San Antonio College Library

Near the end of the 19th century, publicly financed, publicly administered schooling emerged as the default educational arrangement for American children. But this supremacy has not gone unchallenged. The sectarian schools that, in fact, predate public education in America have survived, even thrived, over the past century. Multiple religious communities, including those that opposed sectarian schooling in earlier generations, have now embraced it...

Can psychoactive drugs help us get closer to God? Religious communities in Utah and Brazil, both of which use drugs to access the spiritual world, provide some mind-bending and potentially lifechanging answers. This daring documentary sees Mawaan Rizwan join two religious communities--and ingest powerful hallucinogens--in the quest for spiritual enlightenment. Mawaan visits a Christian "Spiritist" Church in Brazil and takes part in their ancient ceremony,...

Rabbi Rosman writes to awaken to the majesty of life in all its mystery.

One of the pillars of Islam is that Muslims pray five times a day. Before those prayers, they are expected to perform a purification ritual called Wudu, during which they wash their face, hands, arms and feet. We visited Masjid Muhammad Mosque in Washington, D.C., where Imam Talib Shareef described the ablution practice as preparing for an "appointment before God."

The Jewish celebration of Purim includes reading aloud the ancient, heroic account in the Book of Esther of Esther's willingness to risk her life to save her people from annihilation by the King of Persia. Traditionally, among Orthodox Jews, the story was read aloud by men, but now Orthodox women are leading Purim services, too. Kim Lawtontells the story.

Despair over the reported inadequacies of public education leads many people to consider religious schools as an alternative. James G. Dwyer demonstrates, however, that religious schooling is almost completely unregulated and that common pedagogical practices in fundamentalist Christian and Catholic schools may be damaging to children. Courts, legal and political theorists, and the public typically argue that families and religious communities are...

Smith discovered Islam as an adult, and became enamored with Islamic conceptions of order, justice, mercy, and compassion. He still prays five times a day as Muslims do. The Sufis opened the doors of Islam to Smith. Through their trance-inducing dances, these mystics bring God into the immediate moment. Smith and Moyers discuss misconceptions about Islam held in the West today.