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Religion 101

The end of the Islamic month of Ramadan is fast approaching — and with it, the conclusion of the daylight fasting that Muslims worldwide have been faithfully observing throughout this holiest of months on the Islamic calendar. No food or drink is permitted from dawn until dusk during the entire month of Ramadan. That, however,…

In my previous blog post, I cited Newsweek magazine’s 2007 “What You Need to Know Poll,” which stated the following: “Roughly half (53 percent) are aware that Judaism is an older religion than both Christianity and Islam (41 percent aren’t sure). And a quarter of the population mistakenly identify either Iran (26 percent) or India…

Here’s a new statistic (well, it’s actually about five years old, now, but it’s a new one to me), which I only just happened to stumble upon the other day. This one surprises even me. Evidently back in 2007, Newsweek magazine conducted a “What You Need to Know Poll,” questioning American adults on a broad…

Today is Krishna Janmashtami, the annual celebration in the Hindu calendar of the birthday of Lord Krishna. Because of the complex intricacies of the Indian calendar’s structure and workings, the precise date of this popular Hindu holy day and festival can fall anywhere between roughly mid-August and mid-September. For example, last year (2011), the holiday…

Sadly, another mass shooting has been in the news recently — this one occurring not in a Colorado movie theater, but in a Wisconsin house of worship. A gunman identified as Wade Michael Page entered a Sikh temple (technically known as a gurdwara) in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek and opened fire, killing six…

Whereas many theologically conservative evangelical Christians, and most if not all fundamentalist Christians, believe both in a literal hell and that at least some poor souls are suffering there for all eternity, there are plenty of others — Christians and non-Christians alike — who strongly disagree. Among Christians who disagree about the reality of hell…

Many mainline Protestant denominations see Christianity as being less about obtaining a ticket out of hell through faith in Christ as one’s personal savior, and more about emulating Christ’s example of unconditional love — expressing and realizing their own faith through living by Christ’s “golden rule” (treat others as you would like to be treated)…

In the wake of the tragic July 20 massacre at the Aurora, Colorado cinema where a lone gunman killed 12 people and injured 58 others, one notable evangelical Christian public figure famously (or infamously) observed that any among the dead who happened to be Christians would be going to heaven, whereas any of those killed…

In my previous blog entry (on religious calendars), I mentioned that according to the Jewish or Hebrew calendar, we are currently living in the year 5772. I further mentioned that the Jewish calendar begins counting or numbering its years from what rabbinic tradition reckons to be the time of creation, as described in the first…

While discussing the month (and the monthlong fast) of Ramadan in my previous blog post, I briefly touched upon the subject of the Islamic calendar. It subsequently occurred to me that many non-Muslims may not be aware that such a thing as an “Islamic calendar” even exists. Likewise, many non-Jews may not be aware that…
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