Rebuilding continues a decade after the devastating floods, and New Orleans communities of faith see hope amidst the tragedy; and old age has not diminished the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader's role as an advocate for world peace and inner happiness

"We got to know our neighbors in the surrounding community in a way we probably wouldn’t have otherwise, because we did all have to work through it together. And so in these last 10 years I would say we have been much more part of the community where we’ve been a building for over a hundred ...

"All major religions teach the practice of compassion, love, forgiveness, and tolerance. If people who really, seriously, sincerely follow their own tradition, then [there will be an] immense effect to bring inner peace, genuine peace."

The US has more people in prison than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of them are African Americans; and faith groups like Urban Village Church in Chicago are reaching out and welcoming transgender individuals

The US has more people in prison than any other country in the world, but UC Berkeley public policy professor Steven Raphael suggests that "instead of spending so much money on incarcerating very old inmates we could use that money to hire more police, have anti-violence interventions for youth, and ...

“When we make a mistake, we want a little grace, we want a little room to be forgiven, and that's what everybody wants. If you tell a lie, you're not just a liar. If you take something that doesn't belong to you, you're not just a thief. And even if you kill someone, you're not just a killer. That ...

“What’s wrong with us that we don’t have space for folks to transcend and expand our understanding of what it can be to be female and what it can be to be male?” asks Rev. Emily McGinley of the Urban Village Church in Chicago. Her ministry reaches out to and welcomes transgender people, ...

Growing social acceptance of same-sex marriage and other LGBT issues poses new challenges for evangelicals; Britain's former chief rabbi leads a global effort against religious extremism and violence; an ancient vision in Mexico of the Virgin Mary inspires millions of religious pilgrims.

In a historic ruling in June, a divided Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in every state. “Christianity require you to push back against the world,” says Collin Hansen of the Gospel Coalition. But author Matthew Vines of the Reformation Project suggests that once even some evangelicals ...

“American culture is changing. We simply have to hold onto the truths we believe have been articulated to us, in a way that is loving and compassionate and is balancing both truth and grace.”

"There’s no quick fix here. You don’t suddenly turn radicals into moderates. You have to educate a generation."

"We have to go back to the 17th century and ask what healed all that harm? And of course the simple answer is that what wins wars is weapons but what wins peace is ideas."

The Virgin Mary has been a companion throughout important events in Mexico’s national history, says Monsignor Jorge Antonio Palencia. “Our Lady has accompanied the nation across the foundation, through the independence movement, then through the revolution movement."

The spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili Muslims speaks about poverty, peace, philanthropy, and religious understanding; a chart-topping album conveys the music that is central to Benedictine monastic life.

"We used to have situations, particularly in isolated parts of the world, high mountain areas, where different communities were practicing a different form of Islam from one village to the other. What we want to do is to have those villages work together. Accept that there are different ...

The Cuban government is showing signs of being more open to religious life in Cuba; women lead prayers and preach sermons at a new all-female mosque; and a Hindu boy's rite of passage.

We visited a Hindu religious coming-of-age ceremony for nine-year-old Rushil Ramakrishnan at the Hindu Temple in Adelphi, Maryland.

A madrasa in Pakistan is proving that an Islamic school can offer a useful education while avoiding politics and extremism; members of the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York say singing as a group feeds their souls and creates community; and after a month of fasting, Muslims celebrate the ...

"There's threat to whatever we do here at Jamia Islamia. But for me, it is a mission," says Mufti Abu Huraira, whose father established the Jamia Islamia Clifton madrasa where students are vetted for any ties to extremist activities and political discussion is forbidden.

"To me, the choir is really a microcosm of what a community ought to be. People are not worried about status within their social position or their family hierarchy. What they are worried about is all together singing D major," says John Maclay, music director of the Choral Society at New York ...