Diwali, a major Hindu holiday also celebrated by some Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, starts tomorrow — just as President Obama kicks off his 10-day tour of India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. McClatchy’s Washington Blog reports: Obama knows all about the holiday. Last year, he became the first U.S. president to observe Diwali in a White…

The Republicans have the majority again in the U.S. House of Representatives — poising Rep. John Boehner to become its fifth-ever Catholic speaker and Rep. Eric Cantor to become its first-ever Jewish majority leader — but the U.S. Senate has kept its Democrat majority. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s new governor is Indian American Sikh-turned-Methodist Nikki Haley (the state’s first non-white, non-male governor), Colorado voters defeated a…

Unless you’ve already voted by mail (the norm here in the Pacific Northwest), don’t forget that today is Election Day. Time to find out whether religious conservatives — especially the Tea Party — will help secure a Republican majority in the House and Senate. As for religious progressives, leaders from the National Council of Churches and the global…

If you’ve been out celebrating Halloween, Reformation Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Dia de los Muertos, Samhain or all/none of the above, you may have missed some really scary religion news: Muslim terrorists have killed dozens of Iraqi Christians inside a Baghdad cathedral, and are being investigated for trying to send bombs from Yemen to Chicago-area synagogues (including an…

More from Beliefnet and our partners
More from Beliefnet and our partners