The Nigerian general elections took place on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The two main presidential candidates shared a similar faith background, something not reflected in the previous election. This post centers on the significance of religious identities in a political context and how religious polarization becomes a reflection of other facets of socio-political identity. I […]
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I certainly wasn’t the only person thinking about this question during the recent federal government partial shutdown. More than 400,000 federal workers were ordered to work, but weren’t being paid. For many of us, it seemed absurd that someone would choose, day after day, to go to work with no paycheck in sight. And yet […]
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What is love? According to emotions researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, love is a very human feeling. An emotion. It is unique in that of all the positive emotions, love is manifested between people. So unlike joy, pleasure, or excitement — love is a shared feeling, existing in the invisible emotional tendrils that connect one person […]
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By John Breslin, Special to Religica Health officials and educators in Tennessee have expressed concern over an increase in parents applying for a religious exemption to their children being vaccinated. In South Carolina, more than 11,000 students in 2018 had a religious exemption to vaccination, 18 percent higher than the previous year, and triple eight […]
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How many times have you woken up in the morning and felt excited to interact with people, whether they are your friends, colleagues, or strangers on the street? How many times have you felt the complete opposite – not wanting any human interaction at all and avoiding all possible instances of someone striking up a […]
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While efforts to counter Islamophobia have proliferated since 9/11, by most metrics, Islamophobia is getting worse. Anti-Muslim hate crimes in the past two years are among the highest ever. Over a dozen states have passed anti-sharia legislation. President Trump won the presidency by promising a Muslim ban (and delivering on that promise) and by flirting […]
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By John Breslin, Special to Religica Interfaith relations, particularly with the Islamic world, will be front and center this week, with the historic first visit of Pope Francis to the gulf region, one that coincides with the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week. During his three day visit to the United Arab Emirates, which begins […]
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When people ask me what I do, I always run into a bit of trouble. Some parts of my professional identity are straightforward: Writer. Teacher. But then there’s the bit about PAAC that I never know quite how to explain. It’s not a church. It’s not a non-profit (yet, at least). It’s an… online community? […]
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By John Breslin, Special to Religica Climate change and its link to social justice issues are likely to be increasingly to the fore of the thinking of religious leaders in the United States and across the globe this year, multiple reports indicate. But the influence of religious leaders on people’s thinking on climate change appears […]
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We could see each other through the fence. We could hear each other’s cheers, singing and shouted greetings. We were north and south of a border created by money, politics and blood. ++++++++ “The basic problem is not political, it is a-political and human. One of the most important things to do is to keep […]
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