Lead storyEditor's note: Thich Nhat Hanh, who brought the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness to a Western audience, returned in 2019 to Vietnam, where he grew up as a monk, after 50 years of being in the West. His disciples have explained his desire to reconnect with his roots as a message to the community that we all come from someplace. Scholar Michael J. Poulin brings home this point of interconnectedness in his article on the practice of mindfulness in the West. He writes how taken out of its context of Buddhist teaching, “there’s good reason to doubt” this practice “would automatically lead to good outcomes.” In the West, people tend to think of themselves as individuals, as an “I” instead of “we,” which is encouraged in Asian cultures where Buddhism developed. This context is important, he notes, when striving to use mindfulness to reduce suffering – that we exist in relation to another. If not, “it may do the opposite,” he writes. Religion NewsSurvey: White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘nones’ shrinkThe ‘unprecedented’ dataset also suggests that white Christian decline, which accelerated in recent years, appears to have slowed. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service Wisconsin bishop takes rare step of removing defiant priestA Wisconsin bishop has taken the unusual step of removing a defiant priest from the ministry after he made a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic. By Todd Richmond/The Associated Press Israel’s Supreme Court upholds controversial law that defines the country as the nation state of the Jewish people. In its 10-1 ruling, the court rejected claims by opponents that the law discriminates against minorities. By Josef Federman/The Associated Press Thousands at memorial for Nigerian televangelist T.B. JoshuaThousands of Nigerians have been paying their last respects this week to Temitope Balogun Joshua, one of Africa’s most popular televangelists, known as T.B. Joshua. By Sam Olukoya/The Associated Press Game changer: How mahjong helped Jewish and Asian Americans overcome racismToday, a new book on mahjong and its cultural journey in the US suggests that there is much to learn from the game’s history, particularly how to put the rising anti-Asian and anti-Jewish hatred of our time in context. By Menachem Wecker/Religion News Service Commentary and AnalysisAlthough he appears to be recovering from his surgery, the hospitalization of Pope Francis marks the beginning of the end of his papacy. Time is running out. Francis is 84 years of age, and it will be miraculous if he is able to continue as pope for another five years. By Thomas Reese/Religion News Service Native Americans have long struggled to practice their spiritual rituals and protect their landscapes. Crackdowns on Indigenous protests could further erode the free exercise of their religions. By Rosalyn LaPier for The Conversation The doctrine of inerrancy likely took shape during the 19th and 20th centuries in United States, in response to the rise of liberalism within Christianity. By Geoffrey Smith for The Conversation Abortion and contraception were quite common among premodern Christians, who also celebrated women's celibacy as superior to marriage and childbearing. By Luis Josué Salés for The Conversation A Palestinian elderly man sells a goat at a livestock market in preparation for the upcoming Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Gaza City, Friday, July 9, 2021. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) Did a friend or colleague forward this to you? Click the button below to subscribe.
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