Ethiopia is finally recognizing its stateless Rastafarian community

BY: NADIA ZAIDI  Ethiopia will now issue identity cards to its members of the Rastafarian community – a religious group that has long been stateless. This recognition comes at a time of volatility. Rastafarians are fighting for land, language, and…

We need to change the language of news

BY: NADIA ZAIDI Islamic terrorism and Islamic extremist are words that should be eliminated from the vernacular of news and global dialogue. It ruptures any semblance of objectivity, and our ability to decipher between individual acts and religion. Nothing good comes…

Meet the reverend who showed us why the Bible is a how-to-manual for getting high

BY: MIROSLAV TOMOSKI There is a common understanding across many cultures and religions that an altered state of mind can foster a spiritual experience. For some, this sort of religious experience conjures thoughts of meditation and other mysterious Eastern practices.…

What a gun auction taught me about ‘middle America’

“Do you know why Lincoln was splittin’ wood?” My grandpa’s question, inspired by the sight of decades old split rail fences lining Highway 40, abruptly broke the silence. As my phone signal aggressively cut in and out, I couldn’t help…

These badass women made history in 2016 and you’ve probably never heard of them

BY: SAMANTHA TAPP 2016 was a year of progress in many different ways: we saw countries step up and make changes to battle climate change; we saw progress in the LGBT community from legalizing gay marriage in certain countries to…

Trash-filled shrine dedicated to a saint known for her breast milk hosts over 500,000 pilgrims a year

Nestled deep in the Argentinean desert, there is a town-sized shrine dedicated to Difunta Correa, a woman believed to have breast-fed her newborn child even after her own death. According to legend, during the Argentine Civil Wars in the mid 1800s,…

According to your brain, having a religious experience is equivalent to snorting a line of cocaine

BY: SAMANTHA TAPP The relentless battle between science and religion is one that may never end. But a new study is combining the two to try and answer questions that have been around for millennia. The results mean science and…

Philosopher Alan Watts will both inspire you and help you overcome your fear of death

By: Kassandra Dzikewicz Death and dying can be a touchy subject, we don’t want to face the fact that we won’t live forever, that there will come a time where there is no tomorrow. Even though we all know the…

What I learned from my interview with a Wiccan

BY: RHIANN MOORE Despite what major movies might tell us, there is no one more peaceful than a witch. In meeting with Catherine, high priestess of the Toronto-based Coven, Tamarack, and Wiccan chaplain of the University of Toronto Multi-Faith Centre…

How politics, religion and education have been taken over by bullshit

By: Victoria Heath Leo Tolstoy, the Russian literary once wrote, “Yes, it is possible to sabotage the things that can erase us, but not without joy on our side. The complexity of the present time seems to demand an awakening…

The books that were once banned in America illustrate how social norms have progressed

  BY: JESSICA BEUKER Every year there are challenges made against certain pieces of literature. People fight to have books removed from school curriculums, classrooms, libraries, and even bookstores. The biggest reasons for challenges made against books are topics of…

Why is Easter in March in 2016?

BY: JESSICA BEUKER A few days ago, I sat down with an old friend for a cup of coffee. We exchanged the usual “How are you?” and “What have you been up to?” before she asked me about my plans…

This professional soccer player gave up the high life to become an ordained priest

  By: JACK M. Chase Hilgenbrinck grew up in a middle-class family in Bloomington, Illinois. Soccer was his passion growing up, and he was good at it…very good. In high school, he made the United States Under-17 national team, and…

Why Seventh-day Adventists live longer than any other group in America

  By: JACK M. The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded about 150 years ago in America by Joseph Bates. And other than observing the Sabbath on Saturday (it actually begins at sunset on Friday), its theology and practices are not…

I became agnostic to free my mind, after my journey with religion closed it.

BY: SYDNEY MCINNIS I walk into a softly lit room with tall ceilings, the powerful sounds of voices joined together in chorus echo between the walls. Having arrived to the service late, I slink into the very back row of…

There’s an entire religion inspired by The Dude from The Big Lebowski

BY: TREVOR HEWITT In a material based society, so much emphasis is placed on the accumulation of physical wealth. Well, say what you will about the tenants of Capitalism, at least it’s an ethos. But not for all. Dudeism is…

Female suicide bombers are increasingly becoming the stealthy weapons of terrorist groups

BY: LISA CUMMING There is no scenario in which you can justify the slaughter of innocent people. Whether it is under the blanket of religion, or within a re-emerging trend – feminism. In light of the recent attacks in Nigeria…

Mormons are throwing their religion to the wind in protest over a new anti-gay policy

BY: SWIKAR OLI Some 1,500 members resigned from the Church of Latter-Day Saints in protest of a new rule that bans children of same-sex parents from joining the Mormon Church until they are 18. The rule states that children of…

The Dalai Lama on why prayers can’t end a problem that religious dogma created

BY: TYLER FYFE   When the Dalai Lama speaks, you should probably listen. For 50 years he has practiced the buddhist tradition of Bodhisattva, spending his entire life pursuing public service instead of self-benefit. In 1989, he was awarded the…

This Muslim woman shuts down haters by donating $1 to UNICEF for every hate tweet she receives

BY: KASSANDRA DZIKEWICZ She is a sociologist with a PhD at Monash University, but her intellectual level doesn’t stop people from undermining her based on her religious status. Susan Carland converted to Islam at the age of 19, and at…