A lost submersible, an NFL safety who collapsed on field, the Israel-Gaza war and a ‘Friends’ star who died were some of the most searched terms in the United States on Google in 2023, according to the search engine’s year in review. (Rosenzweig-Ziff, The Washington Post)
Read MoreSince Modi’s 2014 election, his government has bolstered religious pride for its Hindu citizens, some of whom are in favor of a Hindu rashtra, or nation. Slogans from the days of British rule such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (Hail Mother India) or “Vande Mataram” (Praise the Motherland) have now come to represent an ideology that many in his constituency hold — a distinctly religious allegiance to the mother goddess of India, or Bharat. (Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Read MoreThe Crossword Solver team dived down the rabbit hole to find the words that users in every country are using Google search to define. We analyzed Google search data to rank words based on the volume of searches for “word + definition” across languages in 135 different countries. Crossword Solver)
Read MoreOrthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrated Christmas on December 25 for the first time after aligning with western calendars in a snub to Russia. The festival is traditionally celebrated on January 7 but the war with Russia prompted President Zelensky to legally bring celebrations forward in Ukraine this year. (Kolirin, The Times UK)
Read MoreIt was a year in which one could hardly go anywhere without seeing or hearing Taylor Swift's name, celebrity divorces were aplenty, and though Hollywood reckoned with historic dual writers and actors strikes in 2023, studios managed to squeeze out box office hits "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," or "Barbenheimer" as the Internet dubbed. (Robinson, USA Today)
Read MoreVinings Lake is one of a handful of spiritual communities across the U.S. sprouting from the soil of the exvangelical and deconstruction movements. While their Sunday morning gatherings retain the basic structure of many Christian services — music, teachings, fellowship — these collectives reject dogma, prefer questions over answers and have no intention of converting anybody to anything. (Post, Religion News Service)
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