A growing new spiritual practice combines the breathing techniques of yoga with laughter. Practitioners say it helps them achieve joy and spiritual well-being. At a laughter yoga session at Washington National Cathedral, we talk with instructor Diane Cohen, who says laughter yoga releases “that inner essence that we don’t always let out.” More →

August 26, 2016

“Some people call it laughter through tears. I would suggest you could call it laughter through fears,” says Harvard University Yiddish literature professor Ruth Wisse. More →

January 10, 2014

“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding that says religion needs to be serious all the time and gloomy and dour,” says Rev. James Martin, S.J., author of Between Heaven and Mirth, who believes humor is good for one’s spiritual health. More →

November 18, 2011

Rev. James Martin, S.J., author of Between Heaven and Mirth and chaplain for comedian Stephen Colbert, tells some of his favorite jokes. More →

November 18, 2011

Each year at Passover, a couple in Roseland, New Jersey invent new ways to dramatize and sing about the traditional story of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. They’ve become so good at it and have so much fun there’s now a waiting list of their friends who want to come. More →

April 18, 2008

“The Simpsons is not a show about religion, but it’s about a family in which religion plays a part, and in that sense it’s really reflective of what most Americans do and feel about religion,” says Mark Pinsky, author of “The Gospel According to The Simpsons.” More →

July 27, 2007