 |
|
|
|
 The Dalai Lama in Washington on Wednesday.
July 6th, 2011
09:30 PM ET
Dalai Lama turns 76 in Washington, will meet with congressional leadersBy Ana Sebescen, for CNN Thousands of well-wishers sang "Happy Birthday" Wednesday to the Dalai Lama, who turned 76 at the beginning of an 11-day visit to the capital on which he will meet with top congressional leaders. So far, the White House has remained silent on a potential meeting between the Tibetan spiritual leader and President Obama House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has invited the Dalai Lama to the Capitol on Thursday to meet with congressional leaders, his office announced Wednesday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will be among those attending. Obama met with the Dalai Lama in Washington in February 2010, triggering a rebuke from China, which considers the Dalai Lama the leader of a separatist movement. "I always say, the best gift to me is to practice compassion," said the Dalai Lama said Wednesday. He urged the crowd to search for happiness within and promote non-violence, compassion and equality around the world.
July 5th, 2011
03:13 PM ET
Hoard of treasure uncovered in Indian templeBy Harmeet Shah Singh, CNN New Delhi (CNN) - Jet-setting spiritual gurus. Gilded temples. Sprawling ashrams. Tons of offerings. India's religious wealth belies the nation's dire poverty. An inventory under way of a hoard of jewels, gold, diamonds, gems, antique idols stashed for hundreds of years in a centuries-old Hindu shrine in southern India is generating comparisons with the economic costs of the country's mega programs and foreign investment plans running into billions of dollars. Under orders of India's Supreme Court, officials since last week have been auditing precious royal offerings kept in underground vaults of the famed Sree Padmnabha Swamy temple in the coastal state of Kerala. Read the full story about the new focus on India's religious wealth
May 31st, 2011
09:30 AM ET
Dalai Lama gives up political role, remains Tibetan spiritual leaderBy Harmeet Shah Singh, CNN New Delhi (CNN) - The Dalai Lama has formally relinquished his political and administrative powers, a spokesman said Tuesday. The Tibetan spiritual leader approved amendments to the exiled constitution to enable him to devolve his political responsibilities into the community's elected leadership and judiciary, according to officials. Lobsang Choedak, a spokesman for the exiled Tibetan government, said the changes were carried out during a three-day session of its parliament in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lama approved them Sunday. Read the full story about the Dalai Lama relinquishing his political role An Indian child looks at portraits of Spirtual Leader Sri Satya Sai Baba at a shop near Prashanthi Nilayam on April 6.
April 25th, 2011
09:04 AM ET
Indian spiritual guru dies at 85By Harmeet Shah Singh, CNN New Delhi, India (CNN) - Famed Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba died Sunday of respiratory failure, his doctors said. He was 85. The orange-robed spiritual leader with a puff of dark hair is considered a living god by his followers in India and overseas.  Maulana Showkat Ahmad Shah was entering a mosque in Srinagar Friday when a makeshift bomb exploded
April 8th, 2011
07:42 PM ET
Moderate cleric killed in Kashmir bombingBy Mukhtar Ahmad, CNN Srinagar, India (CNN) - A makeshift bomb exploded Friday at a mosque in the summer capital of India's portion of Kashmir, killing a prominent Muslim cleric who had been a moderate voice in the troubled Indian state. Maulana Showkat Ahmad Shah was entering the mosque in Srinagar to lead Friday prayers when an improvised explosive device detonated, Srinagar district police chief Ashiq Bukhari said. Shah was critically wounded and died later in hospital. One other person was injured in the blast, Bukhari said. Shah had spoken out against violence and condemned the stone-pelting of security forces in protests last year as un-Islamic. He was a close associate of the Yasin Malik, the president of the moderate pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). 
March 21st, 2011
05:05 PM ET
Photos: Holi festival of colorsThe Holi festival of colors marks the arrival of spring in India. Here, dancers perform during celebrations at the Rajpath Club in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday, March 20. See the full gallery
February 14th, 2011
07:00 AM ET
My Take: Forget falling in love. Try arranged marriage.
By Ehud Sperling, Special to CNN All my life I had believed, like most of us, that romantic love was a sure precursor and indicator of marital bliss. I had played the game of love and lost. How could this be? I was and still am a book publisher, successfully working with women on a daily basis for 35 years. But a lasting and stable relationship with a woman in the role of my wife was eluding me. 
December 22nd, 2010
06:00 AM ET
“Christian famous” pastor quits his church, moves to AsiaBy, Eric Marrapodi, CNN He pastored a 4,000-member church in California. He was a sought-after speaker at major conferences, wrote two best-sellers and launched a DVD teaching series. Then he abruptly resigned and left the country. But in Francis Chan’s unexpected journey there apparently is no hidden scandal, no money trail, and no ‘other’ woman. “I just want to disappear for a while,” he said in late September as he prepared to leave Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California for an undisclosed location in Asia.
November 9th, 2010
08:31 AM ET
My Take: Obama's Pilgrimage into Hinduism and Islam
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN President Obama’s visit to Asia has been covered largely as a political and economic tour, but it is hard to avoid the religion angle of the story, which is taking the president from the country with the most Christians (the United States) to the country with the most Hindus (India) to the country with the most Muslims (Indonesia). The world's three largest religions, in other words, in a span of ten days.
November 6th, 2010
08:00 AM ET
My Take: How About a Sikh Temple in Delhi, Mr. President?
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Hundreds of Sikhs demonstrated on Tuesday in front of the United Nations, imploring President Obama to take up the cause of Sikh human rights during his three-day visit to India beginning on November 6. They also expressed their displeasure over Obama’s decision to remove from his schedule a possible visit to Amritsar’s Golden Temple, Sikhism’s most sacred site. When I first heard that Obama was foregoing his Golden Temple visit, I was disappointed but sympathetic. He has a country to run, growing anger toward Islam to manage, and a Pew Forum poll staring him in the face and shouting that 18% of Americans wrongly believe he is Muslim. So why in God’s name would he show up at a shrine where he would need to tie a turban on his head for all his political opponents to see (and photograph)? But then Manpreet Kalra walked into my office. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Editor's Note: Ehud Sperling is founder and president of 
Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.