Violation of the sacred. The tractate Meilah in the *Talmud is concerned with the subject of sacrilege in the *Temple. Today *Torah *scrolls, *tefillin, *siddurim, *synagogues and their furnishings and cemeteries should all be treated with respect....

SACRILEGE is typically defined as "violation or theft of the sacred." It originates from the Latin sacrilegium or sacer (sacred) and lego (to gather or to steal). In addition to the literal theft of sacred objects or the violation of...

Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the...

SPIRITUALIZED At: The Paradise, Tuesday night The name of the band is Spiritualized, and it's no cheap, ironic post-punk joke. There is substantial spiritual uplift in what singer/guitarist Jason Pierce -- ex-Spaceman 3 -- and his four cohorts have to offer. But...

Diane Shaffer's "Sacrilege" may not be a contribution to the history of drama, but it was a pleasant surprise to see a Broadway play that made a case for women's ordination. The play closed a brief run at New York's Belasco Theater...

A Muslim-born woman who was forced to spend six months in an Islamic rehabilitation center because she wants to live as a Hindu said Friday after her release that she will never return to her original faith.Revathi Masoosai, 29, said officials at the center tried...

Roman Catholic officials reminded the faithful Monday it is sacrilegious to buy or sell religious relics, after news reports and a church Web site suggested fans of Pope John Paul II could get a piece of his white cassock by making an online donation.For several...