and Christian missionary, was killed and buried by a tribe of hunter-gatherers on a remote island in the Indian Ocean where he had gone to proselytize, according to local law enforcement officials.

Religion

Killing Of American Missionary Ignites Debate Over How To Evangelize

2:38pm November 28, 2018

by Tom Gjelten

John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old American missionary, was killed when he sneaked onto an island in the Bay of Bengal. For centuries, the islanders have resisted all contact with the outside world.

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Newlyweds Saumil and Zarina Shah stayed at a safe house in New Delhi run by the Love Commandos, a group that rescues interfaith and inter-caste couples from potential violence and helps them hide from their families.

When India's Interfaith Couples Encounter Threats, 'Love Commandos' Come To Their Aid

7:24am November 22, 2018

by Lauren Frayer

Couples who marry against their parents' wishes sometimes risk their lives in doing so. That's where the Love Commandos come in. They run 500 safe houses and help couples elope or hide from relatives.

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A black trash bag covers a red swastika painted over a mural at Duke University. Dedicated to the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the original mural replaced the yellow star in the Pittsburgh Steelers' emblem with the Star of David and read,

Swastika Defaces Duke University Mural Honoring Synagogue Shooting Victims

5:18pm November 20, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

The Nazi symbol was spray-painted over a Star of David on a campus memorial to the 11 people killed last month at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania.

At least 36 students at a North Carolina school have become infected with chickenpox. The school has many students whose parents claimed a religious exemption from state vaccination requirements.

Chickenpox Outbreak Hits N.C. Private School With Low Vaccination Rates

5:07pm November 20, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Three dozen students have been infected at Asheville Waldorf School — which has among the very highest rates of parents claiming religious exemption from state vaccine requirements.

Religion

The Faithful Are Angry As Catholic Church Fails To Unite On Addressing Clergy Abuse

4:33pm November 16, 2018

by Tom Gjelten

This week's widely anticipated meeting of U.S. Catholic bishops ended without recommendation on how to deal with clergy abuse. Further action is now up to the Vatican and a global synod in February.

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Mir, a Pakistani man who used to live in Xinjiang, China, clutches the hands of his two daughters. Since Chinese authorities detained his wife, he's been raising their two girls alone. "My mind just won't work," he says. "I sound incoherent, I can't think

'My Family Has Been Broken': Pakistanis Fear For Uighur Wives Held In China

5:05am November 15, 2018

Rights groups estimate as many as 1 million Uighurs are detained in Chinese camps, with the aim of stripping away their ethnic identity, suppressing their Muslim faith and ensuring loyalty to China.

Gert Berliner, 94, tied the little stuffed monkey to his bicycle when he was a child in Berlin.

A Toy Monkey That Escaped Nazi Germany And Reunited A Family

5:44pm November 14, 2018

by Uri Berliner

Gert Berliner packed a stuffed monkey when he fled the Nazis as a child. He kept the toy for more than a half century before donating it to a museum, an act that led to a remarkable discovery.

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