Yggdrasil, the tree that supports the world in Norse myth, can be found in America in Neil Gaiman’s mash-up of world religion.
Starz
American Gods imagines a US where ancient gods exist at “right angles to reality”, asking why we have mythologies and why we need them.
Gurneys to remove bodies from the Heaven’s Gate cult house in San Diego, California, March 27, 1997.
AP Photo
Twenty years ago, the paranoia that consumed cults like Heaven’s Gate existed on the margins of American society. Now it’s moved toward the center of the nation’s political life.
The EU ruling could increase discrimination at work.
Pascal Rossignol
For many Muslim women, wearing the headscarf is an act of piety and a way of being. Forcing them to remove it can have devastating consequences.
Dar Digest (story ‘Muhafiz’), February 2015. Free from the fetters of common natural laws, horror stories represent a society’s fears and prejudices.
J.Schaflechner
Pakistani pulp fiction often portrays Hindu characters as evil demons and Muslims as heroes, an attempt to spread nationalist ideology.
PA Archive/PA Images
Given Pullman’s trenchant critique of despotism, his new trilogy will certainly be read allegorically.
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & HoveRoyal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
We object to the vitriol in public discourse today, but 19th century commentators were equally up-in-arms over the abuse of a romantic institution.
Luis Santos
Religious and secular festivals followed the rhythm of the seasons to provide a balance between work, prayer and leisure for medieval Britons.
via shutterstock.com
The bishops could not be more culturally tone deaf.
Divine.
New York Post.
How to challenge centuries of bigotry with a single image – and bump Trump off the front pages.
Mass inside the church dedicated to our Lady of Good Health in Valenkanni, Tamil Nadu.
D.Fernandes
A common place of worship in India and Pakistan offers solace and bonds religious minorities in Pakistan.
Shanon Wise
Faith, religious institutions and spirituality are all part and parcel of American life. But they are often misunderstood. Our new section casts light on these topics from scholars across the U.S.
Lionsgate
The Oscar-nominated film is pure Hollywood hokum and a lost opportunity.
Who really are America’s irreligious?
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Americans are increasingly choosing not to identify with any religious tradition. But this group of irreligious people is a complex one – with different relationships to religion.
Danny Nalliah leads both the Rise Up Australia political party and the Catch the Fire Ministries church.
AAP/Joe Castro
Charities in Australia can be political. They can advocate and lobby to further their charitable purposes. But they can’t be party-political.
Alison Whyte in Sydney Theatre Company’s The Testament of Mary.
Supplied
The Testament of Mary is an interesting thought experiment but its narrative is improbable – historically, textually and theologically.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
Europe is at a crossroads in how it integrates religious minorities. But there are lessons to be learned beyond liberal secularism.
The nativity scene, organised and prepared by Christians in Peshawar just before Christmas.
A.Khan
Christians’ plight in Pakistan reflects the confused identity and ideologies of the country they live in.
Debates about religion trigger strong emotional feelings especially on social media.
Florian Prischl/flickr
What research says about why debates about faith get so heated online.
Some Christians interpret Biblical teachings to say that women are essentially equal to men, but should be submissive to male leaders in the church and home.
Shutterstock
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’.
The force is not strong enough for the Charity Commission.
Anton_Inavov/www.shutterstock.com
Jediism is not a religion? Tell that to its worshippers.