Past Questions for Personal Religion

November 22, 2006

Is Thanksgiving a religious holiday? If so, who does one thank and for what? Should non-believers celebrate Thanksgiving?

December 6, 2006

Millions of people are in mixed faith marriages or are unsure about their conception of God. How would you advise them to describe God to their children over the holiday season?

February 7, 2007

International scientists have raised a new alarm about the dangers of global warming. Should care for the environment be a major priority for people of faith? Why or why not?

February 14, 2007

“Why do you think some religions have regarded sex as sacred while others have regarded it as a sin?”

February 28, 2007

What does your faith lead you to believe about gay unions and gay clergy? Could you ever change your mind?

March 7, 2007

Should teaching about religion be mandatory in public schools? In colleges and universities?

April 25, 2007

In light of recent high-profile public apologies by Don Imus, Paul Wolfowitz, Michael Nifong, the Pope and others, what is the relationship of apology (repentance) to forgiveness?

May 18, 2007

Are you satisfied with where you are now in your life?

August 15, 2007

What passage or verse in scripture or literature best defines your own faith or beliefs? Why?

August 29, 2007

In her letters, Mother Teresa expressed doubts about the existence of God and lamented the absence of a personal sense of Jesus' love in her life. Does this make you think more or less of her? To what extent is doubt a part of religious faith?

September 5, 2007

A question as we commemorate the anniversaries of Katrina and 9/11: Why would a merciful God allow disasters -- natural or manmade -- to happen?

September 26, 2007

Best-selling atheist Christopher Hitchens wrote: "Religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children." Why is he right or wrong?

November 21, 2007

Happy Holidays? Why are many holiday family gatherings marked by tension and unhappiness?

March 12, 2008

E-mail: Blessing or Curse?

March 25, 2008

How should Barack Obama have responded to inflammatory remarks made by his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright? Are you responsible for what your spiritual leader says from the pulpit?

April 23, 2008

In his speech to U.S. bishops last week, Pope Benedict XVI said: "Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted . . . To the extent that religion becomes a purely private affair, it loses its very soul." Do you agree or disagree? Why?

MORE PAST QUESTIONS

• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006