The Religion News Association (RNA) has released its annual Top 10 Religion Stories of 2025, highlighting a year in which faith, politics, and global affairs collided in dramatic and often unsettling ways—from the historic election of Pope Leo XIV as the first U.S.-born pontiff to the far-reaching impact of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on religious communities. Voted on by religion journalists across the United States, the list offers a snapshot of how belief and public life
religion (11)
By Madana-gopala Dasa
Beyond the Binary: Recovering Moral Clarity in a Divided World
When I wrote recently that the “No Kings” protests revealed the soul’s longing for genuine, caring leaders, for the spirit of Lord Rāma rather than another self-serving ruler, some readers accused me of being “too liberal.” Others said that if I spoke about the sacredness of unborn life, I would be branded as a “religious conservative.” It seems that in much of today’s world, nuance and independent thought hav
The words “religion” and “Hindu” are problematic. Both are confusing, inaccurate, and not useful words.
Religion
Depending on the context, the use of the word religion can be ill-defined and even offensive—for example, when someone says that religions cause all wars or when someone says, “Science is logic; religion is belief.”
These two statements are ignorant because the person using the word religion has defined it in an arbitrary manner when in fact the word religion defies definition and th
A conversation with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In June 1976 at New Vrindaban, a Hare Krishna farm community in West Virginia, Srila Prabhupada fields questions sent to him from the editors of Bhavan’s Journal, one of Bombay’s leading cultural and religious periodicals.
Devotee: Here is the first question:
“It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, but that this is also its greatest weakness in that there are very few re
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
An ideal government will treat all its citizens, both humans and nonhumans, equally, without envy.
dhrtarashtra uvaca
dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre
samaveta yuyutsavah
mamakah pandavas caiva kim akurvata sanjaya
[Bhagavad-gita 1.1]
In the history of Mahabharata, there was a dispute in the same family who would occupy the throne. Dhrtarashtra was the eldest son of the king, and the next was Pandu, By the law of primogeniture, the eldest son bec
A conversation with His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
In June 1976 at New Vrindaban, a Hare Krishna farm community in West Virginia, Srila Prabhupada fields questions sent to him from the editors of Bhavan’s Journal, one of Bombay’s leading cultural and religious periodicals.
Devotee: Here is the first question:
“It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, but that this is also its greatest weakness in that there are very fe
By Dr. J. Chakrabarty, Florida State University
The concept of evolution of species, generally attributed to Charles Darwin, actually had its origin thousands of years ago in ancient India, and formed the basis of the illuminating philosophy of the Vedas. Since Darwin lived at a time when the profundity of the Indian wisdom already made an indelible impression on the minds of the western savants, it is hard to imagine how Darwin could possibly have escaped the compelling influence of the Indian
"Om Namo Vagabate Vasudevaya"
Dharma
In Sanskrit, the word "Dharma" means to support or hold. [Support / hold the real / true dharma]
Many of us often criticize the maxim of Lord Krishna. He, the supreme, told 'fight for dharma'.
Many of us understand that 'dharma' only means individual religious sect. It is true but literally. But, Sri Krishna did not try to say fight for your religious sect.
Actually, the real meaning of 'dharma', is 'karm'/'work'/'duty'. Dharma is of two types - '
ISKCON at the UN and the ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry have organized an interfaith panel discussion entitled “Shared Stories: Culture, Religion & Women’s Empowerment” which will take place virtually on March 21st as part of the NGO Commission on the Status of Women Forum. The panel, which will take place from 12:30pm to 2:00pm EDT, is co-sponsored by Muslims for Progressive Values and ACT Alliance, a coalition of Protestant and Orthodox churches and church-related organizations engaged in humanita
By Dr. J. Chakrabarty, Florida State University
The concept of evolution of species, generally attributed to Charles Darwin, actually had its origin thousands of years ago in ancient India, and formed the basis of the illuminating philosophy of the Vedas. Since Darwin lived at a time when the profundity of the Indian wisdom already made an indelible impression on the minds of the western savants, it is hard to imagine how Darwin could possibly have escaped the compelling influence of the Indian
By Madhava Smullen
An ISKCON devotee has been nominated co-chair of the UN Multifaith Advisory Council on Religion and Development.
Gopal Lila Das (Gopal Patel) is Director of the Bhumi Project, an environmental effort of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. He also co-leads The Sacred Ecology Forum at the Bhakti Center in New York City, and is an advisor to the Climate Action Task Force at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
His relationship with the UN goes back ten years to 2009, whe
