In the aftermath of 9/11, as many Americans tried to learn more about Islam, much was said about "madrasahs." They are the Islamic schools, some of which, in Pakistan, taught young men not just the Qur'an but terrorism. Madrasahs, it turns out, have a long and distinguished history in the Islamic ...

India, which is mostly Hindu, and Pakistan, which is mostly Muslim, are once again on the brink of war over the disputed region of Kashmir. Both nations have nuclear weapons. Hindu-Muslim tensions extend beyond Kashmir, though. Within India, where Hindus make up 80% of the population and Muslims ...

Part five of a five-part series: Concluding RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY’s five-part series “Exploring Religious America,” Bob Abernethy speaks with experts John Green, Robert Franklin, and Peter Steinfels about the findings of the survey. Topics include scandal in the Catholic ...

Part four of a five-part series: According to the Gallup organization, between 1984 and 1998 there was a phenomenal jump in the number of people who said they felt a need for greater spiritual growth — from 56 percent to 82 percent, in just 14 years. Part five looks at the many Americans, both ...

Part three of a five-part series exploring religious America: There are more than 60 million U.S. Catholics, making them 40 percent of all the Christians in the country and the largest single group of American Christians. Part three examines the experience of being Catholic in America, and looks ...

Twelve U.S. cardinals and two bishops joined Pope John Paul II and other Vatican officials for two days of discussions about the sexual abuse crisis in the American Catholic church and possible solutions. John Paul told the group there is no place in the priesthood for those who harm the young.

Part one of a five-part series exploring religious America: In partnership with U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY conducted a national poll on religion and spirituality in American life. Part one investigates the challenges and consequences of religious diversity in ...

In COMMONWEAL Magazine, an independent Catholic journal, writer and scholar Peter Steinfels, a Catholic, takes a thoughtful look at the crisis in the Church and calls for changes to overcome it. Steinfels also writes the “Belief” column for THE NEW YORK TIMES. Watch his interview with ...

As American Catholics have reeled from the disclosures of past sexual abuses by priests, and evidence they were covered up, one of the questions raised has concerned priestly celibacy — abstinence from sex. Was that requirement a cause of the abuses? Is it necessary for dedicated ministry? ...

A special report on the sexual pressures on pre-teenage girls. Parents, social critics, and many young girls themselves deplore it, but sex sells, so advertisers and entertainers use it to attract audiences.

The scandals in the Catholic church have prompted wide-ranging questions about sexual orientation and practice. Experts insist that pedophilia has no connection to homosexuality, but the crisis has renewed attention to the issue of gays in the priesthood.

Mattie Stepanek is the brilliant, wheelchair-bound Maryland boy with muscular dystrophy who has become a best-selling inspirational poet. Both he and his mother, Jeni Stepanek, suffer from rare but different forms of the disease. Exactly one year ago, Mattie almost died. But -- strongly supported by ...

"The freedom that is so important in the Passover story, in the Haggadah, is something that doesn’t belong to a specific time period 3,000 years ago...There’s a fresh message available to be garnered from the Passover story no matter when or who is looking at it," says David Wachtel of the ...

During Holy Week, Western Christians remember Jesus' crucifixion, and the days leading up to it. One of the most moving observances, especially for Catholics, is walking the 14 Stations of the Cross, each one representing an event as Jesus carried his cross to Calvary, where he was put to death.

The John Templeton Foundation's Templeton Prize honors any living individual, regardless of profession or background, who has made significant strides in the study of science and religion. In 2002, distinguished mathematical physicist and Anglican priest John Polkinghorne was the recipient of the prize, nearly a million dollars, that he contributed towards further spiritual research and work.

“In simple terms, we have become the most religiously diverse nation on earth,” says Diana Eck, professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University.

Part two of a five-part series exploring religious America: Today, just over half of all Americans are Protestants, worshipping in 300,000 congregations, in many hundreds of denominations — and, often, apart from any denomination. Part two reports on the experiences of being a mainline Protestant, ...

R & E discusses the fallout from Enron’ bankruptcy with Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, Larry Zicklin of the brokerage firm Neuberger Berman and New York University, and Kirk Hanson of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

For Tibetan Buddhists, the new year is celebrated with dancing, and R & E sat in as members of the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Washington, D.C. performed. Our guide was Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, who spoke of the power of negative and positive energy, and about the legends associated with snow ...