Faith & Culture

(RNS) — With more than a billion people celebrating Diwali, which comes this year on Oct. 27, the festival is one of the largest and most significant religious observances around the world. But what is this Hindu holiday?

(WW) –  A prominent Christian activist and author urged a Kansas City, Missouri, audience to embrace social issues by getting closer to people who are hurting. Shane Claiborne keynoted a “social justice revival” on Sept. 22 at First Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo.

(RNS) — The latest Pew Research report released Thursday (Oct. 17), finds that two-thirds (65%) of Americans describe themselves as Christians. A decade ago, that figure was 77%.

(RNS) — All the available hard evidence shows that religious congregations are declining.  But a new nationally representative study from the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy finds that revenue is not necessarily declining along with attendance.

(RNS) — As many as 17 ancient Bible fragments that were bought for the Museum of the Bible were apparently stolen by a world-renowned Oxford University professor, the museum has acknowledged.

(RNS) — As in politics, the entertainment industry, science and elsewhere, the world of Christianity is reassessing how to describe sexual misconduct, with an eye to owning up to the seriousness of abuse that was once dismissed as innocent or covered up.

(RNS) — Perched on his mat in the back corner of the room, Adam Park performed a series of yoga poses just like the others: Downward-facing dog, Warrior 1, Child’s pose. Unlike the others, the adjunct professor at St. Louis University was there mostly to observe and ask questions.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- As courts deliberate the legality of religious activity including prayer and Bible study in public schools, many teenagers participate in or witness religious activity on campus, according to the Pew Research Center.

NEWBERG, Oregon (RNS) — About 300 Christian university presidents, human resources professionals, faculty and administrators attended the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Diversity Conference Oct. 4-5, seeking ways to diversify their campuses.

When asked to share how often they perceive a particular group of leaders to act unethically, 59% of U.S. adults said clergy do so some of the time. An additional 10% answered "most of the time," according to a Pew Research Center report.