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Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, May 20

A Ruist (aka Confucian) talks about the role of ancestor veneration within his faith. The difference between Hindutva and Hinduism is explained. And St. Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, is remembered. It's Faithful Friday, our weekly segment about faiths and religious communities from around the world! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

One of the best known practices in Chinese traditional religions is ancestor veneration, the honoring of deceased ancestors through prayer and ritual offerings. But many Westerners don't understand the subtleties of the practice. Ruist (Confucian) writer Bin Song explains.

Assuming you follow news about India, you may have begun to hear one particular word crop up more and more often these days: Hindutva. The word obviously bears similarity to Hinduism and it's definitely rooted in the Indian religion. But distinguishing Hindutva from Hinduism is as important as distinguishing Islam from Islamism.

How do you make your religious community feel nurturing and welcome? Over at ProgressiveChristianity.org, Tom Ehrich has some ideas.

Scholars of religious history will surely recognize his name but those who are not, Constantine I was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, marking a pivotal change in the culture of the Roman Empire. At Patheos, Henry Karlson considers the Emperor's historical legacy.

A few weeks ago, Hindus at a temple (mandir) in Guyana gathered to celebrate Mother's Day in their own particular way. However, not everyone was pleased by the celebration. Some wrote letters decrying the event as an "unsavory act." One Hindu writes to Stabroek News, however, to express a different opinion.


Top image by Alicia Nijdam

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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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