Scholars have often noted how these modern-day celebrations of Halloween have origins in Samhain, a festival celebrated by ancient Celtic cultures. In contemporary Irish Gaelic, Halloween is still known as Oíche Shamhna, or Eve of Samhain

This year Diwali, a popular festival for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs, will be celebrated on Oct. 24, the Amavasya, or new moon day, of the month of Kartik in the traditional Indian lunar calendar.

I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home. My father was a preacher who was particularly attracted to the words of Solomon that he must not "spare the rod" in disciplining his child.

“Bodhisattva” is a key idea in Buddhism. The word is constructed from the Sanskrit root bodhi, meaning “awakening” or “enlightenment,” and sattva, meaning “being.” The core meaning of the word is “a being who is on the way to becoming enlightened.”

Abortions were known and practiced in biblical times, although the methods differed significantly from modern ones.

Perhaps you have seen an angel and didn't know it. Some people actually see angels, complete with wings. Other people experience angels as an apparition of a deceased loved one.

The festival of Shavuot, marked this year on June 5 and 6, celebrates the biblical story of God revealing Torah – Jewish scriptures and teachings – to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

Christians who are spiritual or religious are less likely to purchase self-improvement products when they are thinking about God, research finds.

It would be quite appropriate for a college professor to assume students know that a tree is alive and a rock is not. Or would it?

Every year, Christians from around the world gather for worship on Easter Sunday. Also known as Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, Easter is the final day of a weeklong commemoration of the story of Jesus’ final days in the city of Jerusalem leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.

The Easter Bunny is a much celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter Bunny might have left behind.

Purim, the springtime Jewish holiday packed with much merriment and humor, recalls the biblical story of Queen Esther.

A curious new church was dedicated on the outskirts of Moscow in June 2020: The Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces.

It may be the season for peace on Earth and goodwill to all men, but you don’t have to look very far in the financial pages to find stories about businesses doing exactly the opposite.

Each season, the celebration of Christmas has religious leaders and conservatives publicly complaining about the commercialization of the holiday and the growing lack of Christian sentiment. Many people seem to believe that there was once a way to celebrate the birth of Christ in a more spiritual way.

The biannual U.S. Catholic bishops’ meeting received more than its usual attention in June 2021 due to one particular item on its agenda: a proposed document on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, a ritual also known as Holy Communion.

There comes a time in an individual's spiritual evolution when every seeker/person on a spiritual or philosophical quest, must come to the realization that all higher knowledge, higher truth, and all higher wisdom can only be revealed through their own being.

When one studies and understands the main concepts and teachings of the great religions, it becomes obvious from their similarities that they come from the same source of inspiration: God Divine Energy. Even if these concepts were not so similar, it is obvious that there cannot be a Supreme God for each different part of the world.

Fear is the principal force that divides our hearts. It will continue to do so unless we increase the muscle of our attention and faith that lets us remain present for more and more of reality. When we consciously meet our fear, our faith grows...

I've written about the fear of the future and said, "If we dwell in concern over the tomorrows of life, we lose today . . ." Yet hardly a week goes by that I don't receive a letter expressing concern about what's on the horizon. But if we're going to live joyfully...

History teaches that messianic hopes lead to poor outcomes for the societies that embrace them. Yet, they continue to surface — even today, with the elevation of Donald Trump by some to messiah-like status.

Organized religion has been on the decline for decades in the United States. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that online searches for the word “prayer” soared to their highest level ever in over 90 countries.

Each culture sees human life as a progression through a series of stages... in an attempt to understand the evolution of human beings. Those people on the outer circle are just holding onto life; for them it is a matter of survival.