The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex. This is a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. World Religions Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and Read more
India’s government last Friday withdrew its appeal to citizens to mark Valentine’s Day not as a celebration of romance but as “Cow Hug Day” to better promote Hindu values. The Animal Welfare Board had said Wednesday that “hugging cows will bring emotional richness and increase individual and collective happiness.” Read more
A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that most Indians do not practice yoga. Just about a third of Indian adults (35%) say they ever practice yoga, including 22% who say they do so monthly or less, and even fewer who do so daily (7%) or weekly (6%). Read more
A Hindu man who ate beef labelled as lamb wants a supermarket giant to pay for his trip so he can go home to cleanse. Jaswinder Paul, bought a package labelled as lamb roast from Countdown Blenheim at the end of September, then cooked and ate the contents before discovering the meat was beef Read more
A retired U.S. bishop’s instruction to Catholics to is being questioned by yoga practitioners and enthusiasts. Retired Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb said yoga is rooted in the Hindu religion, which is a “a pagan religion based on heathen beliefs and false doctrine of revelation involving such things as transmigration of souls, and so Read more
Investigations have begun after Auckland Council upset the Hindu community by trying to hold the Auckland Diwali celebrations a month before the actual religious festival. Diwali, the Hindu festival celebrating victory of light over darkness, falls on November 11 this year. However, the council-controlled Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (Ateed) had planned to hold Read more
Hindus are urging Pope Francis to take action against a Northern Ireland priest who said people who enjoy yoga could be opening themselves to Satan. The controversy came after Fr Roland Colhoun preached a sermon in Drumsurn in Northern Ireland earlier this month. The priest said he warned about several aspects of the new-age movement, Read more
Jahnavi Harrison, 27, grew up in a Hare Krishna community in Hertfordshire where her father is the priest. A musician, she still lives at home: I grew up in a Hare Krishna community called Bhaktivedanta Manor, an 80-acre estate that is the biggest Hare Krishna community in Europe. My parents and younger brother and sister Read more
Tanksley has five tattoos, three of them with faith themes. A Greek Chi-Rho symbol can be found “hidden” on the inside of his left arm where the arm bends. The tattoo represents a time before Christianity was accepted and followers had to keep their faith a secret. Tanksley believes many still hesitate to express their Read more