Why sexuality and spirituality belong together

Comedian Pete Holmes details his struggle with faith, sex, and God.

  • Comedian and writer Pete Holmes explains how he lost his faith after a long struggle with what he calls his Christian, puritanical, shame psychology.
  • Holmes found the antidote to internalized shame was 'thoughtless, irrational love'. Love should be as indiscriminate as light, he says. Many people only give conditional love to themselves and others.
  • Sexuality is not a mistake, says Holmes. Pretending to be pure by saying frack instead of fuck, and not seeing R-rated movies and being really "nice" is not what a connection to the divine is about.
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This is the best (and simplest) world map of religions

Both panoramic and detailed, this infographic manages to show both the size and distribution of world religions.

(c) CLO / Carrie Osgood
  • At a glance, this map shows both the size and distribution of world religions.
  • See how religions mix at both national and regional level.
  • There's one country in the Americas without a Christian majority – which?
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Strange Maps

Rare gemstone particles found in an 8th-century nun's mouth shatter a historical misconception

The gem lapis lazuli is the source of luminescent blue in manuscript illustrations.

(e-codices)
  • It turns out medieval religious manuscripts were not exclusively the domain of male monks.
  • Fleck of a rare gemstone pigment in fossilized teeth prove women were involved in the making of religious manuscripts.
  • We'll never see these exquisite books the same way again.
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Surprising Science

A world map of Virgin Mary apparitions

She met mere mortals with and without the Vatican's approval.

National Geographic / Michael O'Neill (Miraclehunter.com)
  • For centuries, the Virgin Mary has appeared to the faithful, requesting devotion and promising comfort.
  • These maps show the geography of Marian apparitions – the handful approved by the Vatican, and many others.
  • Historically, Europe is where most apparitions have been reported, but the U.S. is pretty fertile ground too.
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Strange Maps

How religion turned American politics into a bizarre anti-science spectacle

The countdown continues! This is the 7th most popular video of 2018.

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  • In the last 30 years, religion has radicalized American politics and seriously harmed the perception of science, says journalist and author Kurt Andersen. This can be directly tied to the rise of the Christian Right in the 20th century.
  • To see this, you only have to look at the response to the same question posed to Republican presidential candidates over three election cycles, from 2008 to 2016: "Do you believe in Darwinian biological evolution?" In 2008, the majority answered yes. In 2012, there were notably less. In 2016? There was only one of 17 candidates who said he did—Jeb Bush, and even he backpedaled.
  • From climate change to Creationism and outright conspiracy theories, Andersen points to how the Republican party has come to increasingly incorporate fantasy and wishful untruths into its approach to social, economic, and foreign policy—and it's turning America into an anti-science spectacle.
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