Menu Close

Articles on Christians

Displaying 61 - 80 of 104 articles

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a mass in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Russia, on Jan. 7, 2018. Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Why Putin is an ally for American evangelicals

During the Cold War, American evangelicals smuggled Bibles and other Christian literature to the Soviet Union and other communist countries. They still see Russia as a partner on evangelical values.
Pennsylvania grand jury accused Cardinal Wuerl of helping to protect abusive priests when he was Pittsburgh’s bishop. AP Photo/Kevin Wolf

For some Catholics, it is demons that taunt priests with sexual desire

While many American Catholics believe demons and exorcism to be part of a distant past, an expert explains how beliefs that sexual desires could be part of demonic temptation still persist.
Does your morality come from your religion? Not really. Trafalgar Square (Stop B), London, United Kingdom. Malcolm Lightbody/Unsplash

Religion does not determine your morality

Many believe their morality comes from their religion. But evidence suggests that people’s opinion of what God thinks is actually what they believe is right and wrong, not the other way around.
In 2014, in, a small town in northern Israel, Christian worshippers gathered next to a statue of the Virgin Mary, that they said ‘weeps’ oil. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

What is behind belief in weeping Virgin Mary statues

Throughout Catholic history, miracles have been attributed to Virgin Mary’s power. She is understood to cry not only over the sins of the world, but over the pain she experienced in her earthly life.
Illustration of Dante’s Paradiso. Giovanni di Paolo

What is heaven?

Different cultural groups respond with numerous, often conflicting, answers to questions about life after death. An expert explains the Christian idea of heaven.
People dressed as sperm cells at Papal Nuncio building in The Hague for the sixth birthday of the encyclical, ‘Humanae Vitae.’ Nationaal Archief

How Catholic women fought against Vatican’s prohibition on contraceptives

On the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, an encyclical released by Pope Paul VI calling for prohibition on contraceptive use, a scholar describes the struggles of Catholic women, as well as their activism.
Jeff Sessions is citing the Bible in defending the Trump administration’s immigration policy. AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

The Bible’s message on separating immigrant children from parents is a lot different from what Jeff Sessions thinks

Sessions ignored the many gospel teaching about love, and used a passagethat has been used historically to justify all manner of immoral behavior, including imperialism, slavery, Nazism and apartheid.
Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth chats with Eric North, secretary of the American Bible Society, during a visit to the organization’s headquarters in New York City on Oct. 28, 1954. AP Photo/John Lindsay

How the American Bible Society became evangelical

The American Bible Society, with an annual revenue of nearly $370 million, is one of the largest religious nonprofits, and a highly influential one.
Songwriters such as Nick Cave (pictured) and the late Yolngu star Gurrumul have often drawn on the scriptures in their work. Paul Bergen/EPA

Why our declining biblical literacy matters

In less than two generations, the proportion of Australians who never pick up a Bible has leapt to seven out of ten. But a robust biblical literacy can help us decode creative works and understand the past.
Worshipers pray during an Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, on March 6, 2019. AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Why do Christians wear ashes on Ash Wednesday?

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.’
Relics of St. Valentine of Terni at the basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin. Dnalor 01 (Own work)

The ‘real’ St. Valentine was no patron of love

Valentine’s Day originated as a feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. It took a gruesome path to becoming a romantic holiday.
Immaculate Heart College Art Department c. 1955. Photograph by Fred Swartz. Image courtesy of the Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles.

How a group of California nuns challenged the Catholic Church

In the ‘60s, a Roman Catholic religious order, the Immaculate Heart Sisters, created a new vision of a religious community. Meghan Markle, engaged to Prince Harry, attended the high school founded by the nuns.

Top contributors

More