CNN Originally Posted: May 7, 2019 Mark Chancey, an SMU professor of religious studies, was quoted in this article. (CNN) -- Legislators across the country have reignited the fight for, and debate over so-called "Bible literacy classes" -- elective courses in public schools about Scriptures' impact. Alabama, Florida, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia are among the states that have seen Bible literacy bills so far in 2019. Several of those efforts have fallen along the wayside. While advocates for such classes believe students ought to be able to learn about the Bible's influence on world history, culture and language, opponents tout separation of church and state and their concerns that teachers might possibly stray into proselytizing. READ MORE  

Tricycle Originally Posted: February 28, 2018 In the 13th century, Muslim soldiers attacked the Buddhist monastery Nalanda in northeast India. This event is held up as an example of how Muslim invaders were responsible for the eventual destruction of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent. But it is far from the full story. In Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road, history professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University, Johan Elverskog, explores the ways that religions and cultures influenced each other along the trade route. He also debunks the assertion that the Mughal invasions during the 12th to 16th centuries were the sole cause of Buddhism’s waning on the subcontinent, a long-held Buddhist narrative often used to justify Islamophobia. Here, Elverskog talks to Tricycle [...]

Associated Press Originally Posted: January 20, 2018 Eight years ago, Hobby Lobby president Steve Green found a new way to express his Christian faith. His family's $4 billion arts and craft chain was already known for closing stores on Sundays, waging a Supreme Court fight over birth control and donating tens of millions of dollars to religious groups. Now, Green would begin collecting biblical artifacts that he hoped could become the starting point for a museum. That vision was realized when the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible opened three blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The $500 million museum includes pieces from the family's collection from the Dead Sea Scrolls, towering bronze gates inscribed with text from the Gutenberg Bible and a soundscape of the 10 [...]