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Questions tagged [religion]

Use this tag for questions about religious practices. Do not ask questions about religious beliefs, though. Those are off-topic and there is no tag to use.

Religion is a cultural system that creates powerful and long-lasting meaning by establishing symbols that relate humanity to beliefs and values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.

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Is radiometric dating performed on sacred relics?

Having read St. Philip the Apostle Tomb's discovered in Turkey, I wondered about the claims of antiquity of similar relics. Are radiometric dating tests (i.e. like radiocarbon dating, but for 2000 year old items) typically performed on the sacred…
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Do more than half of Ontario residents believe that "mainstream" Islamic doctrines promote violence?

In its article about the recent shootings in Quebec City, the New York Times reported that: A survey in Ontario last summer found that while there was widespread support for accepting the refugees, only a third of respondents had a positive…
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Was the Pentateuch dated back to the second millenium B.C.E?

This source claims, and walks through proof, that the 5 Books of Moses (Pentateuch) date all the way back to at least the era of Joshua ~1200 years B.C.E. Is this really true?
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Is this video of a Muslim cleric denying heliocentrism authentic?

I recently found this video, which purports to show the Muslim cleric Bandar al-Khaibari denying heliocentrism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Jp_XCvVto I am skeptical that the person depicted in the video is actually displaying such an…
March Ho
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Is "Jesus" based on the Egyptian sun god Horus?

Possible Duplicate: Claimed similarities between Jesus Christ and Horus and other Gods I've seen and read a lot of information about this. Take this article for example, and this video. I believe the video excerpt is from Zeitgeist (the movie).…
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Did Yitzhak Kaduri leave a note implying the Jewish Messiah is named Yehoshua?

Yitzhak Kaduri was a renown rabbi who died in 2006. As explained in the above Wikipedia page, there are claims that he left a note to be opened after his death. The note, when decoded as an acrostic, gives the name Yehoshua, and that is being…
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Is this picture from the flooded cave rescue in Thailand?

I came across the following post on Facebook (original text is on Portuguese, translation and emphasis by me): BOYS MEDITATING WHILE WAIT FOR RESCUE INSIDE CAVE IN THAILAND The former Buddhist monk and coach of the twelve boys stuck in a cave in…
appa yip yip
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Marriage never mentioned at UN world conference on family?

The Mormon church claims, They had a world conference on the family sponsored by the United Nations in Beijing, China. We sent representatives. It was not pleasant what they heard. They called another one in Cairo. Some of our people were…
user41350
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Can Black Seed Cure Any Disease?

Nigella sativa is known as black seed. Islamic tradition suggests it is a universal cure. For example, Bukhaari recorded in the Ninth Century that Muhammad is said to have claimed : “This black seed is a cure for every disease except death.” A…
user4951
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Was Sun's distance mentioned correctly in "Hanuman Chalisa", the 16 th century poem?

I found many sites stating that the Sun's distance was mentioned accurately in the "Hanuman Chalisa" hymn written in the 16th century. Even Wikipedia has a mention of this. juga sahasra jojana para bhānū। līlyo tāhi madhura phala jānū॥ 18 ॥ The…
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What is the source for the supposed "sound of hell"?

I found this suspicious claim on Facebook. Apparently some "scientists" recorded sound 15km under the surface and it sounds like ...hell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSEBkmRQpG0 This is the claimed story of the video In the 1980's a drilling…
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Has Sam Harris ever 'sanctified' violence against Muslims?

Scenario In this video, Chris Hedges states that Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris have 'sanctified' violence against Muslims because [Muslims] are barbaric. Question Are there any instances that Sam Harris has ever 'sanctified' (as in to entitle…
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Do people think from their heart?

We all know that the brain is in control of movement, information processing...etc. But Do people think from their heart or from their brain? To me I have always thought that it was the brain. But this seems to contradict the view of…
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Were the Jews the first to believe in monotheism?

Wikipedia suggests that Akhenaten (who died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC) was "The first claims of global supremacy of a specific god". Monotheism - Origin and development says, In the cities of the Ancient Near East, each city had a local patron…
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Have 25% of all Christian Ex-Muslim converts received dreams or visions as a major factor in their conversion?

In an 2009 article, Why do Muslims come to Christ? Five case studies that underline the key factors as Living God in Christ, the living Word, and the living Body of Christ. by Salaam Corniche, there is a reference (on the last page) to a study of…
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