WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 13, 2016) – Jews are more highly educated than any other major religious group around the world, while Muslims and Hindus tend to have the fewest years of formal schooling, according to a Pew Research Center global demographic study that shows wide disparities in average educational levels among religious groups.
Christianity
Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus Welcomes Pope’s Encyclical on Climate Change
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We have Pope Francis to thank for moving the climate conversation forward, and our tradition of Hinduism, in concert with the universal Earth-honoring wisdom embedded in every community of faith, has much to say about climate change and environmental justice.
Buddhism
Predicting the Future of Religion: A Thought Experiment
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What moments might we miss that seem obvious to our future historian? Will she write about some unpredicted future Great Awakening of global, evangelical fervor? Need this Great Awakening be reactionary, or could it be progressive?
Culture
A Sikh and Hindu chai chat over progressive action and social justice
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Now that we’ve sipped our chai and eaten our samosas…Let’s put aside our grievances, respect our differences and celebrate our shared spiritual progressivism to make the change we wish to see in the world. We take heart in our progressive scriptures and the leaders who championed social justice long before it was called social justice.
Hinduism
It Will Take an Interfaith Village to Stand Up for Civil Rights
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Today, the South Asian American community, which represents a kaleidoscope of cultures and religions, has a unique opportunity to stand together — and with others — to fight for equality in schools and the workplace while combating bullying and harassment.
Education
Hindu Responses to the Confederate Flag Incident at Bryn Mawr College
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For groups such as Hindu Americans, the racial connotations might not seem tangible, but religious discrimination is a very real problem and is linked with racial othering. Often times, Hindu American students have faced challenges in making those connections and building coalitions to fight intolerance.
Hinduism
Why Hindus Should Be More Vocal on Issues Affecting Our Communities
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Hinduism and its principles go far beyond ethnic identities and national borders. In fact, the universality of Hinduism makes it applicable in almost every aspect of our daily lives, particularly when it comes to the equality of all beings and our inherent need to help them.
Atheism
Supreme Court Ruling on Public Prayer Re-enforces Christian Supremacy
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While a strict separation of synagogue and state, mosque and state, Hindu and Buddhist temple and state, and separation of atheists and state and virtually all the other approximately 5000 religions and state has been enacted, on the other hand, church – predominantly Protestant denominations, but also Catholic – and state, have connected virtually seamlessly to the affairs and policies of what we call the United States of America, from the first invasion of Europeans in the 15th century on the Christian Julian to the Christian Gregorian Calendars up to 2014 Anno Domini (short for Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi – “In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ”).
Environment
Project Prithvi: Cleaning Beaches to Live Out the Hindu Principle of Ahimsa
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What would it mean to put sacred calls like these into action? That is the question that our group—Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus—is seeking to answer. We are an all-volunteer group of New York–based Hindus who first came together in 2011. Our purpose is to bring a progressive Hindu voice into the public discourse, and to live out the social justice principles at the heart of Hinduism.
Buddhism
Leavening and The Oneness of God: Spiritual + Cultural Paradigm Shifts
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In my last article I discussed The Wild Goose Festival as a paradigm shift. Now I want to explore the shift in a greater, and lengthier context as I lead into describing (in coming articles) the way it is informing and being informed by a larger global culture, a larger spiritual and religious culture, and shifts within all which also lead to increased conversations within and outside of all current contexts of identity. We are restructuring the world, in tiny steps so small that it is often hard to see at the micro-level.
art
Sacred Snapshots Brings a Justice-Seeking Connection to the Holy
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On Saturday, April 21, Sacred Snapshots, a day-long Sampler for the Spirit, will invite participants to experience the divine, celebrate spiritual practices from a range of religions and traditions at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Whether exploring religion in pop culture, engaging 12-step spirituality, or experiencing Hindu ritual, attendees will create a multi-religious, multicultural and international community for one day. Rumi wrote that “there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground,” and at Sacred Snapshots, you will have the chance to try at least a dozen. When I heard about Saturday’s event, I was curious if Sacred Snapshots could deliver a hospitable space for those who belong to a congregation and those who do not to come together and experiment in spiritual practices new to both of them. After talking with the event organizers and looking at the web site, I realized the diversity of the presenters and traditions appearing in the Sacred Snapshots line-up provided an opportunity to dabble in something I have heard of or experience something I never knew existed from a location or community with which I’ve never had contact. There is so much to explore and to taste (and I do mean taste – there is a Flavors of Faith workshop that delves into the relationship between food and religious life.)
Curious?