The Mari Lwyd makes a welcome appearance in Chepstow.
Jessica Gwynne/Alamy
The Mari Lwyd and the plygain are two prominent Welsh traditions celebrated over Christmas and the new year.
A Tristram’s starling (Onychognathus tristramii) in flight over the Eilat mountains.
Ian Butler Photography/Alamy
H.B. Tristram was a Victorian clergyman and ornithologist who categorised a list of birds he’d found in Palestine.
There are several views about the origin of Christmas celebrations and when they actually began.
Kipgodi/shutterstock
Some historians say Christmas has been celebrated since 336 AD. But some evidence shows it actually started even earlier.
Herod the Great − though in the Gospel of Matthew, he wasn’t so great.
Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Historians know a fair bit about Herod the Great, the king of Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth.
Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez stands with people celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe’s feast day in 2022.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
The famous apparition of the Virgin Mary has come to symbolize Mexico, but other groups – particularly migrants and Latinos north of the border – also feel a special connection to Guadalupe.
A gilded statue of the Buddha at Wat Phanan Choeng Temple in Thailand.
Kittipong Chararoj/ iStock via Getty Images Plus
Through the power of rituals, inanimate objects can be understood to transform into agents who can see, hear, taste and respond to the concerns of those who worship them.
Many religious graduate students in science say they keep quiet about that aspect of their identity.
Sean Anthony Eddy/E+ via Getty Images
Stereotypes about religion vs. science are overblown – but those assumptions can create challenges for religious grad students, a sociologist finds.
The restored image of Earthrise. A high quality black and white image was coloured using hues from the original colour photos.
Image Credit: NASA, Apollo 8 Crew, Bill Anders; Processing and License: Jim Weigang
Borman’s professionalism helped the risky Apollo 8 mission become a success.
Jesus images on social media promise divine rewards for today’s fast-paced age.
TikTok
A scholar of American religion explains how a new phenomenon of Jesus images on TikTok is tapping into the prosperity gospel, a Christian belief that God will reward faith with this-worldly comforts.
This 15th-century medical manuscript shows different colors of urine alongside the ailments they signify.
Cambridge University Library
Your doctor’s MD emerged from the Dark Ages, where practicing rational “human medicine” was seen as an expression of faith and maintaining one’s health a religious duty.
Three women executed as witches in Derneburg Germany in October 1555.
Everett Collection
Witchcraft is an enduring source of fascination but also prone to popular misconceptions.
Christian leaders are influential in Ghanaian lives.
Wikimedia Commons
Christian leaders in Ghana are pushing the envelope of influence in political affairs.
Delegates attend the opening of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, 2023, at the Vatican.
Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality is attempting to move the church toward a more dialogue-based model of authority, a scholar of Catholicism explains.
Gift items for sale in Walnut Creek, Ohio, in May 2023.
Susan Trollinger
Much of the tourism industry that’s sprung up around Amish areas says more about Americans’ own identity than Amish values, a scholar writes.
‘The Shepherd of the Hills’ has been running for 63 years and is the most performed outdoor drama in the U.S.
Terra Fondriest/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Comedians like Stephen Colbert might mock the entertainment mecca, but live theater is in too much of a crisis to dismiss the town’s formula of spectacle meets story.
Each year, services on St. Francis’ feast day draw humans and animals alike to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.
Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Medieval monastics were often discouraged from owning companion animals, which were viewed as a distraction, a religion scholar explains.
“Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower,” by 19th century American painter Thomas Cole.
National Gallery of Art
The ‘Shepherd of Hermas’ has been accused of being pedantic, even boring. In the first few centuries of Christianity, though, it was a hit.
The Camino Finisterre takes people from Santiago de Compostela to a headland once known as the edge of the world.
M Ramírez/Alamy
Modern pilgrims are increasingly turning to the waves in search of more creative and contemporary ways to explore their faith and its history.
Coral reefs are home to rich biodiversity, but that’s not their only value.
Xavier Desmier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Coral has been incorporated into traditions, art and even religion in communities around the world.
Iraqis raise copies of the Quran during a protest in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 22, 2023, following reports of the burning of the holy book in Copenhagen.
AP Photo/Hadi Mizban
Several countries across Europe are introducing new legislation to curb hate speech against religions, even as they get rid of older blasphemy laws.