While religious conflict is dominating the headlines, there are some who are trying to find understanding and respect across religious lines. A group of women in Cambridge, Massachusetts is doing just that. They have founded a book club to learn from each other’s Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. More →

September 29, 2006

There’s a movement under way among many Catholic women and women scholars to revise the reputation of Mary Magdalene. For centuries, she was reviled as a prostitute. But now, with the discovery of ancient text, several recent movies and novels are portraying her as an important figure in early church history.
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November 21, 2003

In the latter half of the twentieth century, institutions run by Roman Catholic nuns could amount to virtual prisons for young women. Some spent their entire adult lives in these places. They were called the Magdalene Laundries, and they were in Ireland. THE MAGDALENE SISTERS chronicles the lives of three Dublin girls living in the Laundries. More →

August 22, 2003

Deborah Rosenthal is a respected artist who is also an observant Jew. As a result, her work is often infused with her religious beliefs. Recently, she was asked by the conservative Jewish congregation to which she belongs to create two stained glass windows for its sanctuary. For the commission, she chose two objects drawn from Jewish faith and Jewish history. More →

June 29, 2001

In India, sex selection by sonogram is officially illegal, but widely practiced. And there is no Hindu or legal prohibition on abortion. More →

June 1, 2001

BOB ABERNETHY: We’re going to take a rare glimpse now into the lives of some Hasidic women in Brooklyn; an 18th-century way of life flourishing in late 20th-century America. Hasidism, Hebrew for both “pious” and “saintly,” began in the late … More →

February 12, 1999

As we cover the abuse of relationships between pastoral counselors and those who came to them seeking guidance and comfort, we hear personal tales of the sexual relationship that can develop between some clergymen and women in their congregations. This is a complex world in which the male pastor is often found guilty of abusing his power and the woman is usually, but not always, the victim. More →

June 19, 1998

Women are a mainstay in black churches, except in the pulpit. Will the “stained-glass ceiling” limit the careers of the record numbers of women entering divinity schools? More →

February 20, 1998