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.

Antisemitic attacks in 2025 caused highest number of deaths in 30 years, study finds

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Last year saw the highest level of deadly violence against Jews around the world in over three decades, with 20 people killed in antisemitic attacks, according to an annual study released by Tel Aviv University on Monday.

The violence, including a deadly attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia, continued a spike that began following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, the report’s authors said.

“The data raise concern that a high level of antisemitic incidents is becoming a normalized reality,” said Uriya Shavit, the report’s chief editor.

Deadly antisemitic attacks were recorded on three continents. Fifteen people were killed at the holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December. There were additional deaths in two antisemitic attacks in the U.S. in Washington, D.C., and Colorado; and in Britain, two people were killed at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Each year, Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice releases the report about antisemitism ahead of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The day marks a national memorial for the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, which begins Monday evening.

The new report also tracked an increase in antisemitic attacks that resulted in physical harm, including beatings and stone throwing.

It found that 2025 was the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks since 1994, when the bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina killed 85 people and wounded more than 300. An Argentine court has blamed Iran and its Hezbollah proxy for the attack.

According to the report, there was a moderate increase in the overall number of antisemitic incidents last year compared with 2024, but that total represents a huge jump from 2022, before the war in Gaza. The report tracks incidents that range from physical attacks and vandalism to verbal threats and harassment on social media.

“The peak in the number of incidents was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, after which we began to see a downward trend — but unfortunately, that trend did not continue in 2025,” Shavit said.

In the United Kingdom, there were 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2025, up from 3,556 in 2024. In Canada, the number of incidents grew from 6,219 in 2024 to 6,800 in 2025, a number more than three times higher than in 2022.

The report found that even after the Gaza ceasefire took effect last October, antisemitic incidents continued to rise from the same period during the previous year. In Australia, there were 588 antisemitic incidents between October and December 2025, up from 492 during the same period in 2024. There were a total of 472 antisemitic incidents across Australia during all of 2022.

Most physical attacks were carried out by people acting on their own, which is why it is so difficult to try to prevent them, according to Carl Yonker, the study’s director of research. He noted that most attacks were carried out by extremist white Christians devoted to white supremacy or radical Muslims, and often the attackers were unemployed and struggling financially.

The statistics are based on reports from police, national authorities and local Jewish communities.

Original Source:

https://religionnews.com/2026/04/14/antisemitic-attacks-in-2025-caused-highest-number-of-deaths-in-30-years-study-finds/