religion

Performers conduct a dress rehearsal of the annual nativity concert at Falls Church Anglican in Virginia. The event attracts hundreds of people on Christmas Eve.

Suburban Virginia Nativity Concert Captures Essence Of Christmas Season

4:18pm December 24, 2015

by Neva Grant

For decades, Falls Church Anglican in suburban Virginia has staged a nativity concert for hundreds of people on Christmas Eve. For many, the event captures the essence and innocence of the season.

Across India, several Christian communities prepare sweet homemade wines for the festive season from a rich array of local fruit, roots and grain. Above, a glass of golden pineapple wine.

From Beetroot To Pineapple, Homemade Wines Sweeten Christmas In India

11:21am December 24, 2015

by Nina Martyris

Across India, Christian communities make sweet homemade wines for the festive season from an array of local fruit, roots and grain. But the know-how behind this ancient tradition may be disappearing.

As Christians Flee, Governments Pressured To Declare ISIS Guilty Of Genocide

6:17am December 24, 2015

by Tom Gjelten

The Christian population is dropping in areas where Islamic State fighters are targeting religious minorities. At least a thousand Christians have been killed. Hundreds of thousands have fled.

In addition to the dancing devils, there's Old Man Beggar, who also parades around on Christmas. At right is a Liberian version of Santa.

Liberia's Dancing Christmas Devils Could Give Krampus A Lesson In Niceness

8:33pm December 23, 2015

by Max Bankole Jarrett

They tower on stilts, they're draped in hay, they dance like crazy and demand a holiday tip. But don't worry — they're really nice!

The family had planned to visit Disneyland before they were barred from getting on the plane to Los Angeles.

British Muslim Family Barred From California-Bound Flight, With No Reason Given

4:33pm December 23, 2015

by Merrit Kennedy

The family of eleven had valid travel permits, and was set to visit Disneyland and see relatives in California. They don't know why they were not allowed to board.

Illustration of a crescent moon over a wintry city.

What American Muslims Do On Christmas: New Traditions Emerge

10:04am December 23, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

For some American Muslims, Christmas is a day to read the Quran's passages about the birth of Jesus — he's a prophet in Islam, too. For others, it's a day to trim the tree, or just relax.

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The Case Against Wearing Hijab To Support Muslim Women

7:08pm December 22, 2015

NPR's Ari Shapiro interviews Asra Nomani, co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement and author of Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam, about the op-ed she co-wrote with Hala Arafa in the Washington Post about why, as Muslim women, they are asking other Muslim women to not wear the hijab.

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Cousin Remembers Reverend Killed In Charleston, S.C., Shooting

6:35pm December 22, 2015

There have been a number of high-profile shootings this year, including several mass shootings. One of those happened in June at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. Rev. Depayne Middleton Doctor was one of nine people killed. Her cousin, Rev. Waltrina Middleton talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about her, and how her family has been doing since the shooting.

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Brother Honors Legacy Of Relatives Lost In Chapel Hill, N.C., Shooting

6:41pm December 21, 2015

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Farris Barakat, who lost relatives in the Chapel Hill, N.C., shooting. He recently visited a Syrian refugee camp to honor his brother's legacy.

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NPR's Steve Inskeep interviews President Obama at the White House.

'Sometimes Progress Is A Little Uncomfortable': President Obama On Identity Politics

1:37pm December 21, 2015

by Leah Donnella

In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Obama spoke at length on the subject of identity. The question of who we are as Americans, Obama said, has been a focus since the country's founding.