Religions Around The World

In the early morning hours, monks can be seen walking on their alms round in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Showing humility and detachment from worldly goods, the monk walks slowly and only stops if he is called. Standing quietly, with his bowl open, the local Buddhists give him rice, or flowers, or an envelope containing money.  In return, the monks bless the local Buddhists and wish them a long and fruitful life.
Christians Celebrate Good Friday
Enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in St. Mary's Church in Secunderabad, India. Only 2.3% of India's population is Christian. 
Ancient interior mosaic in the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Istanbul, Turkey is a medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church.
Dome of the Rock located in the Old City of Jerusalem
The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and to the belief that the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey to heaven started from the rock at the center of the structure.
Holi Festival in Mathura, India
Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the end of winter. Also known as the “festival of colors”,  Holi is primarily observed in South Asia but has spread across the world in celebration of love and the changing of the seasons.
Jewish father and daughter pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel.
Known in Hebrew as the Western Wall, it is one of the holiest sites in the world. The description, "place of weeping", originated from the Jewish practice of mourning the destruction of the Temple and praying for its rebuilding at the site of the Western Wall.
People praying in Mengjia Longshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan
The temple is dedicated to both Taoism and Buddhism.
People praying in the Grand Mosque in Ulu Cami
This is the most important mosque in Bursa, Turkey and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture built in 1399.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral of the Savior Monastery of St. Euthymius
Located in Suzdal, Russia, this is a church rite of sanctification of apples and grapes in honor of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is located in Kyoto, Japan
It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. Fushimi Inari is the most important Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice.
Ladles at the purification fountain in the Hakone Shrine
Located in Hakone, Japan, this shrine is a Japanese Shinto shrine.  At the purification fountain, ritual washings are performed by individuals when they visit a shrine. This ritual symbolizes the inner purity necessary for a truly human and spiritual life.
Hanging Gardens of Haifa are garden terraces around the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel
They are one of the most visited tourist attractions in Israel. The Shrine of the Báb is where the remains of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been buried; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Bahá'ís.
Pilgrims praying at the Pool of the Nectar of Immortality and Golden Temple
Located in Amritsar, India, the Golden Temple is one of the most revered spiritual sites of Sikhism. It is a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to worship God equally. Over 100,000 people visit the shrine daily.
Entrance gateway of Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple Kowloon
Located in Hong Kong, China, the temple is dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, or the Great Immortal Wong. The Taoist temple is famed for the many prayers answered: "What you request is what you get" via a practice called kau cim.
Christian women worship at a church in Bois Neus, Haiti.
Haiti's population is 94.8 percent Christian, primarily Catholic. This makes them one of the most heavily Christian countries in the world.

World Religions News

Catholic voters favor Trump over Harris nationally and in swing states, exit polls show

A roll of I Voted stickers. / PhilipR / Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 5, 2024 / 23:57 pm (CNA).

The Catholic vote on Tuesday broke for former President Donald Trump by a large margin nationwide and within swing states in the 2024 presidential election, according to exit polls published by the Washington Post, the Associated Press, and NBC News. 

According to the Washington Post’s exit poll, Trump won the national Catholic vote by a 15-point margin: 56% to 41%. This shows a much larger victory for Trump among Catholic voters than the Post’s 2020 exit polls, which showed Trump with only a five-point lead above President Joe Biden, 52% to 47%. 

The shift represents a 10-point swing in favor of Trump from 2020 to 2024.

The Washington Post poll also found that 69% of voters who believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases voted for Harris, but Trump managed to win 28% of voters who held the same view. 

Trump also won 90% of voters who believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases and Harris won 9% of voters who held that view. 

An exit poll from the Associated Press VoteCast showed Trump leading among Catholic voters, but by a smaller seven-point margin than the Post’s poll. According to the poll, Trump won the Catholic vote with about 52% compared to Harris’s 45%.

However, the poll also found that 46% of Catholic voters trusted Harris more on abortion policy, while only 36% trusted Trump more on that issue. About 10% trusted neither and 6% trusted both.

According to the poll, 61% of Catholic voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases and only 38% said it should be illegal in all or most cases. It found that Catholic voters were evenly split on the question of whether abortion should be illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with 49% favoring such a law and 49% opposing it. 

The poll found that Catholic voters trusted Trump more than Harris on immigration by a massive 25-point margin, 57% to 32%. It also found that Catholics trusted Trump more on the economy by a 19-point margin, 55% to 36%. 

According to the poll, 59% of Catholics were concerned that Harris was too extreme and 58% felt the same way about Trump. About 73% of Catholic voters said they were primarily voting to support their candidate, but 27% of Catholic voters said they were primarily voting to oppose the other candidate.

This shows Trump heavily outperforming earlier polls of Catholics. A poll conducted by Pew in September only showed the former president with a five-point lead over the vice president, beating her 52% compared to 47%. 

Catholic voters in 10 key swing states polled by NBC voted for Trump by a 15-point margin, with 56% of the vote going to the former president and only 41% going to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Trump’s lead was slightly larger among white Catholic voters with 60% supporting the former president and 37% backing Harris. 

According to the poll, Catholics accounted for 22% of the voters in those states and white Catholics accounted for 15% of the voters.

The states included in the NBC poll were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Both Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, courted the Catholic vote heavily in the last few weeks of the election. In late October, Trump called Harris “destructive to Christianity” and said Catholics are “treated worse than anybody.” In that same week, Vance published an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, accusing Harris of “prejudice against Catholics.” 

The race had yet to be called as of midnight on Tuesday, but the New York Times live forecast estimated that Trump has more than a 90% chance of winning the election. 

Original Source:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/260297/catholic-voters-favor-trump-over-harris-nationally-and-in-swing-states-exit-polls-show