Pope Benedict XVI, who has passed away, was dubbed ‘Green Pontiff’; here is why
Benedict’s statements and actions during his papacy reveal his deep understanding of green issues and connect with them
Religion V environment
How Nanak used nature in his verses to drive home his point
Down To Earth speaks to musician and singer Rabbi Shergill about the poetry of Sikhism’s founder and its many allusions to facets of …
How to douse the flames
The challenge facing India today is in many ways the biggest challenge facing the entire world
No consensus on consciousness
Despite fanciful theories by psychologists, physicists, neuroscientists and computer scientists, consciousness remains an abiding mystery
Big gods came after the rise of civilisations, not before, finds study using huge historical database
A massive database, named after Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of record keeping, is helping researchers
Mobocracy can’t be allowed in a democracy, says SC
The apex court asks the Parliament to draft a new legislation against lynching
Presumed ideals
Any utopia, whether founded on reason or faith, contains the seeds of dystopia within
A leonine tale for Holi: Could the Asiatic Lion have inspired the figure of Narasimha?
Religious iconography cannot be mapped onto modern taxonomy, say experts
Valentine’s Day’s connection with love was probably invented by Chaucer and other 14th-century poets
Courtly medieval literature has an important part to play with Saint Valentine and his romantic associations
‘India needs to monitor mortality disaggregated by social groups to understand health disparities’
There needs to be data that links social groups to different behaviours and risk factors to mortality, says Sangita Vyas
The real bad news
The most prosperous regions and communities in India have a bias against the female sex. Religion-based data shows us the biggest development …
Sarna Dharam Code: Of Adivasi identity and eco-nationalism
Down To Earth speaks to experts on Adivasi culture about the recent resolution passed by the Jharkhand Assembly, asking for a separate religion …
Putting faith back in science
Pope Francis may have just succeeded in creating a kind of middle ground, albeit a slippery one
Church of England to explore gender-neutral terms for God — women clergy’s suggestions for replacing ‘Our Father’
Official Christian doctrine is that God has no gender; yet “He” is described almost exclusively in masculine terms
Religious leaders pledge to alleviate poverty
They also declared they would do all they could to support the new SDGs, aimed at lifting millions of people out of poverty and creating a …
Can FSSAI ensure safe food at places of worship without hurting religious sentiments?
India’s food regulatory body plans to implement Food Safety Management System (FSMS) to ensure quality of food in places of worship, but it …
Religion v science: desperate claims
Rationalist analyses recent statements by Prime Minister Modi and the Pope
Laws alone won’t end female genital mutilation in India: Mariya Taher
Down To Earth speaks to Mariya Taher, the co-founder and United States executive director of non-profit Sahiyo on Female Genital …
COVID-19: Why social distancing does not work for Nigerian women
Religion holds an African woman responsible for all domestic chores, and saying no to husbands is not allowed, say Nigerian women
