Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five so-called pillars of Islam, an obligation of Muslims worldwide. Muslims use a lunar calendar, and Ramadan begins with the new moon. But for devout Muslims, it’s not enough to calculate mathematically when the crescent moon rises. It has to be seen.

Health care in the United States is a big problem for the poor — not only because they often can’t afford it. Sometimes it just isn’t there. This is especially true in rural areas, which have a hard time attracting doctors. In rural Alabama, a Catholic nun has found a calling as a doctor, one of only three serving 14,000 people.

It's best known in the West for the dance of the whirling dervishes. Sufism, which flowered within Islam more than a thousand years ago, is gaining new followers today in America. Its central ideas -- universal love, mystical union with God, and openness to different spiritual paths -- are being spread by teachers, musicians, and poets from around the world.

The Church of God in Christ teaches classic Christian doctrine, the Bible is God’s word. But COGIC members also put special emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit, of which the surest sign — many say — is speaking in tongues. The Church of God in Christ is now the fourth largest Christian denomination in the U.S.

In India, it is not common to find a Siva and Vishnu temple under one roof, but Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland manages to bring Hindus of these rival traditions together and promote greater unity and diversity.

For nearly a millennium, part of Roman Catholic prayer life has included saying the rosary, with each rosary bead representing a prayer. The rosary includes a set of meditations on the life of Christ, known as mysteries. Use of the rosary, has diminished in recent years but many Catholics say it's still part of their practice.

Tent, or camp, revivals have been important social and religious traditions throughout American history, especially in the rural South. We visit Rock Springs campground in northwest Georgia, where they've been having camp meetings since 1887.

Taizé was founded at the beginning of World War II to work for peace and help refugees by celebrating Christian unity. The community has no preaching but has become famous for its simple, meditative music and prayer. Today, many thousands of visitors, especially young people, travel to Taizé every summer.

The latest weapon in anti-abortion protest, photography, has triggered an ethical and legal debate. Before, the anti-abortion protestors only yelled at women, while targeting blame at doctors and staff members. Recently, they have started to take pictures of the woman in an effort to shame them away from Planned Parenthood.

Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor explains some of the rituals of performed during the Jewish High Holidays, including the purification rite called tashlikh and the sounding of the shofar.

In the wake of 9/11, American Muslims say they have experienced increased discrimination and suspicion -- and violations of their civil liberties. "We are misunderstood, and therefore, the challenge has been how we can reintroduce ourselves in a language that is familiar with our fellow American neighbors," says Imam Yahya Hendi of Georgetown University.

Join host Bob Abernethy along with Shaun Casey, Professor of Christian Ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary, Jack Moline, Rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation and a Vice President of the Interfaith Alliance, and Richard Land, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, for a conversation regarding religious views on the war in Iraq.

One year after the September 11 attacks, many are asking what should happen now at ground zero. Part of the debate has involved the idea of sacred space. What makes a place holy, and does ground zero qualify?

In the aftermath of 9/11, the daily headlines talked of bombers in Afghanistan and the search for Osama bin Laden. Away from the headlines, in thousands of homes across the U.S., families were dealing with their very private and personal grief. How many sought comfort in their faith cannot be known. But many who did, found that comfort through their local religious organizations.

Few Americans know of the profound spiritual impact of 9/11 on the rural community where one of the planes went down.

Every year the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assigns a summer reading book for its incoming freshmen. This year that book was called APPROACHING THE QUR'AN: THE EARLY REVELATIONS, and it's generated a lot of controversy both within the state and outside of it.

“Christ needs your youth and your generous enthusiasm to make his proclamation of joy resound in the new millennium,” said Pope John Paul II to the more than 250,000 young people assembled in Toronto for World Youth Day.

This past week, another lay group which came out of the Catholic Church sexual abuse crisis held its first national convention. Voice of the Faithful began in the Archdiocese of Boston, the epicenter of the scandal. Now the movement is spreading across the country. Organizers say Catholics came from 36 states and 7 countries for a day of prayer and support for victims of sexual abuse.

Congress is considering legislation that, if approved, would let preachers preach politics from the pulpit and endorse candidates without losing the church’s tax-exempt status. However, advocates of separation of church and state strongly oppose the legislation.

Queen Elizabeth II, the official head of the Anglican Church, appointed Welsh archbishop Rowan Williams to become the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. Williams is a noted theologian and writer whose critical views on the war in Afghanistan and support for female bishops and homosexual priests have already generated headlines.