The number of self-described evangelicals as a share of US population has held steady for the past decade. What is different is that they appear to identify less with church and more with politics.
St. Matthew is the patron saint of civil servants – making the Washington, D.C., church bearing his name a fitting venue for presidents, both past and present.
A choral conductor and scholar of sacred music explains what’s missing from church worship with singing banned due to the pandemic – and why live choir rehearsals are still a ways off
Justices have lent weight to state officials who want churches to remain closed until the public health crisis is over. But not every place of worship is following the rules.
Images of religious buildings being used to treat the sick shouldn’t come as surprise. The practice has a long tradition, dating back to the Middle Ages.
Deaf Christians can often feel excluded in churches. But the Christian contemplative tradition that celebrates silence and considers it a form of prayer can bring a new understanding of faith.
In the early 1970s, rumors about poisoned candy on Halloween led to mass paranoia. A historian explains why such fears emerge – and what, in reality, feeds them.
Mario Garcia, University of California, Santa Barbara
The number of migrants living in churches has spiked recently in anticipation of threatened immigration raids, but churches have long protected refugees in an act of faith-based civil disobedience.
The Notre Dame Cathedral was long a powerful symbol of church authority - but it wasn’t static. The design kept changing to keep up with the changing times.
Pope Francis has been a staunch voice for a world free of nuclear weapons. But should he be involved in defence politics at all? And how does the Pope’s message resonate among the European public?
Forty years ago, the Mormon church reversed restrictions on its members of African-American descent. Today, the church wants to celebrate the value of its diversity.
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?