Churches started to use ashes early as the ninth century as a symbol of repentance. In 1091, Pope Urban II ritualized their use to mark the beginning of Lent. Today, churches provide ‘ashes to go.’
Lisa Bitel, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
An affair between a philosophy professor and his teenage student became the subject of ballads in the streets of Paris in the 12th century. A scholar asks: Why wasn’t it called sexual harassment?
In his new book, Philip Pullman, once again tackles religion as an oppressive institution. On another level, he continues the quest for explaining human consciousness.
White men routinely gun down innocent victims in mass shootings in the United States. Yet they are not branded terrorists the way Muslims who commit violent acts are. Why not?
President Trump recently repeated his pledge to eliminate the 63-year-old law, which bans charities from engaging in political activities, at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Complementarianism is the view – held by some Australian churches – that men and women have separate and divinely ordained roles: men are ‘spiritual leaders’ while women are ‘helpmeets’.
Many South African teachers don’t accept the theory of evolution. They feel deeply conflicted when they have to teach it to their pupils as part of the life sciences curriculum.