RELIGION AND POLITICS....

Talking about religion isn't so taboo anymore, and may actually be the solution to otherwise unsolvable global problems, two authorities said this month.

Krista Tippett, host of "Speaking of Faith," which airs on NPR, spoke at the Salt Lake City Library Nov. 10 about the increasing popularity of religious conversations.

And Douglas Johnston, president of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, spoke at Brigham Young University last week about how those religious conversations are often the answer to identity-based conflicts, such as ethnic disputes, religious hostilities and tribal warfare around the world.

"The very complexity of our age is driving people back to the enduring repositories of ethical and spiritual thinking," Tippett said.

Often, the important questions, such as finding meaning in life and death or understanding good and evil can't be addressed by law, politics or economics. Religion, Tippett said, teaches mankind "what matters in life and in death, how to love and how to give service to one another." (Deseret News, November 22, 2009 - Sarah Israelsen-Hartley and Wendy Leonard)