Faith at life’s turning points, and at its edges

An Armenian tradition of forty days, a conviction in Kenya and a survey on empathy in the United States.

Armenian culture marks the great passages of life, birth and death, with a period of forty days called karasunk, as a person moves from one state to another ^[1].

Belief can also be turned to harm. In Kenya, Pastor Paul Mackenzie was convicted on 191 murder charges, together with 28 others who helped run a sect connected to his Good News International Church on the country’s south-east coast ^[2].

In the United States, a survey released on 20 October by the research group PRRI found that Republicans and evangelicals increasingly see empathy as a danger that can lead society away from God ^[3].

In three very different places, the week’s reports show faith shaping how people mark life’s changes, how some are led, and how others see their neighbours ^[1][2][3].

Sources

1. 40 days to arrive, 40 days to leave: How Armenian culture honors life’s most important momentsReligion News Service · religionnews.com
2. What to know about Kenya’s starvation cult after its leader is convicted on 191 murder chargesReligion News Service · religionnews.com
3. An ‘empathy gap’ divides Americans ahead of the midterms, says PRRI reportReligion News Service · religionnews.com