Religion
/Health
/ArcaMax

The God Squad: You’re looking swell Dalai
How fortuitous or how planned that I have taken up the topic of reincarnation and sent out a survey to my dear readers to share their beliefs as to whether our souls are implanted in a new body after the death of our old one and given a chance to live a new embodied life.
Well, this week, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Tenzin Gyatso, the...Read more
Amid ICE raids, bishop tells SoCal worshippers they can stay home on Sundays
A Southern California Roman Catholic bishop told his diocese of roughly one million parishioners this week that they can stay home on Sundays to avoid Mass while concerns about federal immigration sweeps still loom over the region.
Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino wrote in the decree Tuesday that many church-goers have ...Read more

What is the Johnson Amendment? What to know as IRS changes tax exemptions
A longstanding tax exemption preventing nonprofit organizations from engaging in political campaign activity that favors individual candidates has been reinterpreted — signaling that religious organizations may now be excluded from the rule.
The decades-old Johnson Amendment does not apply to speech by houses of worship to its congregation ...Read more

Long after the fuss over Pope Leo XIV, the village of Dolton will still be here
DOLTON, Ill. -- The village of Dolton, which is where you may find yourself if you’re traveling south through Chicago and run out of Chicago to travel through, which we have heard more about in the past 30 days or so than since it was established 130-odd years ago, which is now best known to the world as the hometown of Pope Leo XIV, is like a...Read more

Strip resort will pay six-figure settlement in religious discrimination, retaliation lawsuit
LAS VEGAS — A megaresort on the Strip agreed to pay a six-figure sum to settle a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Venetian hotel-casino will pay $850,000 and implement “significant policy changes” via a three-year consent decree to settle the suit, the EEOC ...Read more

The God Squad: We hold these truths to be sacred
Thomas Jefferson’s first version of the Declaration of Independence told the truth about America that we would all be well served to remember and exalt this Fourth of July. He wrote,
“We hold these truths to be sacred, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable ...Read more

Illinois town buying Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in village, price uncertain
Officials in Dolton, Illinois, officials are moving ahead with plans to buy Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in the village, hoping to snap up the modest brick home that has gained international attention ahead of a planned auction.
The Village Board at a special meeting Tuesday voted unanimously to move forward on buying the house at 212 East ...Read more

Editorial: A reminder in Africa that the religious freedoms we take for granted are fragile
As Christianity declines in the West, the faith is flourishing in sub-Saharan Africa, which is seeing the fastest growth in Christianity the world over. By 2060, more than 4 in 10 Christians worldwide are expected to live in sub-Saharan Africa, compared with just 1 in 10 in 1970, according to Pew Research.
But this growth is coming at a cost. ...Read more

In Maryland case, Supreme Court says parents can opt their kids out of LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum
By a 6-3 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court sided with parents who sued Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland to opt their children out of mandatory LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, overturning a 2023 federal court ruling and handing a legal victory to conservatives who opposed the district’s policies on religious grounds.
The case, Mahmoud v...Read more

Parents may pull their children from classes that offend their religion, Supreme Court rules
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that parents have a right to opt their schoolchildren out of classes and lessons that offend their religious beliefs.
The 6-3 ruling will have an impact nationwide because it empowers parents who object to books or lessons at school.
"A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it ...Read more

Does religion hold too much or too little sway over US schools? What poll finds
As the decades-long debate over the role of religion in public school education continues to spark legislation and legal challenges in the United States, a new poll reveals the nuanced views held among the general public.
Americans are largely split on what they think about religion’s influence on public school curriculum, with 32% saying ...Read more

Parents may pull their children from classes that offend their religion, Supreme Court rules
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that parents have a right to opt their schoolchildren out of classes and lessons that offend their religious beliefs.
The 6-3 ruling will have an impact nationwide because it empowers parents who object to books or lessons at school.
"A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it ...Read more

The God Squad: Three strikes and you are not out
Q: Some people say reincarnation is biblical and happens today, what is your take on reincarnation? – (From S)
A: You get three strikes in baseball. The great question you raise is how many strikes do you get in life?
Reincarnation is really a combination of two religious beliefs: the belief that we have an immaterial and ...Read more
Queens priest defrocked over sexual abuse allegations dating to 1980s
NEW YORK — A Queens priest has been defrocked over sexual abuse allegations dating back more than two decades, according to church officials.
The Rev. Michael McHugh, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, was removed from the ministry after members of a Catholic review board claimed they substantiated allegations of ...Read more

The God Squad: The war
To explain the unique spiritual fears of the Jewish people is quite difficult. In a way it is like trying to explain to a white person what it feels like to be a Black person. There are some feelings that we just cannot adequately share with people who do not share our history or faith.
Let me try.
One day during an attack on Israel by Iraqi ...Read more

The God Squad: If Hitler was crossing the street
Q: Dear Rabbi Gellman, you asked if we must unconditionally forgive. I used to go to a priest for spiritual counseling, Monsignor James Cooney. One day, a co-worker said she could never be a Christian because she would have to love and forgive everyone, including people who hurt her. I didn't know how to answer her and spoke to Msgr. Cooney ...Read more

The God Squad: More on forgiveness
Q: Dear Rabbi Gellman, thank you for addressing this important topic. Forgiveness is not easy, but is necessary to our health. I believe that God is able to love and forgive all beings without condoning or approving of all their actions. There is an important distinction between forgiving the person and condoning or approving their actions. ...Read more

The God Squad: Forgiving the DC shooter
How strange and chilling it is that my introduction last week of the issue of unconditional forgiveness this week has a tragic echo in the news of the brutal murder of two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington – Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, who were attending an ...Read more

The God Squad: Unconditional forgiveness
“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain
I have been deeply touched by the flood of mail from Catholic readers who have appreciated that a rabbi could have some spiritually helpful insights on the new papacy of Leo IV. Here, a Protestant reader, R, shares her soul’s ...Read more
Meditation 4/17 - 4/23: Be Filled With Joy - Rms 15:7-13 NASB
May you be filled with joy
Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
"THEREFORE I WILL ...Read more
Inside Religion
Popular Stories
- Editorial: What does Pope Leo think about Trump's immigration action in Chicago?
- These churches are sharing land with homeless people. They say it's the Christian thing to do
- Commentary: School coaches shouldn't be pushing religion
- At this clinic, Muslim and Christian groups partner to offer free dental care
- Pope Leo XIV expresses 'concern' over US in first interview