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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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Did the Ancient Egyptians use twenty-sided dice?

Ancient d20 die emerges from the ashes of time Many centuries before Dungeons & Dragons was even a glimmer in the eye of Gary Gygax, ancient Egyptians were rolling a d20 die. Metropolitan Museum Twenty-sided die (icosahedron) with faces inscribed…
Wertilq
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Does the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet" accurately depict the beliefs of Scientology?

The South Park episode Trapped in the Closet contained a dramatized explanation (you can skip the first 50 seconds) of the beliefs of Scientology. The video contains in the bottom the disclaimer: THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE Is it…
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Are non-religious people smarter than religious people?

There are quite a few studies that confirm this, the most recent one: http://onefuriousllama.com/2011/09/11/another-study-links-intelligence-to-lack-of-religiosity/ Are non-religious people smarter than religious people? If yes, is this a…
Alex
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Is the religious population declining?

Different groups argue that the numbers of religious people are either shrinking or growing, often depending on which group they are from. One example of the shrinking religious viewpoint is the intro to this video talk by Dan Dennett…
going
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Is Idaho forcing pastors to conduct same-sex weddings or face penalties?

According to this article from "ADF" and this in the Washington Post, the city of Coeur d'Alene is requiring the Knapps, an ordained couple, to conduct same sex weddings or face penalties for discrimination. Donald and Evelyn Knapp are apparently…
Affable Geek
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Does the Torah-encoded age of the universe match science?

Dr. Gerald Schroeder published an article in Aish.com about the age of the Universe and the Jewish bible: So the only data I use as far as Biblical commentary goes is ancient commentary. That means the text of the Bible itself (3300 years ago), …
user4951
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Are there no atheists in foxholes?

As Merlin Mann once said, There are no atheists in foxholes and firmware updates. Okay, scratch the firmware part, but you see the core sentiment expressed quite commonly. I've never fully understood why believers in God see this as such a great…
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Do Christmas celebrations have these diverse non-Christian origins?

This image from Truth Saves is a little tongue-in-cheek but it makes claims to the real origins of several modern Christmas related traditions such as the tree and carols. You don't need to believe in Yule, the Scandinavian fertility god, to…
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Are men "wired differently" so that they "can't control themselves"?

It seems like such an obviously false claim, but I keep running into the claim that men are "Wired differently" than women and therefore can't control their lust. The claim in conversation was "However, at the end of the day, men's brains are wired…
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Are the mathematical constants e and π encoded in the Bible?

Some numerologists claim that the mathematical constants e and π are encoded in the Bible via gematria. For example, blogger Joe Vasta argues that Genesis 1:1 encodes 3.141554508×1017. The value of π is approximately 3.14159. He argues that John 1:1…
XLVII
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Do the majority of Americans take the Noah's ark story from the Bible literally?

From Most Americans take Bible stories literally: An ABC News poll released Sunday found that... ...Sixty percent believe in the story of Noah’s ark and a global flood This claim is often repeated, including in a number of lists such as The 10…
Brian M. Hunt
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Did people blaspheme deliberately to be tried in the Medieval European Inquisition courts instead of other secular courts?

On the Wikipedia page about "Criticism of the Catholic Church", there was recently (though removed by an editor since this question was asked) a little paragraph about the Medieval European Inquisition which states In spite of (relatively rare)…
Fixed Point
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Is there systemic sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests?

Is there a systemic relationship between Catholic priests and sexual abuse of children? I ask because I grew up in Newfoundland, which was at the time engrossed in the abuse at Mount Cashel Orphanage (see also: Unholy Orders). More recent headlines…
Brian M. Hunt
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Has the Quran (the recitation) been preserved since Muhammad?

Islamic scholars claim that Quran's preservation is the one of the most miraculous aspects of Quran. In fact, a major reason for muslims to believe in the Quran was the preservation of Quran, which is a promise from God. For example: It is an…
user14754
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Is atheism the fastest growing "religion" in the history of the United States?

First of all, yes, atheism isn't a religion. Taking from the Wikipedia link, atheism is defined as Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Penn Jillette claims (at 5:54) I believe, if you counted atheism…
Sam I Am
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