In Chicago, a dynamic young Muslim is working to help solve a problem many religious believers have — how to relate to people of another faith tradition. Eboo Patel is an Indian-American, a Muslim, a sociologist, and the founder and leader of the Interfaith Youth Core, active now on some 50 American campuses.

Most tourists come to Tanzania to take a photo safari through a wonderland of wildlife. There are few places on earth that can match it. On the other hand, there are an increasing number of tourists who come to Tanzania to comfort a dying old lady or hold a little orphan girl. It’s called “voluntourism.”

Last year at this time, R&E profiled two pastors in New Orleans. Both were in their first years at their churches when Katrina hit. They were working hard to comfort their congregations and help rebuild their communities, all while dealing with their own losses. Given the lack of progress in so many areas of New Orleans, we wanted to check back with those same pastors.

Passover commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, when they got out so fast there was no time for bread to rise. Observant Jews prepare for Passover by getting rid of everything in the house that is chametz, or leavened.

The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Missouri bake and sell millions of Communion wafers, small and large. But some would-be communicants were concerned about being allergic to the gluten in the wheat in the nun’s wafers — the hosts, as they are known. So they could not receive Communion. For the sisters, that was a challenge that they were eager to meet.

In Thailand, there is an AIDS hospice that is housed in a Buddhist monastery. The monastery also serves as a museum -- teaching visitors, especially young people, about AIDS causes and consequences. Nevertheless, AIDS education still has a long way to go.

The principles of a just war are well known in religious thought. Now, as Americans weigh the pros and cons of leaving Iraq, watch a conversation about a just exit with William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Georgetown University ethics professor Nancy Sherman.

Artists have started to practice their spirituality outside the studio, outside the gallery. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, individuals attend a retreat that is intended to bring back what one organizer calls "the intimate relationship between art and faith."

The question of whether to ordain gay clergy has challenged and divided many denominations, including Conservative Jews. The Orthodox strongly oppose gay ordination, but reform Jews accept it. Now, the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has recommended that Conservative seminaries should be allowed to admit gays.

As religious groups become more and more committed to protecting the environment and more aware of the tradeoffs involved, the pros and cons of conservation are starkly visible in the mountains and hollows of Appalachia. There, coal companies engage not only in deep mining and strip mining, but also in what's called mountaintop removal.

In many states around the country there are new, tough laws aimed at sexual predators who have abused children. No one opposes the intent to protect children, but in Georgia its new sex offender law is under attack by civil rights and religious activists who say the law is so broad and so harsh it is unfair.

By some estimates, the number of children in this country being taught at home is well over a million and may be approaching two million. Yet in some states there is very little or no government oversight of what the kids are learning, which is just the way most home school parents want it.

A look at some of the new criticism of religion. Recently two of the best-selling books regarding religion have been written by atheists: biologist Richard Dawkins and neuroscientist Sam Harris. Betty Rollin reports on them and other outspoken atheists, including actress Julia Sweeney and her off-Broadway performance, “Letting Go of God.”

The exhibition “Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych” consists of religious paintings produced under the umbrella of the Roman Catholic Church and spans the 15th and 16th centuries. A diptych consists of two panels of the same size that are framed and hinged so they can be opened and closed like a book.

Estimates of the number of young girls sold for sex across international borders go up to nearly two million a year, not counting those tricked or kidnapped into prostitution within their own countries. Dr. Sunitha Krishnan founded Prajwala, which runs 17 schools in Hyderabad, India, for children removed from brothels.

The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is considered one of the five fundamental obligations of Islam. Preparations begin months in advance, and most pilgrims are accompanied by a spiritual advisor who guides them through the complex series of rituals. Imam Shaker Elsayed of the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center has been on many hajjs. He went again this year and agreed to discuss the journey.

There's a battle underway in the state of Nevada over the proper use of water. Las Vegas wants water so it can keep growing. But farmers and ranchers fear Las Vegas's thirst will destroy their livelihood.

It was a trip surrounded by both ancient and very recent animosities as Pope Benedict XVI came to this crossroads between East and West. He called the trip “a mission of dialogue, brotherhood and reconciliation,” and in his first visit to a predominantly Muslim country, the pope took every opportunity to express his respect for the Islamic faith.

Joseph's House in Washington, DC was founded by a Christian doctor as a place terminally ill, homeless, African-American men could call home for the last years of their lives.

The outspoken president of the National Association of Evangelicals Ted Haggard resigned because of a sex and drug scandal. His interim successor, Rev. Leith Anderson, insists the resignation will have no effect on the health of the NAE, which he describes as a group that is increasingly diverse.