Spiritual Practices

The author of Draw Your Weapons Sarah Sentilles talks to Jo Randerson at the NZ Festival Writers and Readers 2018 about depictions of violence and terror in contemporary culture. Audio

The Māori religion Rātana has flourished for the last century, and has over 40,000 followers. Now, its adherents are looking at how they can keep the faith growing. Meriana Johnsen was at Rātana to… Audio

Today marks Diwali - a Hindu festival celebrating the triumphant return of the Hindu avatar, Lord Rama, to Ayodhya. Audio

The Catholic Church has withheld its findings about a child sex abuse accusation for months from the man who laid the complaint. The man says this has re-traumatised him and proves the church's… Audio

Japan has faced earthquakes, deadly flooding, and 24 Typhoons in the past few months and each time the same volunteers - many of them retirees - have helped out, Japanese correspondent Motoko… Audio

Most cults exist under the radar and not enough is being done to stop them, says Australian woman Ros Hodgkins. She got her daughter away from a cult in the early '90s and founded the Cult Information… Audio

Pope Francis has taken the unprecedented measure of acknowledging the failures of the Roman Catholic church in dealing with sexual abuse by priests. The letter was issued after a week of pressure… Audio

US author Robert Wright delves into the science and philosophy of meditation, mindfulness and Buddhism in his latest book, Why Buddhism is True. Wright argues that through meditation and mindfulness… Audio

Fiji's government is remaining tight-lipped regarding its involvement with a South Korean church whose leader has been arrested for enslavement. Korean authorities say 400 members of the Grace Road… Audio

History's been made in the Bay of Islands over the weekend. Christ Church in Russell has welcomed its new priest, Chris Swannell. He's openly gay, and his parishioners couldn't be happier with their… Audio

The Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson has given into months of pressure and resigned. The resignation has been accepted by the Pope. Earlier this month the 67-year-old was sentenced to a… Audio

One hundred and fifty years ago today, Māori prophet Te Kooti founded the Ringatū religion after escaping prison exile on the Chatham Islands. Followers of Ringatū, which is a mix of the old testament… Audio

Catholic priests in Australia could soon be facing a hefty fine if someone confesses child sex abuse to them and they don't report it to police.  Audio

The annual lychee and dog meat festival in Yulin, China, has changed over the years in response to the outcry over eating dogmeat. At its height, the Yulin festival, which began in 2009, would see… Audio