religion

Despite an increase in antisemitism and anti-Jewish feeling in the UK, adult conversions are on the rise For Elizabeth Arif-Fear, there was no single moment when she realised she wanted to be Jewish. “It was just a journey over time,” she says. The 37-year-old interfaith activist was born Christian, then converted to Islam and was Muslim for 14 years, before realising that that faith was also not…

In his new memoir, the vice-president covers his conversion and politics – at a time when hardline Catholicism is ascendant in the US When JD Vance became Roman Catholic, he wondered what his dead grandmother would think. His grandmother Mamaw did not have anything against them, but growing up in Ohio he had sometimes heard that Catholics were servants of the antichrist. And although the people h…

Asian religions may differ in their belief in the Spirit yet the Spirit is the same Spirit that has been present amongst Asians since creation. In Redemptoris Missio, St. John Paul II acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is active in the heart of every person and that the Spirit’s activity can also affect “society and history, peoples, cultures and religions.” The Spirit of God communicates the Word…

After a brief review of the Biblical background of peace, this addresses the theme of religion and peace from the perspective of modern Catholic principles, especially with guidance from the Second Vatican Council’s Dignitatis Humanae and John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris, both of which affirm the primacy of conscience in a personalist conception of society where the role of government is to provide f…

The Catholic Church will celebrate the Holy Year 2025 under the motto “Pilgrims of Hope,” emphasizing renewal and healing after the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper highlights the importance of Christian hope, often the least explored among the theological virtues, and turns to Pope Francis’ reflections as a key resource. Focusing on his weekly addresses from 2016–2017, it examines his theology of h…

The genesis of Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises (SPEX) is closely linked to his conversion and early journey as a pilgrim, especially in Montserrat and Manresa. In Manresa, he lived a life of prayer, penance, and service, frequenting liturgies and assisting the sick. His profound spiritual illumination at the River Cardoner deepened his understanding of divine realities and became foundation…

Is Patristics still relevant in the 21st century? This paper examines the decline of Patristic studies in the 19th–20th centuries and their brief revival before Vatican II, followed by a postconciliar downturn. It proposes that the Church Fathers remain vital for theology today, especially in Asia, where faith and culture intersect in inculturation. As witnesses to Tradition, the Fathers offer mo…

Beginning with the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17–49), the article analyzes key passages that depict both the teachings and actions of Jesus, emphasizing God’s mercy and compassion in the Gospel of Luke. Furthermore, by examining various parables, the article explores the ethical dimensions of mercy, including the importance of generosity and the risks associated with self- righteousness. In addi…

Sumainyo ang kapayapaan is a formal translation of the peace greeting in John 20. But does the Filipino, specifically the Tagalog translation, capture the intent of the Gospel writer? The evangelist seems to be saying that he intended more than a peace greeting when he employed the phrase " Peace be with you " on three different occasions in the passage as mentioned above. The literary structure …

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted the usual course of doing things by which the world and individuals are accustomed, and it continues to do so as many individuals and, five years on, sectors are still reeling from the multi- faceted effects of the pandemic. It is on this account that this contribution seeks to offer the role and relevance of lament when people and communities face …

The Bible serves as a vital spiritual guide in today’s world, filled with mixed messages, particularly due to technology that spreads both facts and false information. In the Diocese of Kalookan, we face serious challenges such as the bloody drug war under Rodrigo Duterte, the COVID-19 pandemic, and environmental issues. Currently, the Synod on Synodality inspires the adaptation of pastoral plans…

Converts make up 8% of U.S. Catholics. The remaining 92% of U.S. Catholics were raised in the faith and still identify with it today.

There are striking differences between the classic description of the scapegoat ritual found in Leviticus 16 and later renderings of this rite in rabbinic and early Christian authors. For instance, several enigmatic additions to the Levitical blueprint of the scapegoat ritual appear in later interpretations of this rite found in mishnaic, targumic, and talmudic accounts, especially in the descrip…

Accounts of Jesus’s baptism found in the synoptic gospels reveal some sim- ilarities with Jewish biblical theophanies, including the one found in the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Published online: 30 May 2026; doi:10.1057/s41599-026-07808-6 The prospect of Buddhism through the monastic commercialization in China: between faith and wealth

Jannah in the Qur’an is not merely “paradise” in the popular sense. Its Ara- bic root j-n-n (jim-nun-nun) belongs to the semantic field of covering, concealment, protection, hiddenness, and enclosure in classical lexicography. Within Qur’anic usage, jannah names a protected realm whose access is moral, revela- tory, and eschatological rather than ordinarily empirical. The Qur’an presents jannah a…

The Mithraic Mysteries remain one of the most enigmatic religious formations of the Roman world. Flourishing across the empire especially among soldiers, officials, and men connected to imperial mobility, Mithraism left behind a rich archaeological and iconographic record but no surviving doctrinal corpus. This paper proposes a structural and symbolic interpretation of Mithraism as a subterranean…

_Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics_ 35 (3):107-125. 2025The Catholic Church teaches that the sacrament of marriage is one of the paths toward the sancti ication of both beloved and lover, and as such, it is divinely willed. Two individuals in love make a public vow to remain faithful to each other in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to love and honor each other for…

In Acts 19:13–16, the sons of Sceva attempt to cast out an evil spirit by invoking “Jesus whom Paul proclaims,” and the spirit responds: “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” (Acts ...

_Online_ 1. 2026This interview examines the concept of surrender as it is understood within the Islamic and Sufi traditions, framed around the theological observation that the word Islam itself denotes submission to God. Iqbal Akhtar distinguishes two complementary orientations within the tradition: a legal-observant path centered on fidelity to divine law—prayer, fasting, and ritual practice—and…