For many religious believers, the attacks on September 11 evoked a sense of almost apocalyptic horror. As the hours unfolded, people of faith across the country reached out in whatever way they could.

A new report from the Institute of Medicine, which advises the government on health policy, calls on the U.S. to do far more than is now being done to relieve the suffering of dying children and their families. Doctors and families face a dilemma in trying to choose between painful treatment that is ...

As a result of the Human Genome Project, we now know much more about a person's medical future than ever before. But this new knowledge has given rise to many medical, legal, and ethical questions

Paryushana Parva is a festival of fasting, friendship, and forgiveness. Members of the Jain faith are celebrating the holiest time of the year. It coincides with monsoon season in India, which is where Jainism began.

One of the consequences of the Holocaust was its effect on the faith of observant Jews. How could a just God have permitted such a tragedy? Today, the personal story, in his words, of Menachem Daum, a New York television producer whose parents were both Holocaust survivors.

Missionary work is something of a rite of passage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over the course of 18 months to two years, young men and women will work 16 hours a day, six days a week. On average, each one will convert ten persons during that period. But with 60,000 ...

When may a lawyer reveal what a client tells him in confidence? The American Bar Association recently made the rule less restrictive. It permits, but does not require, lawyers to disclose confidences to prevent "reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm." Attorneys who obey the confidentiality rule sometimes do so at the expense of innocent people.

For many, the fundamental issue behind stem cell research is the moral status of tiny, one-week-old human embryos. Scientists think these cells can help them find cures for many severe illnesses, but harvesting those cells kills the embryos. Ethicists say the right and wrong of destroying even unwanted embryos in order to do promising medical research depends on what you think those embryos are.

MARY ALICE WILLIAMS: Buddhism is the world’s fourth largest religion, founded about 2500 years ago in India. The Buddha taught that life is suffering and the way to overcome that is to get rid of attachments. Widely practiced across Asia, … More →

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 ...

While a Bris, or circumcision ritual, has been the traditional way for Jews to welcome baby boys into the covenant, many families are now creating rituals to welcome their baby daughters.

To average Catholics, it may be hard to imagine their priest with a wife and children. But, to a limited extent, it is already happening.

Wicca, as modern witchcraft is often called, and its symbol of the pentacle are becoming more visible in today's society. It is a polytheistic, earth-based religion that emphasizes feminism and the environment and encourages diversity of beliefs. It has no theological system or creed, no central ...

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

In the past century, Quakers have helped start nearly 200 social service, environmental, and relief agencies such as the American Friends Service Committee. Additionally, they are the only religious organization to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In spite of its many achievements, almost 350 years after ...

These young musicians have picked up where their grandparents left off, reviving and revitalizing the old tradition of klezmer by bringing it back to Jews and also extending its reach beyond the Jewish audience.

One of the most difficult of all religious teachings is the importance of forgiving. Forgiveness is taught as something a person should do for God or for others. But, more and more, both religious and secular counselors are encouraging forgiveness … More →

"It puts us in a place of perpetuating a cycle of violence. Closure will never be found if vengeance and revenge continues to be the motivation," says Rev. Verity Jones, senior minister of Central Christian Church.

A profile of a man who knows a great deal about poetry and a great deal about funerals. He is Thomas Lynch, writer and mortician, and each of his vocations enriches the other.

R & E talks with Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey about interfaith communication and conversion — particularly, whether Christians should take it upon themselves to attempt to convert Jews.