the feed @ blackchicken

Tag: Religion

  • Happy Ramadan!

    Today is the start of the Islamic holy season known as Ramadan.  It occurs during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which follows a lunar cycle.  It is believed that during this period the prophet Muhammad received his first revelation. Muslims who participate in this holy time abstain from ingesting anything into the body…

  • Religious Tolerance

    I felt compelled to write this post because frankly I’m appalled by the declining health of religious tolerance in Canada.  Biases, generalizations, and ignorance are  insidiously penetrating the oft-lauded integrity of Canada as a nation of tolerance and acceptance.  Islamophobia is on the rise across the nation, and this is indeed troubling.  While headlines detailing the…

  • Comic Book Religion

    I’m always fascinated with the infinite ways in which religion is intertwined into pretty well any aspect of life — and indeed, afterlife. Recently, I stumbled across this curious Web site called, Comic Book Religion.  Over 25,000 comic book characters and their religious affiliation are available to browse. I have to admit, that I know…

  • Cure for Love

    I had the opportunity to watch a 2008 documentary called, Cure for Love.  It was such an interesting film, hence why I’m posting about it here.  The synopsis reads, “Cure for Love is a full-length documentary about a controversial evangelical movement that purports to convert gay people into heterosexuals. The film brings us inside this…

  • When did Christmas stop being a Holiday?

    It’s that time of year again. No sooner do the first snow flakes fall and the rhetoric around whether it’s appropriate to replace “Happy Holidays” with “Merry Christmas” begins to fly. It’s one of the most divisive issues surrounding this season. Firstly, there are the annual campaigns via email and social media promoting the “put…

  • The Haunted History of Halloween

    Halloween is my favourite time of year.  At no other time of the year can you completely alter your ego, and be encouraged to do so.  In addition to the identity shifting fun that can be had by kids and adults alike, the natural world is also shifting.  Gone are the hot humid days of…

  • Religion in Schools

    Recent media stories have been aflutter over revelations that a Toronto area school is providing approximately 300 Muslim students with space for prayer every Friday afternoon.  Students congregate in the cafeteria for one hour and prayer sessions are led by an Imam who is brought into the school for this special rite.   In what…

  • Pastafarian wins right to wear pasta strainer as religious headgear

    If you’re not familiar with the term Pastafarian, then you likely haven’t heard of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The “church” was originally conceived  in 2005 by Bobby Henderson as satirical commentary in the form of an open letter to the Kansas State Board of Education regarding decisions to allow intelligent design to…

  • Songs of Faith

    Some of the most beautiful & entertaining sounds I’ve ever heard are songs of the faithful.  It’s as though the sound truly does emanate from their souls.  There’s no embarrassment, or anxiety about how one sounds – just pure joy of song and music. I thought I’d share some random videos of song, prayer and…

  • Religion as commodity

    I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, so I’m glad that I’ve started writing it now – even though I’m not sure if it’ll be published sooner rather than later. It was a trip to the grocery store that bore the seeds of this post. In particular, a meander through the organic…