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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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Must churchgoers be registered with the government in Kansas City?

According to this article and to this Reddit thread, linking the article in fact: Kansas City, Missouri, officials are now requiring every church to submit a list of members and attendees along with their names, addresses and telephone numbers to…
Ionică Bizău
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Is the story of a divine miracle at Mt. Sinai, witnessed by a national audience, unique among cultures or religions?

There is a claim, made by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen in his books (such as Permission to Receive) and lectures (such as this "The Veracity of Torah" lecture on TorahCafé), that the story of a divine miracle at Mt. Sinai (the revelation of God) taking…
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Do non-religious people make more money?

Two separate people claimed in answers and comments on Do atheists commit far fewer crimes? that atheists have higher income than religious people. Sklivvz wrote about criminals in the USA: [..] For example, wealth can give you better lawyers and…
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Are secular/atheist adults less vengeful, nationalistic, militaristic, authoritarian and more tolerant?

From: How secular family values stack up Many psychological studies show that secular grownups tend to be less vengeful, less nationalistic, less militaristic, less authoritarian and more tolerant, on average, than religious adults. Is this…
Brian M. Hunt
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Are religious people happier?

This video discusses the idea that religious people are happier. Are there: any sources that support or contradict the claims? any scientific papers that address the issue?
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Was there an organized early Jerusalem church?

In the period between AD 30 and AD 70, many historians claim that there was an Early Jerusalem Church active and preaching in Palestine. The mainstream historical narrative can be found in this pdf. I am curious how the accepted story withstands…
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Do the Salvation Army policies discriminate against homosexuals?

I have seen several articles and read several blogs stating that the Salvation Army is "homophobic", and that they actively discriminate against gay and lesbian people: The Salvation Army does not only discriminate against gay and lesbian people,…
John Lyon
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Are there any psychological benefits from participating in a religion?

I have a friend who told me that one of the reasons why he participates actively in his religion is because praying helps him get through tough times in his life, mainly because he can believe that God will take care of his problems. I was wondering…
user1936
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Do we lose 7 pounds when we die?

I often hear people claim that it is a fact that humans lose seven pounds when they die. Some people believe that this is 'proof' of the existence of the 'soul'. Is there any truth to this claim? I could understand a weight change after death but…
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Does a miracle of spontaneous "holy fire" occur in a Jerusalem church every year?

Has there been any scientific investigation into the nature of Holy Fire, to either clearly debunk it or be determined inconclusive (thus allowing for a margin of plausibility)? Patriarch Diodoros of Jerusalem has described the process of the…
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Was there a study finding that being an atheist is viewed on the level of being a rapist in the US?

In the newest episode of Q&A (which was broadcast on Monday, 29 June 2015), a theoretical physicist and cosmologist named Lawrence Krauss from America, made this statement/comment. There's been a study in America that being an atheist is viewed on…
Lerner Zhang
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Was Jesus crucified?

Assuming Jesus was a real person, it is a generally accepted fact that he died on a cross. On the other hand, Jehovah's Witnesses are of the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus is a mistranslation and the word stauros shall be translated as "pole",…
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Did George Bernard Shaw convert on his death bed?

I've seen this quote floating around all over the place. It's often used in popular Christian-lite reading (see the first page of the Google Books search for the quote), but is it true? I have never seen a worthwhile publication linked as a source,…
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Do certain religious traditions believe that Eve had sex with the Serpent?

On p.169 of my edition of de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, she includes a footnote remarking The moon is a source of fertility; it is seen as the "master of women"; it is often believed that the moon, in the form of a man or a snake, couples with…
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Did a Jewish rabbi precisely calculate the duration of the full moon cycle 1800 years ago?

Attempting to prove to me that Judaism is the only true religion, a friend of mine read to me from a book titled, The Coming Revolution, that the Zohar (a 2nd/3rd century CE commentary on the Torah allegedly written by Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai) uses…
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