Saturday, September 16, 2023

This Week in Religion - Community at heart of Jewish High Holidays

Lead story

A packed congregation, seen from the back, as men stand with their arms around each other.

Editor's note:

Over the next week, Jewish communities around the world will observe the High Holidays, or “Days of Awe”: Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year; and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That word, “atonement,” evokes individual soul-searching, confession and repentance. But the High Holidays are just as much about community, writes University of Arizona professor David Graizbord – as is true of so many elements of Jewish ritual and culture. 

Take the Viddui, or “confession,” a centerpiece of the Yom Kippur liturgy: a long list of wrongdoings that the congregation repeats together. “We and our fathers have sinned. We have trespassed. We have betrayed.” 

What’s important is not whether individuals have done these specific things, Graizbord writes. “What matters is that they take responsibility for the entire Jewish people – past, present and future – in relation to their fellow humans, and in relation to the God of Israel.”

A portrait of Molly Jackson, Religion and Ethics Editor at The Conversation U.S.
 

Religion News

‘The Great Dechurching’ explores America’s religious exodus

 A new study looks at why millions of Americans left church — and what might bring them back. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service

Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since mid-20th century 

A sweeping, year-long study of sex abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland turns up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal. By Jamey Keaten/The Associated Press

Ahead of the High Holidays, a network of Jewish security experts hosted several webinars to help prepare for the season. Among the topics: How to respond to an “active threat” targeting the Jewish community, and how to stop severe bleeding. By David Crary/The Associated Press 

Reports of forced retirement prompt defiance from embattled Bishop Strickland

In an email, the East Texas bishop told RNS that he ‘cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles.’ By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service

People guide ox-pulled floats with sacred images of Mary through the town of Lamego. People are gathered to watch the procession.

Ox-pulled floats with sacred images of Mary draw thousands to Portugal’s wine-country procession 

In the town of Lamego in Portugal's Douro River Valley, where harvesting grapes for wine is in full swing in early September, one of Portugal’s largest and oldest religious festivals draws thousands. Unlike most such Catholic festivals, in Lamego it’s pairs of oxen, not the faithful, that pull floats with images of the Virgin Mary in procession. By Giovanna Dell’Orto/The Associated Press

 

Commentary and Analysis

Many faiths face conflicts over dissent and institutional control. In Latter-day Saints history, the episode around the 'September Six' is particularly memorable. By Benjamin Park for The Conversation

A scholar who has been working in Marrakech writes about the artisan communities, which have maintained the city's architectural rich heritage for generations and have been hit hard by the earthquake. By Abbey Stockstill for The Conversation

Nonreligious voters are poised to make an impact, but sweeping statements about the 'nones' don't tell the full story. By Evan Stewart for The Conversation

Whether world leaders grapple with interconnecting issues of religion and global affairs remains to be seen, but they cannot afford to ignore them. By Knox Thames/Religion News Service

 
Shiite Muslim worshippers inside the shrine of Imam Hussein.

Shiite Muslim worshippers gather inside the holy shrine of Imam Hussein to commemorate the Arbaeen festival, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Karbala, Iraq. Arbaeen marks the end of the forty-day mourning period after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, in the 7th century. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

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