Religious identification in the U.S. Religious practices and faith groups Menu A parallel report for Canada is located elsewhere Summary: During the 20th century up to 1990, the popularity of Christianity had been stable in the U.S. The country then experienced a major change. Sponsored link Religious topics covered in this section: Site navigation: Copyright © 2001 to 2016 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance Originally written: 2001-DEC-15 Latest update: 2016-MAR-20 Author: B.A. Sponsored link Geographic Distribution of Religious Centers in the U.S. These maps were generated from the listings in the Pluralism Project's Directory of Religious Centers and reflect the distributions as of August 2006. Click on the thumbnail to view a printable, full-size map in a new window. Interfaith: 604 Centers Jainism: 94 Centers Sikhism: 244 Centers Hinduism: 714 Centers Buddhism: 2150 Centers Islam: 1583 Centers
Religious conviction in liberal politics Ogdoad In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad (Greek "ογδοάς", the eightfold) were eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis during what is called the Old Kingdom, the third through sixth dynasties, dated between 2686 to 2134 BC. In Egyptian mythology[edit] Together the four concepts represent the primal, fundamental state of the beginning. The entity containing Ra is depicted either as an egg or as a lotus bud. In the former version, a mound arises from the waters. In Gnosticism[edit] The number eight plays an important part in Gnostic systems, and it is necessary to distinguish the different forms in which it appeared at different stages in the development of Gnosticism. In the system of Valentinus, the seven heavens, and even the region above them, were regarded as but the lowest and last stage of the exercise of creative power. 7 + 1[edit] Seven heavens[edit] Eighth sphere[edit] The planetary spheres were thought to be planes of existence in between the earth and the heavenly regions 6 + 2[edit]
Taking faith seriously The strange star that has serious scientists talking about an alien megastructure A long exposure image showing an airplane passing in the sky during the Perseids meteor shower over the remains of a centuries old Christian basilica near the town of Pirdop, Bulgaria, early on Aug. 12. (Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images) “It was kind of unbelievable that it was real data,” said Yale University astronomer Tabetha Boyajian. “We were scratching our heads. For any idea that came up there was always something that would argue against it.” She was talking to the New Scientist about KIC 8462852, a distant star with a very unusual flickering habit. Boyajian wrote up a paper on possible explanations for the star’s bizarre behavior, and it was published recently in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. To Wright, it looked like the kind of star he and his colleagues had been waiting for. Aliens. [No, we haven’t discovered alien megastructures around a distant star] “When [Boyajian] showed me the data, I was fascinated by how crazy it looked,” Wright said.
The Construction of religious ... Planet Tozer Creative Review commissioned photographer Jason Tozer to shoot these pictures on behalf of Sony using its new Alpha 350 digital camera. They are, in fact, all common-or-garden soap bubbles, shot in-camera. We'll be revealing more on how Tozer obtained these stunning images later in the week. The full series is shown below and to see them at a larger size simply click on each image. Alternatively you can check out the Flickr set we've created for the project at CR's photostream page. Click here for more details on the new Sony Alpha D-SLR. For more of Tozer's work, see jasontozer.com
Between the Worlds: Readings in ... Evidence for God from Science Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization? Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization? by Bertrand Russell My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. I cannot, however, deny that it has made some contributions to civilization. The word religion is used nowadays in a very loose sense. What is true of Christianity is equally true of Buddhism. There is nothing accidental about this difference between a church and its founder. Christianity and Sex The worst feature of the Christian religion, however, is its attitude toward sex -- an attitude so morbid and so unnatural that it can be understood only when taken in relation to the sickness of the civilized world at the time the Roman Empire was decaying. The conception of Sin which is bound up with Christian ethics is one that does an extraordinary amount of harm, since it affords people an outlet for their sadism which they believe to be legitimate, and even noble.
This Year’s Finest Conjunction: Venus and Jupiter Two brightest planets Venus and Jupiter come as close as a third of a degree apart as seen from North America. It will be easy to spot them in the western sky as no other celestial body will outshine the beautiful tandem when the sun and the moon are down. “To the eye they’ll look like a double star,” said Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. “Anyone who hasn’t glanced at the evening sky for a while will be surprised by how dramatically tight the pairing is.” The closest conjunction will happen on June 30th and July 1st, 2015. Use Star Walk to find your way across the sky and see the exact timing for your location. Star Walk is available worldwide on iOS, Android, Kindle and Windows Mobile.
Arabic phrasebook The following phrasebook deals mostly with Modern Standard Arabic. See the Lebanese Arabic phrasebook, Jordanian Arabic phrasebook or the Egyptian Arabic phrasebook for Arabic dialects relating to those regions/countries. Arabic is the fourth most widely-spoken language in the world and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is spoken in many popular destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. There are many regional dialects, but a standard Arabic language is maintained due to religious needs and region-wide media. Arabic is written from right to left. For communication purposes while travelling and using this guide, it is very important to note that Arabic is divided into Classical Arabic (mostly used in print) and Colloquial Arabic. Pronunciation guide[edit] Arabic pronunciation varies widely from place to place, almost to the extent of making it unintelligible even for native Arabic speakers. As a general rule: . , or kh while using the voice box. كيف حالك؟