In the run-up to the South Carolina primary, Rick Santorum continued his record-breaking run of irritating different segments of the American population. This time, the offended were Muslims and followers of Eastern religions. By extension, that would cover just about everyone from the farthest reaches of Asia to...

Need a motivational booster shot for those ambitious new years resolutions you made? An article that just crossed my desk may help. Titled "Lifestyle and Mental Health," it was published last October in American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association. Here's the gist: All...

Last month I attended the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Comprised mainly of scholars who teach and do research at North American universities, the AAR is, according to its mission statement, "dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms...

The latest installment in the long history of religious myopia has Father Gabriele Amorth proclaiming, "Practicing yoga brings evil." The Vatican's former chief exorcist believes that yoga is the Devil's work because "you think you are doing it for stretching your mind and body, but it leads to...

The subject line on the e-mail read "Killer Yoga?" It turned out that someone sent me an essay by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. The title was "How Garbo Learned to Stand on Her Head," and some headline writer probably added that "killer" phrase to attract eyeballs....

In the 200 years that Eastern spiritual traditions have been filtering into American life, the propagators have included great artists as well as gurus, scholars and scientists. We have absorbed the principles of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Asian religions through the poems of T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats; the novels...

Like most Americans, this Sunday morning I will think about the day that will always be known as 9/11. I will see the blood curdling images in my mind, and I will remember the hours of anxiety when my wife and I did not know what may have happened to...

September is almost upon us, and that means it's once again Yoga Month. Started in 2008 and designated a national observance by the Department of Health and Human Services, its organizers define it as "an awareness campaign to educate about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire...

Last weekend I attended a conference in Washington sponsored by Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC), a non-profit established by Anju Bhargava, a formidable business executive and a member of President Obama's inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The conference was titled

When contemplating the history of religion in America from a certain perspective (say, the perspective of Bill Maher, Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens) it would be easy to crack up over its absurdities, sneer at its defiance of logic and science, or fume over its hypocrisies and authoritarian dangers. All...

When I saw that a book about Transcendental Meditation (TM), written by a scientist, had landed on the New York Times bestseller list, my reaction was to quote the great Yogi of Berra: "It's déjà vu all over again."

In 1975, "TM: Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming...

"Hell no," says Rev. Rob Bell.

"Hell yes," replies Rev. Albert Mohler.

These Christian brothers are arguing over the existence of hell. Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is, like most of his brethren, firm in his adherence to the longstanding heaven-hell afterlife divide....

I'm not Christian, and I don't believe that Jesus was physically resurrected. But I love Easter. For one thing, any holiday that can inspire a work of art as sublime as Bach's ecstatic "St. Matthew Passion" is all right by me. Beyond that, and beyond the fact that Easter arrives...

Dear Stephen:

On Ash Wednesday, you announced that you were giving up Catholicism for Lent and would try out other religions during the season. May I suggest Hinduism? I think it's a perfect fit: only with Hinduism can you give up Christianity for Lent and still worship Jesus.

Seriously,...

Last week I attended the festive opening of the Guibord Center at St. John's Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Founded by the Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord, former Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns for The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the center's mission is "to bring...

Not very long ago, the only people who practiced meditation regularly were Hindus and Buddhists, mostly in ashrams and monasteries. Then, Westerners who were influenced by those traditions but did not adopt the religious labels took up meditation forms as spiritual practices. When scientific studies documented the benefits of meditation,...

Alabama's newly-installed governor, Robert Bentley, ruffled feathers last week when he boldly declared his idea of religious kinship:

"If you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just...

In researching the 200-year transmission of India's spiritual teachings to the West, I found that three gurus stood out for their immense impact on public awareness, and as it happens they all have birthdays around now: Paramahansa Yogananda on Jan. 5, and both Swami Vivekananda and...

I grew up hearing about three kinds of Jesus. To the Irish and Italian Catholics in my Brooklyn neighborhood he was the only begotten son of God, Savior of all Mankind. Among the Jews there were two versions: the laudable ethical teacher -- a nice Jewish boy who met with...

On a recent Newsweek cover, with the caption "God of All Things," President Obama was depicted as a multiarmed deity with a tenuous hold on his innumerable duties. The pose mimicked a classic depiction of the Hindu god Shiva. While many Hindus were amused that a news magazine borrowed one...