Explore: Religion

Tagged Religion

The Dehumanization of Jews in Russian and Soviet Cartoons

On December 16 at 6:00 p.m. at Parkway Central Library , the Social Science and History Department will host Bob Weinberg, Professor of History and International Relations at Swarthmore College. Weinberg is the author of the new book…

Department Highlights: Education, Philosophy, and Religion

Since Parkway Central Library opened in 1927, patrons have had free and open access to its rich and unique collections, expanding services, and professionally trained and welcoming staff. The robust programs and collections…

Honoring Jewish American Heritage Month

Did you know that in 1654, 23 Jewish refugees sailed to the port of New Amsterdam (presently New York City) and established the first Jewish community in what we now call the United States? It has been nearly 400 years since this…

Explore the Message of Swami Vivekananda With Our Interfaith Reading Group

The Education, Philosophy, and Religion Department strives to offer engaging and informative programs that touch on the wide variety of topics included within our collection of materials. Our upcoming program, The Message of Swami…

The Art of the Book in the Islamic World: Four Studies by Temple Graduate Students

Books have long occupied a central place in the visual culture of the Islamic world. This seminar, held during Temple University’s Fall 2021 semester, traced the key developments in the “arts of the two…

Let's Speak Arabic!

Manuscripts of the Muslim World and Al-Bustan Seeds of Cultural are offering free, virtual Arabic Conversational Classes! There are many reasons to learn conversational Arabic... There are over ten words for "love". It’s…

Why Did Abraham Care What We Eat? Food Restrictions in Major Religions

We often emphasize distinctions between the main Abrahamic religions, but they have something culinary in common: each year Muslims, Christians, and Jews restrict their diets to mimic the fasts of their respective prophets Muhammed,…

Baking with Becca: Cooking Outside the Box

Baking with Becca began at Whitman Library , nestled between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Snyder Avenue in South Philly. When COVID hit, we had to take a long break. I continued to grow and learn to strengthen this class and to steel myself…

The Jewish Festival of Lights

The night of Thursday, December 10 begins the Jewish Festival of Lights known as Hanukkah. That much we can agree on, eh? Well, err, kind of. Yes, the holiday begins on Thursday evening, but what is the correct spelling, in English, of…

Judaism 101: History, Religion, and Culture

Are you curious about Judaism? Are Judaism and Jews a people, a nation, a religion, a culture, a way of life, or something else? What does it mean to be a Jew or Jewish? On October 11 , Rabbi Joel Kessler will attempt to demystify one…

Learn of the Luminous Mysteries of Kabbalah

Do you know what Kabbalah is? Join us on May 23 at 7:00 p.m. to learn about this ancient mystical Jewish tradition. Professor Joel Hecker will talk about the history of Kabbalah, focusing on its central and canonical text,…

#OneBookWednesday: Spiritual and Religious Identity

"I refused to cover my head in public. Refused to walk through the world as a messenger of Allah’s teachings, ate hot dogs and bacon when I was with my girls. My Muslim beliefs lived just left of my heart. I was leaving space…

Rosh Hashanah Is a SWEET Time to Visit the Free Library

Rosh Hashanah —the celebration of the Jewish new year—begins at sundown on Wednesday night, September 20. Even those not celebrating the holiday may be preparing, as Philadelphia schools are closed Thursday and Friday .…

Librarian Traces Family Roots Through Historic Bible

The Rare Book Department 's Judaica includes a beautifully written and lavishly hand-decorated Spanish Hebrew Masoretic Text bible . Commissioned in 1496 in Lisbon, Portugal, the book is well-known among contemporary Hebrew bible…

Philadelphia: City of the Uncanny and the Arcane

Philadelphia is a wild and weird city. There’s so much to love, to hate, to love to hate, and to hate to love. There’s also so much that we, as every day Philadelphians, have somehow forgotten or never learned about our…

Ramadan Mubarak

The holy month of Ramadan began earlier this week, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. This annual observance of fasting is based…

Shabbat Storytime with Folkshul - Purim

Learn about Jewish culture, holidays, traditions, and values through stories, music, movement, mindfulness, and play! Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers welcome. March's theme is Purim. Folkshul is an inclusive…

Shabbat Storytime with Folkshul - Tu BiShvat

Learn about Jewish culture, holidays, traditions, and values through stories, music, movement, mindfulness, and play! Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers welcome. February's theme is Tu BiShvat (birthday of the trees).…

Shabbat Storytime with Folkshul - Shabbat & Traditions

Learn about Jewish culture, holidays, traditions, and values through stories, music, movement, mindfulness, and play! Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers welcome. January's theme is Shabbat & Traditions. Folkshul is…

Academic Search Main Edition *

Academic Search Main Edition is a multi-disciplinary database providing full text for nearly 2,000 journals and periodicals and is updated daily on EBSCOhost.

Sarah Bakewell | Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, and Hope

In conversation with Eric Banks Acclaimed for “wonderfully readable” fusions of “biography, philosophy, history, cultural analysis and personal reflection” ( The Independent ), Sarah Bakewell is the author of At the Existentialist Café…

Anna Badkhen | Bright Unbearable Reality: Essays

In conversation with Airea D. Matthews, 2022-2023 Philadelphia Poet Laureate and Co-Director of the Creative Writing Program at Bryn Mawr With an artist’s perspective and a ground-level view of people in extremis across the world,…

Reza Aslan | An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville

Religion scholar Reza Aslan is the author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Zealot , “a lucid, intelligent page-turner” ( Los Angeles Times ) that sifts through centuries of mythmaking to present a clear account of the life and…

Michael Pollan | This is Your Mind on Plants

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition One of the world’s foremost chroniclers of the intersection of the human and natural worlds, Michael Pollan is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of…

Bill McKibben | The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened

“The world’s best green journalist” ( TIME ), Bill McKibben gave one of the earliest cautions about climate change with his 1989 book The End of Nature . His many other bestselling books about the environment include Falter , Deep…