In light of the tragic shooting at the Wisconsin Sikh Temple, HuffPost Religion offers this brief introduction to Sikhism in hopes of increasing understanding and appreciations for this great world religion. Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world with a population of upwards of 30 million worldwide. There are an estimated 250,000 Sikhs Read more
Though she is at the center of one of the biggest crises in the Catholic Church today, Sister Pat Farrell is loath to talk about herself, and certainly not in any way that would make her a focus of the looming showdown between the Vatican and American nuns. To be sure, Farrell has spoken publicly Read more
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite wants to do for money what gays and lesbians have done for sex—within the church, that is. Instead of ignoring this unwelcome subject, she wants to bring it out into the open. “Money is still something that we don’t touch. And yet, as I talk in churches so many people are so Read more
Because of her child’s problems, the author will never have a tidy, peaceful life. But none of this keeps her from being happy — as long as she asks herself the right questions: As someone in her 40s, unequivocally in middle age, I find myself and my friends in that stage of life that seems Read more
Twelve-year-old Jake Finkbonner leaned over and ran his hand through a pool of water from a natural spring at the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, in Fonda, N.Y.. With that simple gesture, on a recent July weekend, the boy connected literally to the story of the 17th-century Native American woman who the Roman Catholic Read more
“Making every effort to maintain the spirit of unity in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3b). Blessed are the Peacemakers Violence is something we live with on a daily basis. It can be felt as an unkind word, experienced as a physical injury or extreme hunger, or seen in spectacular actions of armed killers on the Read more
“I never thought I’d end up doing this, no,” admits the middle-aged priest whose unexpected path to becoming an exorcist began while saying one of his first Masses after he was ordained 15 years ago. “At the moment of consecration of the precious blood I asked the Lord to shower his blood upon the youth and Read more
1. What Are Fermi Bubbles? No, this is not a rare digestive disorder. The bubbles are massive, mysterious structures that emanate from the Milky Way’s center and extend roughly 20,000 light-years above and below the galactic plane. The strange phenomenon, first discovered in 2010, is made up of super-high-energy gamma-ray and X-ray emissions, invisible to the Read more
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started July 20 in many countries, is a time of fasting, prayer and repentance, when Muslims distance themselves from worldly activities in an effort to align their lives more closely with God and his laws. According to the Vatican’s point man for dialogue with Islam, Ramadan is also Read more
Catherine Wiley grew up in County Mayo, one of a family of 10. She knew only one of her own grandparents, but she was “very close to him, although he died before I was six”. “He read Bible stories to me,” she recalls. “My first image of prayer was our family rosary, everyone kneeling down Read more