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Massachusetts

Menorahs spread their light across Boston — Gallery

BOSTON – The State House filled with traditional Judaic music Monday as a giant 18-foot-high menorah stood over the joyous crowd. "Oseh Shalom," sung by local students of the Schechter Day School, brought the message of peace to an appreciative audience. Gov. Charlie Baker joined House Speaker Robert DeLeo,

boston

Holidays take many meanings in Boston (video)

The commercialization of holiday cheer has taken over this time of year for some. For many, keeping up traditions matters most. That can mean getting together with family and friends, sharing experiences and great food, being thankful and offering kindness to one and all.

Massachusetts

Presidents of successful small religious colleges share insights

This is the first in a two-part series on the insights and challenges facing smaller religious colleges. As in the rest of the country, small religious colleges in the Boston area are facing difficult times. Sharp declines in enrollment and revenue are forcing many to close. Recently, for example, Andover

boston

Church-going women live longer, Harvard study shows

BOSTON – Does attending church give you a longer life? A Harvard University study shows a significant proportion of women who went to services more than once a week lived longer than those who never attended religious services. For the Nurses' Health Study, researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan

religion

The uniformity of Mass Society

Bigger is better, or so goes the refrain. Whether it is mega grocery stores, super movie theatres, gigantic airplanes and ships, towering skyscrapers, mammoth sport utility vehicles, or limitless storage space on an iCloud, when something is colossal, we take interest. In business, firms and banks strive to grow larger

Middle East

Momentum builds for Lowell Middle East relief effort

Leaders from the Lowell region and beyond are gathering this Sunday to honor the persecuted religious minorities in the Middle East. A growing number of local politicians and church representatives will meet at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in what promises to be the largest event of its kind in

muslim

Meet Jewish America’s first ambassador to Muslims

(RNS) — Bob Silverman, a Jew who spent most of his diplomatic career in Muslim-majority nations, will now reach out to Muslims in his own country. The American Jewish Committee recently hired him as its first U.S. director of Muslim-Jewish relations. As a U.S. Foreign Service officer for 27

Obamacare

Kennedy bill would bar religious exemption claims

WASHINGTON – Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III on Wednesday proposed "clarifying" the Religious Freedom Act in a way that supporters say will prevent organizations, business owners and other individuals from using it to shield discrimination against others on the basis of religious beliefs. Business owners who