Religion

Web Exclusive |
June 30, 2004

Great Divide

Executive editor S.C. Gwynne on the controversy among Episcopal leaders and the future of the Anglican Church.

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Michael Ennis |
June 30, 2004

Apocalypse Now

What sets Dallas apart from other sophisticated American cities? Its unique end-of-the-world industry.

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Feature |
April 1, 2003

The Ghosts of Mount Carmel

Ten years after eighty Davidians died in a government-led siege, a few surviving members of the sect have returned to the plains east of Waco, looking for something. And, in some cases, waiting for David Koresh to return.

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Faith |
January 1, 2003

Jung at Heart

When I could no longer tolerate the religious fundamentalism of my childhood, I turned to the teachings of a Swiss psychiatrist—and rejuvenated my spiritual life.

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Feature |
December 1, 2002

Amen

Three decades after his last megamission in Dallas, age and poor health haven't slowed Billy Graham down (well, not much). He's still the most powerful evangelist since Jesus, and there will never be another like him.

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Faith |
September 30, 2002

Quite Contrary

Was the sacred image of the Virgin Mary in Mexico City painted by miracle or man? Even science can't say for sure.

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True Crime |
April 1, 2002

The Traitor Next Door

His name was Wadih el-Hage. He had an American wife and American kids, a home in Arlington, a job at a tire store in Fort Worth, and a secret past that led straight to Osama bin Laden.

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Religion |
March 1, 2001

Let It Be

In today's stressful times, Buddhism's philosophy of peaceful detachment is resonating with more Texans than ever.

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News & Politics |
November 1, 2000

They Haven’t Got a Prayer

In the Gulf Coast town of Santa Fe, high school football games had always kicked off with a prayer, but in June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the practice violated the separation of church and state. Now the issue—which has turned neighbor against neighbor and provoked some decidedly un-Christian

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Religion |
September 30, 1999

Witch Hunt

The Wiccans of Fort Hood have conjured up their share of enemies, including a Republican congressman and a Baptist preacher. Are their claims of religious freedom appropriate, or are they off base?

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Reporter |
September 30, 1999

Felonious Monk?

There’s something unorthodox—to say the least—about the Christ of the Hills Monastery in Blanco.

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Feature |
April 30, 1999

Tex Mecca

What are tens of thousands of Muslims doing in Arlington? Adjusting to life in America, debating the merits of assimilation, and trying to convince the world that they’re not terrorists.

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The Ex Files |
September 30, 1997

Dan Rather

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, Grandma Page, was up at three-thirty or four o’clock in the morning to bake and churn and get ready for the cotton fields on our family farm in Bloomington. At night, after all the cooking and sewing, there was energy left for her reading. “Come, Danny, I’ll

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Being Texan |
June 30, 1997

Happy Doomsday

In the wake of Heaven’s Gate, the media marched en masse to Abilene, the home base of the House of Yahweh, whose charismatic leader, Yisrayl Hawkins, was supposed to be the next David Koresh. Not even close.

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Being Texan |
August 31, 1996

In God We Bust

Since the late eighties, dozens of big churches in Texas have put rapid growth ahead of financial health. Austin’s Great Hills Baptist is only the latest to pay the price.

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Being Texan |
September 30, 1995

Swami Dearest

In the Hill Country, what was once the hallowed ranch of Walter Prescott Webb is now the sacred site of a mammoth new Hindu temple—and the home of a controversial ashram called Barsana Dham.

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Religion |
August 31, 1995

I’m a Believer

With so many people attacking the Religious Right these days, being a Christian isn’t easy. But I keep the faith.

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Art |
November 1, 1992

Dead Again

Get your masks on; put on your dancing shoes. It’s time for Mexico’s Day of the Dead, one of the liveliest celebrations around.

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November 1, 1991

The War for Thee University

Pray for Baylor. The Baptists are calling each other flat-earthers and liberal parasites, and the school they call Jerusalem on the Brazos is caught in the middle.

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Religion |
August 31, 1990

Devout Discord

A bishop and a believer challenge pro-choice Catholics—and force Corpus Christi into a crisis of conscience.

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True Crime |
May 31, 1989

The Work of The Devil

The disappearance of a University of Texas student in Matamoros led police to the discovery of a drug-dealing cult whose rituals were not only unholy but unthinkable.

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A conceptual photo illustration of a model stand-in for Reverend Walker Railey, with a shadow of a cross obscuring his face.
True Crime |
January 1, 1988

The Sins of Walker Railey

He had a wife and a girlfriend. His ambition was unchecked. He tried to commit suicide. But when I came face to face with the minister of my boyhood church, the sin we talked about was murder.

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The Culture |
October 1, 1986

Beyond Halloween

On the Day of the Dead, Mexicans mock death with candy skulls and papier-mâché coffins. But in the darkness of a graveside vigil, the mockery gives way to tears.

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Being Texan |
December 1, 1985

The Week of the Virgin

A doll-like statue of sugar-cane fiber and clay came to San Antonio from a village in Mexico. Twenty-four hours a day, residents of the West Side visited Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos.

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Being Texan |
November 1, 1985

Preacher’s Kids

My father had to have an answer for everything—adultery, spiritual crises, the pigeons defecating in the church gutter. No wonder I didn’t become a preacher. The miracle is that my sister did.

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