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<div class="ad ad-container hidden-xs above-the-fold-unit-desktop top-ad" id="top-banner" style="height: 320px !important;"></div> </div> <div class="row"> <div class="breadcrumb-wrapper"> <div class="container"> <ul> <li> <span class="home-icon"></span><a href="//www.patheos.com/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="//www.patheos.com/topic/history-and-religion">History and Religion</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row flex-row"> <div class="col-sm-12 col-md-8 col-lg-9"> <div id="post-7033" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-7033 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-christianity category-indigenous-religions tag-religion-in-u-s-history tag-seasonal-holidays tag-thanksgiving" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">November 22, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/the-thanksgiving-myth/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">The Thanksgiving Myth</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> November 22, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/the-thanksgiving-myth/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="7033 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=7033">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/the-thanksgiving-myth/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/11/Landing_of_the_Pilgrims_Causici-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>The Thanksgiving myth is the Thanksgiving story that we Americans were taught in school as history. But the story as commonly told isn’t exactly true. And for some Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning. The traditional story is about the Pilgrims, who had sailed to the New World from Europe. Their ship the Mayflower landed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in November 1620. The Pilgrims struggled to survive the winter, but they received help from the local Native Americans.... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/the-thanksgiving-myth/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/general-christian">General Christian</a></li> <li><a href="">Religious Events</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/christianity">Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/indigenous-religions">Indigenous religions</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-in-u-s-history">Religion in U.S. history</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/seasonal-holidays">Seasonal Holidays</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-7021" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-7021 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-buddhism tag-ashoka tag-ashoka-pillars tag-buddhism-in-india tag-international-day-of-tolerance" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">November 15, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/ashokas-edict-on-religious-tolerance/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Ashoka’s Edict on Religious Tolerance</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> November 15, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/ashokas-edict-on-religious-tolerance/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="7021 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=7021">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/ashokas-edict-on-religious-tolerance/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2023/05/Ashokas_visit_to_the_Ramagrama_stupa_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Southern_gateway-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>The first person in history known to have promoted religious tolerance was Ashoka the Great. Ashoka was emperor of a large portion of Asia from about 268 BCE until his death in 232 BCE. In honor of the International Day of Tolerance — November 16, as designated by the United Nations — l’d like to revisit his edict on religious tolerance, which is as relevant to us now as it was then. Ashoka the Great ruled the Mauryan Empire, which... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/ashokas-edict-on-religious-tolerance/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/ashoka">Ashoka</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/ashoka-pillars">Ashoka pillars</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/buddhism-in-india">Buddhism in India</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/international-day-of-tolerance">International Day of Tolerance</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6988" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6988 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-buddhism category-daoism tag-buddhism-in-the-west tag-religion-in-u-s-history" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">November 13, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/buddhism-and-the-california-gold-rush-wild-west-dharma/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Buddhism and the California Gold Rush: Wild West Dharma</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> November 13, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/buddhism-and-the-california-gold-rush-wild-west-dharma/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6988 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6988">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/buddhism-and-the-california-gold-rush-wild-west-dharma/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/11/Chinese-Miners-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>Buddhism and the California Gold Rush may be two things that don’t seem to go together. But it was the Gold Rush that first brought Buddhism to California. The California Gold Rush began in 1848, when gold was discovered at a sawmill north of San Francisco. The first <a href='https://www.patheos.com/library/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhist</a> temple in North America — and possibly the first outside of Asia, as far as I know — was built in San Francisco in 1853. And the second event came about... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/11/buddhism-and-the-california-gold-rush-wild-west-dharma/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="">Travel and Religion</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/daoism">Daoism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/buddhism-in-the-west">Buddhism in the West</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-in-u-s-history">Religion in U.S. history</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6936" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6936 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-origins-of-religion tag-ancient-religions tag-axial-age" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">October 15, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/10/law-and-morality-which-came-first/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Law and Morality: Which Came First?</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> October 15, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/10/law-and-morality-which-came-first/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6936 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6936">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/10/law-and-morality-which-came-first/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/10/480px-Code_of_Hammurabi-Sb_8-IMG_7755-gradient-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>There’s a common assumption that laws are based on morality and morality comes from religion. Therefore, laws have a religious basis. Further, whatever is widely considered to be immoral ought to be illegal. In truth, not all manner of things immoral are illegal (for example, lying to your spouse about where you were last night). It’s possible that there are behaviors that are illegal but not immoral, although off the top of my head I can’t think of a good... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/10/law-and-morality-which-came-first/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/more-voices">More Voices</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/origins-of-religion">Origins of religion</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/ancient-religions">Ancient religions</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/axial-age">Axial Age</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6879" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6879 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-hinduism tag-ancient-religions" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">September 27, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/who-were-the-aryans/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Who Were the Aryans?</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> September 27, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/who-were-the-aryans/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6879 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6879">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/who-were-the-aryans/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/09/640px-Vishnu_madhu_kaitabh-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>Who were the Aryans? The Aryans were an ancient people who spoke Sanskrit and gave us what are believed to be the world’s oldest living scriptures, the Vedas of Hinduism. They were “pastoral,” the anthropoligsts say, meaning they herded livestock. They were nomads who left us no cities to excavate or great monuments to admire. The literature they left us suggests they were a patriarchal and sometimes violent people. They prized their horses and probably introduced the horse-drawn chariot to... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/who-were-the-aryans/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/hindu">Hindu</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/hinduism">Hinduism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/ancient-religions">Ancient religions</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6852" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6852 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-christianity category-religious-violence tag-catholicism tag-religion-in-u-s-history tag-wall-of-separation" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">September 16, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/the-philadelphia-bible-riots-of-1844/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> September 16, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/the-philadelphia-bible-riots-of-1844/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6852 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6852">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/the-philadelphia-bible-riots-of-1844/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/09/riot-in-philadelphia-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>The Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844 are also sometimes called the Philadelphia Nativist Riots. By whatever name, the Philadelphia Bible Riots were deadly and destructive. It’s estimated 20 people were killed in the violence and many more injured. Two Catholic churches, a seminary, and several private homes were set on fire and destroyed. The reason? A false rumor that Catholics were scheming to have the King James Bible removed from public schools. The Catholics in this case were recent immigrants... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/the-philadelphia-bible-riots-of-1844/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/general-christian">General Christian</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/christianity">Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/religious-violence">Religious Violence</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/catholicism">Catholicism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-in-u-s-history">Religion in U.S. history</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/wall-of-separation">Wall of separation</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6807" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6807 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-christianity category-religion-and-politics tag-religion-and-politics tag-religion-in-u-s-history tag-wall-of-separation" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">September 11, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/civil-religion-a-short-history/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Civil Religion: A Short History</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> September 11, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/civil-religion-a-short-history/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6807 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6807">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/civil-religion-a-short-history/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/09/Pledge_of_Allegiance_8142263331-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>Civil religion — sometimes calleed “civic religion” — is a term that is defined many ways. Most broadly, civil religion refers to the symbols and rituals that express patriotism, such as singing national anthems, and which work to bond the people of a nation together. In a way, civil religion sanctifies the values, aspirations, and spirit of a nation. In the U.S. we don’t talk about civil religion much, but it’s certainly part of our lives, especially when an important... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/09/civil-religion-a-short-history/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/general-christian">General Christian</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/christianity">Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/religion-and-politics">Religion and politics</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-and-politics">Religion and politics</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-in-u-s-history">Religion in U.S. history</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/wall-of-separation">Wall of separation</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6768" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6768 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-buddhism tag-buddhism-in-china tag-buddhism-in-japan" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">August 21, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/zen-and-the-martial-arts-a-short-history/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Zen and the Martial Arts: A Short History</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> August 21, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/zen-and-the-martial-arts-a-short-history/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6768 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6768">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/zen-and-the-martial-arts-a-short-history/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/08/640px-Kyudo_or_the_way_of_archery-cropped-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>Everyone knows that Zen and the martial arts go together, right? Well, sorta kinda. In some places. But not as much as you might think. This is not to say that there is no connection at all between Zen and the martial arts. Zen is the Japanese name of a school of <a href='https://www.patheos.com/library/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhism</a> that originated in China, where it is called Chan. According to legend if not well-documented history, Chan began in the fabled Shaolin Temple of China at the... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/zen-and-the-martial-arts-a-short-history/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="">Sports and Religion</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/buddhism-in-china">Buddhism in China</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/buddhism-in-japan">Buddhism in Japan</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6723" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6723 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-buddhism tag-buddhism-in-japan tag-mahayana-buddhism" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">August 1, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/the-marathon-monks-of-japan/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">The Marathon Monks of Japan</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> August 1, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/the-marathon-monks-of-japan/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6723 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6723">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/the-marathon-monks-of-japan/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/07/640px-Enryakuji_Shoro01n4272-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>The marathon monks of Enryakuji, a historic <a href='https://www.patheos.com/library/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhist</a> temple complex in Japan, are famous for a grueling physical and spiritual challenge that’s been called the world’s toughest ultramarathon. Enryakuji was built on Mount Hiei, overlooking Kyoto. Mount Hiei is covered by lush forests and winding trails. It is the headquarters of the Tendai school of Japanese <a href='https://www.patheos.com/library/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhism</a>. And for centuries the monks of Enryakuji have walked, jogged, and run those trails as part of a tradition called kaihogyo, the “practice... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/08/the-marathon-monks-of-japan/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/buddhism">Buddhism</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/buddhism-in-japan">Buddhism in Japan</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/mahayana-buddhism">Mahayana Buddhism</a></li> </rad-tagged-with> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="post-6690" class="simple-post-container clearfix post-6690 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-christianity tag-establishment-clause tag-religion-and-current-events tag-religion-and-politics tag-religion-in-u-s-history tag-wall-of-separation" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"> <link itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/" /> <span class="hide" itemprop="datePublished dateModified">July 10, 2024</span> <div class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope id="patheos" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"> <a itemprop="url" href="//www.patheos.com/"> <span itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img itemprop="url" src="//www.patheos.com/~/media/images/components/navigation/patheos/patheos-logo-header.png" alt="LOGO"> <meta itemprop="width" content="127"> <meta itemprop="height" content="38"> </span> <span itemprop="name">Patheos</span> <span itemprop="description">Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.</span> </a> </div> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/07/religious-liberty-and-josh-hawley/" rel="bookmark" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="headline">Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley</span></a></h1> <div class="post-info by-line"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar"></span> July 10, 2024 By <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/author/bobrien/"><span itemprop="author">Barbara O'Brien</span></a> <div class="divide-byline"></div> <i class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></i> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/07/religious-liberty-and-josh-hawley/#comments-section"> <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="6690 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/?p=6690">0 Comments</span> </a> </div> <div class="decorated-divider lg left"></div> <div class="image-container"> <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/07/religious-liberty-and-josh-hawley/"><img itemprop="image" class="no-lazy" src="https://wp-media.patheos.com/blogs/sites/1525/2024/07/Josh_Hawley_52586920310-350x350.jpg" width="800" height="600" /></a> </div> <div class="entry-content clearfix overflow-text" itemprop="description"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><p>Religious Liberty and Josh Hawley don’t mix. The Republican U.S. Senator from Missouri has made it clear in speeches and in writing that he is opposed to the free exercise of religion if that religion isn’t Christianity. In fact, he has said that the freedom to think for ourselves is dangerous. And he thinks there is a “crisis” in America that’s been caused by a heretical 5th century monk. Senator Josh Hawley recently came out as a Christian Nationalist. Monday... <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/2024/07/religious-liberty-and-josh-hawley/" class="no-effect decorated-link" target="_blank"><span class="read-more">Read more</span></a></p> </div> <div class="post-meta"> <div class="row"> <div class="tagged-with-include-rss hidden"> <rad-tagged-with channel-name=History and Religion channel-link=https://www.patheos.com/history-and-religion> <li><a href="//www.patheos.com/general-christian">General Christian</a></li> <li><a href="">Politics and Religion</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/category/christianity">Christianity</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/establishment-clause">Establishment Clause</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thereligioushistorynerd/tag/religion-and-current-events">Religion and current events</a></li> <li><a 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