“What St. Benedict is doing is providing a charter for making a community that really endures and that can encompass a variety of people who aren’t all there because they have the same personality or like the same music or have the same hobby. They’re all there for some purpose that’s really ...

His movie "Silence," says director Martin Scorsese, “is the struggle for the very essence of faith, stripping away everything else around it. You have to find a relationship with Jesus,” says Scorsese, “with yourself, really, because that’s the one you face.”

We discuss the influence religion and communities of faith will have on President Trump and our future public life; and this special envoy and former hostage ponders the meaning of faith and forgiveness, words and silence.

“I have heard that the Trump presidency could see the reemergence of a real Christian left in the United States,” says Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.

“I said this to myself in the face of my captors: You have the power to break my body, and you’ve tried. You have the power to bend my mind, and you’ve tried. But my soul is not yours to possess. In other words, my soul lay in the hand of God.”

Today’s millennial activists are ambivalent about the life and leadership of Dr. King; and a young woman from New Jersey finds her purpose in the slums of Monrovia, Liberia working for human rights and social justice, even during the Ebola … More →

“There is a really important role that spirituality is playing among millennials and contemporary activists,” says Sarah Jackson, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston and an expert on social movements. But “it is a spirituality that is not necessarily tied to the formal structures ...

“What defines you the most is what you do despite your fear,” says Katie Meyler, a 34-year-old American from suburban New Jersey who was working in Liberia in the midst of extreme poverty when Ebola struck. Now she runs a growing network of schools for girls and says, “Nobody chooses Liberia. ...

Sadiq Kahn is a strong voice for post-Brexit interfaith relations and reconciliation; the new president and CEO of Catholic Relief Service says humanitarian relief means “bringing the solidarity from one community to another”; and a family explains the meaning of the … More →

“I have never held myself out as a Muslim leader,” says Sadiq Khan, who became mayor of London shortly before Britain voted to leave the European Union. “But it’s a fact I’m a leader of Islamic faith, so that brings with [it] a responsibility, especially in current times.”

The new president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services represents the spirit of American Catholicism by reaching out to suffering international communities. Even in the face of frightening crises around the world, says Sean Callahan, “the common good outweighs the evil that’s being done.”

“God gave Shabbat to humanity,” says Rabbi Nissan Antine of Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac, Maryland. “It’s about those more interior kinds of things, things about working on your soul, working on your friendships, your relationships. Those are really the important things in life. Those ...

What will be among the most important religion stories to watch for in the New Year?

As the New Year begins, three journalists discuss the top religion stories they will be keeping an eye on in 2017 with host Bob Abernethy. He is joined by managing editor Kim Lawton, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, and Jerome Socolovsky, editor-in-chief of Religion News Service.

We review the top religion and ethics stories of the past year.

In our final show before the New Year, we review the top religion and ethics stories of 2016. Host Bob Abernathy is joined by R&E managing editor Kim Lawton, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, and Jerome Socolovsky, editor-in-chief of Religion News Service.

Volunteer chefs bring their love of food and a good meal to people in need; these singers say they “learn to be present” in a sacred moment with the dying; and menorahs, dreidels, latkes, and boat parades “spread the miracle” … More →

“Hurting people don’t need to hear the gospel,” says Chef Gary LeBlanc. “They need to see the gospel.”

“When we sing to a patient, we are sending them love, we are wishing them well on their journey, we are saying we’re all in this together...We are learning from them how to do this thing called dying,” says Sarah Stott, a member of the Threshold Choir in Washington, DC. 

"When people stand together and see the menorah being lit, we're hoping to inspire them to a greater level of commitment and dedication to their own faith and tradition,” says Rabbi Chaim Block, executive director of San Antonio’s Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning.