Religion is big business. Just how big? A new study, published Wednesday by a father-daughter researcher team, says religion is bigger than Facebook, Google and Apple — combined.

Source: Study: Religion contributes more to the U.S. economy than Facebook, Google and Apple combined - The Washington Post

This Saturday, priceless religious relics from black history like Nat Turner’s Bible, Harriet Tubman’s hymnal and antique pews from AME churches across the country will be on view at the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Source: Religion and Resistance at the New National Museum of African American History and Culture | Religion Dispatches

The U.S. public expresses a clear consensus on the contentious question of whether employers who have religious objections to contraception should be required to provide it in health insurance plans for their employees. Fully two-thirds of American adults say such businesses should be required to cover birth control as part of their employees’ insurance plans, according to a new Pew Research Center survey, while just three-in-ten say businesses should be allowed to refuse to cover contraception for religious reasons.

Source: ...

Some of the children who rushed to cool off in the pool on a sunny July morning would not have attended camp together a few years ago. They lived next-door to each other, but their South Brooklyn communities often kept their distance.

Source: Jews and Muslims Form Enduring Friendships at Brooklyn Camp - Culture – Forward.com

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY MAY BE CHANGING BELIEFS IN AMERICA. Diversity has long been listed on the table of assets that have served to make America the Superpower that it is today. Being a nation of immigrants, it is unquestionable that there are different groups of people with different cultures and different religions co-existing together. For a long time, religious pluralism and diversity has been viewed to be good for religious life overall. The competing churches, synagogues and mosques would translate into a vigorous and vibrant religious culture. However, could the opposite be...

U.S. Catholic bishops and Shia Muslim leaders from Iran recently found common ground, taking a cohesive stand against terrorism, religious extremism and weapons of mass destruction.

Source: Catholic bishops and Muslim leaders unite to decry terror, extremism and weapons of mass destruction

Choosing a New Church or House of Worship Americans look for good sermons, warm welcome About half of U.S. adults have looked for a new religious congregation at some point in their lives, most commonly because they have moved. And when they search for a new house of worship, a new Pew Research Center study shows, Americans look first and foremost for a place where they like the preaching and the tone set by the congregation’s leaders.

Source: Choosing a New Church or House...

FAITH GROUPS PROVIDE AID TO LOUISIANA FLOOD VICTIMS. Nobody can really tell why natural disasters take place. Science can tell us how, but for those who are devastated by such incidents the questions remain. Why? Why us? Why did we deserve this? Why our city? While various people describe these disasters as chance or divine will, the fact remains that it becomes a time of crisis for people who are spiritual as they start wondering why God would let that happen to them. The one good thing however that emerges during these times is the open display of human goodness. While humanity...

NEW RESEARCH SAYS RELIGIOUS HOMES PRODUCE THE MAJORITY OF RELIGIOUS ‘NONES.’ The results of new research by Pew can come as an eye-opener to a number of religious households. 78 percent of religious “nones” say they were raised in highly religious families. In other words, if you are very religious and are trying hard to indoctrinate your child into religious beliefs, the chances statistically are that your child might grow up to hate it and leave religion altogether. Religious households may now have to change tactics if they want to see their children grow up as practicing...

AMSTERDAM — On April 30, 1941, a Jewish man here in Amsterdam wrote a desperate letter to an American friend, pleading for help emigrating to the United States.

Source: Anne Frank Today Is a Syrian Girl - The New York Times

RIO DE JANEIRO — When Mother Fatima Damas discovered her African-Brazilian religious beliefs would not be represented in the interfaith rooms of the Olympic Village, she was so incensed that she launched a campaign to overturn the controversial exclusion.

Source: Olympic committee pushed to include all faiths in prayer room for Olympic Village

(RNS) When Team USA members David Boudia and Steele Johnson emerged simultaneously crying and smiling from their final dive Monday (Aug. 8) at the Rio Olympics, the silver medal in men’s synchronized platform diving was theirs.

Source: Faith at the Olympics: Does it give an athlete an edge? - SpokaneFāVS

It's no secret that the Olympic Games bring together a diverse pool of people from different ethnicities and cultures — individuals who have divergent beliefs and lifestyles, particularly when it comes to the practice of faith and religion.

Source: The major role faith and religion will play at the 2016 Olympic Games

I am not worried about the future of the Jewish people. We spend our time, our brainpower and a significant amount of money attempting to solve the problem of Jewish continuity, but I am not concerned. Judaism moves, compels and speaks to a new generation of Jewish leaders.

Source: Millennial Jews Want To Shout ‘Black Lives Matter’ — As Jews - Opinion – Forward.com

ST.-ÉTIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France — It was the first time since a childhood school trip that Anissa Latroche had set foot in a church.

Source: Muslims and Christians in French Town Pray Old Bonds Survive Priest’s Murder - The New York Times