“This is nearly 10 years after the tragedy,” says Terri Roberts, the mother of Charlie Roberts, who murdered five Amish school girls in 2006, “and here I am. I’m alive and I am able to move forward because of the response of the Amish, because of forgiveness. I believe that so much light has been brought into such a dark place.”
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July 1, 2016

While the presumptive Republican nominee for president told evangelicals he is “a tremendous believer,” interfaith protests, vigils, and press conferences questioned the candidate’s religious claims and assertions. More →

June 24, 2016

“The idea of caring for those who are in need we consider to be a scriptural mandate,” says Steve Peterson, managing director of the Mormon Church’s welfare system. “And that’s grown into a wonderful program worldwide that focuses on caring for those in need, to relieve suffering, and to foster self-reliance and give opportunities for service both for those that receive things and for those that are helping out.” More →

June 24, 2016

“I was looking for a place where I could practice empathy,” says Randall Smith. “I’m looking for a place to practice tolerance. I’m looking for a place to practice compassion, love, truth. What I found in the Friends community is a place to do that that is safe, that is a very large tent. The great part of that is I ended up joining the most unorganized organized religion I could find.” More →

June 24, 2016

Some mosques use the month of Ramadan as an opportunity to educate friends and neighbors about Islam. The Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia encourages members of its congregation to bring non-Muslim friends to their iftar dinners, the meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik describes how the program ties the community together. More →

June 24, 2016

Muslim leaders spoke out this week after the massacre in Orlando. “We condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It violates our principles as Americans and as Muslims.” And Sayyid Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America, observed that “whatever they say about the practice of homosexuality is irrelevant to the fact we are committed to respect the other.” More →

June 17, 2016

“It’s not just evangelicals,” says John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. “There are other pieces of the Republican Party that are in disarray as well. But because evangelicals play just a central role at the ballot box, that has to be a top priority for Republicans who want to be successful,” More →

June 17, 2016

“We really need to free dying from the hospital and take it back into the community where it belongs,” said Dr. VJ Periyakoil, director of palliative care education and training at Stanford University School of Medicine.
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June 10, 2016

“We’re here as a sign of God’s presence,” says Father Edwin Leahy, headmaster of St. Benedict’s Prep School in Newark, New Jersey. “That’s who we are as monks. We take a vow of stability of place, so even though the neighborhoods change around us on a regular basis, we stay.” More →

June 10, 2016

“Women have for a long time felt shut out from mosques everywhere. And so instead of trying to argue against whether this women’s mosque should exist or not, they should really be looking at their own communities and wondering how they can make them a more welcoming place for everyone,” says Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, one of the preachers at the all-female Women’s Mosque of America. More →

June 3, 2016