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Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, April 29

A woman joins the ranks of Orthodox Judaic rabbis. We take a look at funerary rites in Hinduism. And a Zoroastrian temple is erected in New York. It's Faithful Friday, our weekly segment on news about faiths and religious communities from around the globe! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

As in many religions, the role of religious leader in Judaism is usually reserved for men. But that may be changing. CNN reports on the ordination of Lila Kagedan, the first female rabbi in the history of Orthodox Judaism.

What can traditional Chinese religion and philosophy teach us about the world we live in today? Confucianism (also known as Ruism) is often imagined as a rigidly traditional way of thinking, but as Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh explain for The Guardian, that's not necessarily true. In fact, Confucianism may have many lessons highly relevant to our modern lives.

In the West, it's typical to bury the body after death. In the East, it's more common to cremate it. Most of us are familiar with Western funerary rites but what about those practiced in India? Hinduism Today provides an insightful look at the final rites of Hinduism.

The monotheistic Zoroastrianism, also sometimes called Mazdaism, is one of the most ancient religions in the world, dating back to at least the 6th century BC (and probably further). It's also very close to extinct, following centuries of marginalization in its native Iran. But it may yet have a future ahead of it. USA Today reports on the opening of a new Zoroastrian Temple in Ramapo, New York.

Should we judge what others wear? It may not seem to be a question that's relevant to modern Western society, but often, disappointingly, it still is. Writing for Patheos, Saideh Jamshidi compares the doubled standard Muslim women are often subjected to—told to dress modestly by their religious brethren, while also being shamed for wearing hijab by Westerners—and why both demands are harmful to them.


Top image by Maziart

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Aryós Héngwis (or the more modest Héngwis for short) is a native of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, born some 5000 years ago, near the village of Dereivka. In his youth he stood out from the other snakes for his love of learning and culture, eventually coming into the service of the local reǵs before moving westward toward Europe. Most recently, Aryós Héngwis left his home to pursue a new life in America, where he has come under the employ of BBI Media as an internet watchdog (or watchsnake, if you will), ever poised to strike the unwary troll.

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