We want to know: Does your knowledge of science influence your personal spiritual or religious beliefs? Are you someone that believes in both God and evolution? Do you think there is conflict between science and religious belief? Please respond in the comment section below.

We want to know: How have you adapted your religious traditions to fit your modern life? Are you perhaps Catholic and have made up your own, personalized version of Lent. Or maybe you’re a Jewish person who won’t eat pork, but loves shellfish? Let us know in the comments below.

Photograph by Hana Baba July 29, 2014–This past Sunday, members of the Bay Area Muslim community gathered on local hilltops, from Mt Tamalpais in Marin, to Cal State East Bay, to the hills of UC Berkeley. What were they doing? Looking up to the sky for the new crescent moon that signifies the end of […]

Jan. 13, 2015—It is typically hard to recruit veterans for a clinical study on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). To admit to the disorder and seek treatment, which may involve some sort of psychotherapy, runs counter to the tough, stoic attitude embedded in military culture. But one clinical trial may be doing better than most — […]

Across the American religious landscape, people are turning away from their religions of birth. For Islam, a new documentary points a finger at mosques, saying they are the reason why Muslim youth don’t want to stick around. But these days, there are other options. NPR’s Code Switch aired a story about the documentary and a […]

Art Farnsley People all over the country are turning away from traditional religious organizations. But according to Art Farnsley, professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University, they may have very different reasons for doing so. Farnsley’s opinions are based on in-depth interviews he conducted with a very specific subgroup: flea market dealers at a […]

The Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California. Photo by Hana Baba Jan. 21, 2015–Through much of their history, Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived peacefully together in countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. But since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, sectarian conflict has escalated in the region. Here in the Bay Area, as […]

Architecture has the power to transform. A building can make us feel joy, or sadness, powerful or weak. Nowhere is this more true than in a church, a chapel, synagogue, Buddhist temple, or a mosque. For centuries, religion has sparked the design of some of the world’s most beautiful buildings. But what is that process? […]

September 10, 2014–It’s intense in a sweat lodge. You enter a round structure, about five feet high at the center, and sit down on an earthen floor. The flap of heavy blankets closes and you’re left in utter darkness. Moments later, the leader pours water over hot, volcanic rocks. Like a sauna, thick steam rises […]

Religious innovation can happen in many ways. It can involve a kind of backwards adaptation, retrieving rituals lost to other generations, but that still hold significance for our modern times. It can also involve tossing aside interpretations that aren’t relevant any more. The later is the case for the Jewish LGBTQ community. Several Biblical passage […]

Across the American religious landscape, people are turning away from their religions of birth. For Islam, a new documentary points a finger at mosques, saying they are the reason why Muslim youth don’t want to stick around. But these days, there are other options. NPR’s Code Switch aired a story about the documentary and a […]

Art Farnsley People all over the country are turning away from traditional religious organizations. But according to Art Farnsley, professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University, they may have very different reasons for doing so. Farnsley’s opinions are based on in-depth interviews he conducted with a very specific subgroup: flea market dealers at a […]