KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 25, 2024 (Malaysia News): During Thaipusam, thousands of people fill the streets to watch the kavadi aattam — a frenetic dance performed by kavadi-bearers — to fulfill their religious vows to Lord Murugan. The kavadi-bearer gyrates as a group of drummers render devotional songs while fervently thumping the urumee — an hourglass-shaped double-headed drum — with…
WASHINGTON, D.C., June, 2023, (Office of Religious Freedom): The Mauritius constitution prohibits discrimination based on creed and provides for the right of individuals to change, manifest, and propagate their religious beliefs. The government recognizes seven groups as religions: Hindus, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Seventh-day Adventists, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ). Other…
MAMALLAPURAM, INDIA, May 28, 2024 (YouTube): On the shores of Tamil Nadu, on the eastern coast of peninsular India, is a marvelous town of temples, carved out of the rock. Mamallapuram was one of the greatest sea-faring ports of ancient times. Ships sailed constantly from here to Sri Lanka, South East Asia and China. Here, over perhaps a hundred years,…
KAUAI, HAWAII, June 28, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Lavina Melwani): When a child is born, there is so much joy and celebration—as if royalty has arrived at the home, with music, dance and sweets. Yet what happens when people get old? There is no celebration of aging bodies, grey hair, fading eyesight and memory loss. There is almost a sense…
THAILAND, October 12, 2025 (Bangkok Post): The recent reopening of the Erawan Shrine was presided over by the chief of Brahmins (photo above, Phra Maharaja Guru Bidhi Sri Visudhigun) known as the Rajguru. A man dressed in white blew into a conch as if it were a horn. Joss sticks were burning. Heads bowed but people’s lips were praying. A…
UNITED STATES, June 17, 2024 (Pew Research Center): By some measures, East Asia seems like one of the least religious regions in the world. (“East Asia” includes China, Japan, Mongolia, the Koreas and Taiwan) Relatively few East Asian adults pray daily or say religion is very important in their lives. And rates of disaffiliation – people leaving religion – are…
UNITED STATES, June 18, 2024 (Christianity Today): HPI Note: We thought this article attempting to excuse the slave ownership by the founders of the modern Evangelical movement quite informative. How should white evangelicals think about slavery and past evangelical heroes who affirmed its practice? A new book by historian Sean McGever, Ownership: The Evangelical Legacy of Slavery in Edwards, Wesley,…
FRANCE, June 11, 2024 (Embassy of France in Cambodia, Google translated from French): The great reclining Vishnu of Western Mebon, the largest bronze statue ever found on the Angkor site, has arrived in France to be studied before its exhibition in 2025. It is one of the treasures of the National Museum of Cambodia and a symbol of the exceptional…
KAUAI, HAWAII, June 19, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Anne Petry): Is there any other country in the world as colorful as India? Indian clothing is a visual explosion of vibrant and bright colors. I am always amazed by the tremendous variety of textiles and huge diversity of traditional outfits. All this is possible thanks to the knowledge of weaving mastered…
UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, June 15, 2024 (PTC News): In a pioneering move to enhance accessibility and spiritual experience, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Uttar Pradesh has introduced 11 minutes and 50 seconds of virtual reality Darshan. This will allow the devotees to avoid standing in a long queue in the scorching heat to get the darshan. This initiative aims to…
