Lead story
Editor's note:
Continuing an intermittent series of stories about threatened sacred sites around the world, the AP Religion Team deployed reporter Deepa Bharath to the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. It is home to more than 125 sacred forests – tracts of virgin woodlands which Indigenous people believe are the abodes of their gods. Today, climate change, pollution and deforestation threaten these spaces. Bharath and her photographer faced several challenges – for example, they needed to get permission from each village to go into the forests, interview the local caretakers and photograph the locations. They ended up visiting seven forests over three days, hiking for several miles to reach them because they are not accessible from the road. The region is one of the wettest parts of the world, with daily rain. One forest was particularly difficult to access – entailing a climb up a steep, slippery hill in a downpour.
Religion News
Chicago pastors help the city grapple with flood of migrants
‘There’s already plenty of need present in this community,’ said one faith leader. The challenge is to make the situation work for both longtime residents and migrants arriving from the border. By Rebekah Barber/Religion News Service
Emhoff will discuss antisemitism and gender equity at World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland
Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is taking his advocacy against antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate to the World Economic Forum in Davos. By Darlene Superville/The Associated Press
Pakistani court indicts imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife on a charge that their 2018 marriage violated the Islamic law requirement that a woman wait three months before remarriage. By Munir Ahmed/The Associated Press
Kenya doomsday cult pastor and others will face charges of murder, cruelty and more
Kenya’s director of public prosecutions orders that 95 people from a doomsday cult be charged with murder, manslaughter, cruelty and child torture, among other crimes, over the deaths of 429 people believed to be members of the church. By Tom Odula/The Associated Press
In new temple to Lord Ram, the Indian city of Ayodhya hopes to shed a disturbing history
Once a quaint town, this 2,500-year-old city will soon complete a transformation into a global pilgrimage site that will outstrip its renown as a center of Hindu nationalist violence. By Richa Karmarkar and Yashraj Sharma/Religion News Service
Commentary and Analysis
Gaza's Omari Mosque embodies the history of Gaza — as a site of frequent destruction, but also of renewal, writes a scholar of Islamic architecture and archaeology. By Stephennie Mulder for The Conversation
A sociologist of religion explains how atheist churches are helping people find meaning and community – serving many of the same purposes as religious churches. By Jacqui Frost for The Conversation
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on how fragmented medical care can be. Relational, or person-centered, medicine is attempting to provide solutions. By Jonathan Weinkle for The Conversation
Jesus didn’t spend his time obsessing over people’s sex lives. By Thomas Reese/Religion News Service
Georgians with their children carry national flags as they take part in a religious procession to mark Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. While much of the world has Christmas in the rearview mirror by now, people in some Eastern Orthodox traditions celebrate the holy day on Sunday. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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