Religion

A statue of Mother Earth sits at the front of an altar used by a Colombian shaman, healer and traditional medicine man who leads the Hummingbird Church ayahuasca ceremonies, on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, in Hildale, Utah. Like many groups using psychedelics as sacraments, Hummingbird functioned underground for many years, hosting word of mouth ceremonies. But in Feb. 2021, they decided to go public. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Psychedelic churches in US pushing boundaries of religion

Growing numbers of people turning to ayahuasca in search of spiritual enlightenment

 

(Pastor Arthur Lucier/Instagram)

Lawyer questions consitutional right for B.C. pastor to be denied COVID appeal

Arthur Lucier wants to challenge the ‘constitutionality’ of 2021 Public Health Orders and his freedoms

 

Tourists take pictures with a stuffed polar bear upon arriving to Longyearbyen airport, Norway, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Church helps Norwegian mining community evolve in dark, warming Arctic

Northern community navigating a drastic change in its identity

 

Pope Francis touches the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before it is carried away after a funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Faithful mourn Benedict XVI at funeral presided over by pope

Heads of state, royalty, clergy from around the world, and thousands more attend ceremony

Pope Francis touches the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before it is carried away after a funeral mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Nuns arrive at dawn to view the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as it lies in state in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict died on Dec. 31, 2022, aged 95, and that his funeral will be held on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope praises ‘gentle’ Benedict ahead of funeral

Nearly 160,000 people had passed through the basilica for former pope’s official viewing

Nuns arrive at dawn to view the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as it lies in state in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict died on Dec. 31, 2022, aged 95, and that his funeral will be held on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, third from left, meets with the winners of the 2022 Ratzinger Prize, Joseph Halevi Horowitz Weiler, left, and father Michel Fedou, partially hidden at right, at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery inside the Vatican where Benedict XVI lives, in this photo taken Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Second from left, is the foundation’s president Father Federico Lombardi, and fourth from left is Benedict XVI’s long-time personal secretary Bishop Georg Gänswein. (Fondazione Vaticana J.Ratzinger via AP)

Benedict XVI, first pope to resign in 600 years, dies at 95

German theologian tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, third from left, meets with the winners of the 2022 Ratzinger Prize, Joseph Halevi Horowitz Weiler, left, and father Michel Fedou, partially hidden at right, at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery inside the Vatican where Benedict XVI lives, in this photo taken Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Second from left, is the foundation’s president Father Federico Lombardi, and fourth from left is Benedict XVI’s long-time personal secretary Bishop Georg Gänswein. (Fondazione Vaticana J.Ratzinger via AP)
The Knights of Columbus annual nativity scene atop Terrace City Hall on Dec. 14, 2021. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)

Nativity scene banned from B.C. town’s city hall after decades-long run

Volunteer group hoping to get Terrace to change its mind after annual tradition rejected

The Knights of Columbus annual nativity scene atop Terrace City Hall on Dec. 14, 2021. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)
Rev. John Koopman of Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack who was found guilty of violating COVID-19 orders on religious gatherings. (Screenshot www.sermonaudio.com)

Fraser Valley pastor found guilty of hosting church service in violation of COVID rules

Rev. John Koopman’s lawyer to make Charter argument that prohibition violated freedom of religion

Rev. John Koopman of Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack who was found guilty of violating COVID-19 orders on religious gatherings. (Screenshot www.sermonaudio.com)
The Knights of Columbus annual nativity scene atop Terrace City Hall on Dec. 14, 2021. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)

Northern B.C. officials ban nativity scene from Terrace city hall roof

The move reflects a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision

The Knights of Columbus annual nativity scene atop Terrace City Hall on Dec. 14, 2021. (Ben Bogstie/Terrace Standard)
The Parksville Civic and Technology Centre at 100 Jensen Ave. (PQB News file photo)

BC Humanist Society criticizes inaugural Parksville council meeting’s inclusion of ‘blessings’

BCHA asks city to remove ‘blessings’ from meeting agenda

The Parksville Civic and Technology Centre at 100 Jensen Ave. (PQB News file photo)
St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

B.C. is Canada’s least religious province, has country’s 6 least religious metro areas

For the first time, non-religious people outnumber religious people in British Columbia

St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
A woman walks through an abandoned church in Thunder Bay, Ont., Friday, March 4, 2016. Statistics Canada says 34.6 per cent of people in this country have no religious affiliation — more than ever before. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

More Canadians than ever have no religious affiliation, census shows

Growth in the non-religious population, decline in people reporting as Christian linked

A woman walks through an abandoned church in Thunder Bay, Ont., Friday, March 4, 2016. Statistics Canada says 34.6 per cent of people in this country have no religious affiliation — more than ever before. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Raj Banga, left, Sunita Banga, Jeet Manhas, Kaajal Manhas, Arjan Manhas, Shashi Monga and Peter Monga all meet together as part of the community organizing committee for the Beban Park social centre Diwali celebration. (Mandy Moraes/News Bulletin)

Community members in Nanaimo celebrate Diwali, a ‘triumph of light over darkness’

Members of Indo-Canadian community and others will celebrate at sold-out event at Beban Park

Raj Banga, left, Sunita Banga, Jeet Manhas, Kaajal Manhas, Arjan Manhas, Shashi Monga and Peter Monga all meet together as part of the community organizing committee for the Beban Park social centre Diwali celebration. (Mandy Moraes/News Bulletin)
Justice Murray Sinclair, who was Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge, led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a senator, stands in the ballroom at Rideau Hall after being invested as a companion of the Order of Canada and receiving a Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), in Ottawa, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

TRC head questions why Catholic Church didn’t sell property to compensate victims

Murray Sinclair: Catholic entities released of their remaining financial obligations

Justice Murray Sinclair, who was Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge, led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a senator, stands in the ballroom at Rideau Hall after being invested as a companion of the Order of Canada and receiving a Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), in Ottawa, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A woman prays on the steps outside St. Casimir Church in Toronto on Friday May 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Fatigue, burnout hit spiritual leaders on the front lines of faith during pandemic

People assume religious leaders are ‘superhuman,’ one Canadian sociologist says

A woman prays on the steps outside St. Casimir Church in Toronto on Friday May 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. The prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia

Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet denies sex assault allegations, says he is being defamed

Cardinal accused of sliding his hand down woman’s back and touching her buttocks

Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. The prominent Quebec cardinal is denying sexual assault allegations contained in a class-action lawsuit that was formally filed this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia
Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. Pope Francis says there is insufficient evidence to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault against Ouellet. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia

Pope says not enough evidence to open sex assault probe against Quebec cardinal

Marc Ouellet, an adviser to the Pope, is accused of sexual misconduct in a class-action lawsuit

Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. Pope Francis says there is insufficient evidence to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault against Ouellet. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia
Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. A series of claims made against Quebec clergy members in two class-action lawsuits against the church could be groundbreaking for victims who aren’t children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia

Adult who accused Quebec cardinal of sexual misconduct breaks church-abuse stereotype

Judge authorizes pair of class-action suits in Quebec against the Catholic church

Pope Francis, left, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet arrive at the opening of a 3-day Symposium on Vocations in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on Feb. 17, 2022. A series of claims made against Quebec clergy members in two class-action lawsuits against the church could be groundbreaking for victims who aren’t children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Gregorio Borgia
Medicinal plants used by members of the Yakama Nation grow near the Klickitat River, a tributary of the Columbia River, on Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Lyle, Wash. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Columbia River salmon are at the core of ancient religion

Pollution and climate change threatening river’s health, Indigenous spiritual traditions

Medicinal plants used by members of the Yakama Nation grow near the Klickitat River, a tributary of the Columbia River, on Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Lyle, Wash. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Rev. Andrew Twiddy, of the Anglican Parish of St. Anne and St. Edmund, shows off one of the new cedar shingles bound for the log church’s roof on July 25 in Parksville. (Kevin Forsyth photo)

St. Anne’s Log Church in Parksville getting new roof

128-year-old building gets first new roof since late 70s

Rev. Andrew Twiddy, of the Anglican Parish of St. Anne and St. Edmund, shows off one of the new cedar shingles bound for the log church’s roof on July 25 in Parksville. (Kevin Forsyth photo)
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