Polls show that a majority of evangelicals back Trump. But that hides a growing divide between enthusiasts of the president and those who question his fitness for office, argues a moral theologian.
The ceremony for the beatification of Carlo Acutis, an Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia, is held Oct. 10 in front of the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, who died at the age of 15, is on the path to becoming a saint. A scholar explains the long history of child saints in the Catholic Church.
‘Homeless Jesus’ at Newman College in Melbourne, Australia.
(Kaitlin Wynia Baluk)
‘Homeless Jesus’ exemplifies how faith-based organizations can use public art to communicate religious ideas in a respectful and accessible way.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, holding a placard, leading a protest in Lagos.
Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto/Getty
Societies and cultures that seem ossified and entrenched can be completely upended by pandemics, which create openings for conquest, innovation and social change.
Pope Urban II giving marching orders ahead of the First Crusade.
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From the crusades of the medieval period to racial violence today, mankind has sought ways to ‘sanctify’ harmful actions, explains a scholar of religion.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris.
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Indian Americans constitute a mere 1.5% of the population, but their impact on American politics can be disproportionate, a political scientist argues.
The ancient term ‘acedia’ describes the paradoxical combination of jangling nerves and vague lack of purpose many of us are feeling now. Reviving the label might help.
Faith leaders pray with President Donald Trump during a rally for evangelical supporters in Miami in January 2020.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
A historian explains the impact of culture and American Hollywood heroes such as John Wayne who have helped fashion the ideal of a masculine Christianity.
Trump prays at the Values Voter Summit, a conference for social conservatives, in December 2019.
Pete Marovich/EPA
Narratives throughout history illustrate how pandemics make people grapple with their faith, leading them to deepen religious beliefs or reject them altogether.
Matfre Ermengaud’s ‘Temptation by Lechery’ from a 14th-century manuscript.
The British Library
Stories featuring demons and sex date back to early Judaism and Christianity. They inspired the witch craze and continue to be believed by many conservative Christians in America.
Christian fundamentalists like Ken Ham, CEO of the evangelical group that owns the Creation Museum, believe dinosaurs were among the animals rescued on Noah’s Ark.
Jeff Haynes/AFP via Getty Images
A Kentucky museum tells the history of the universe according to the Bible in an effort to debunk evolution. Its owner, the Christian group Answers in Genesis, promotes right-wing political causes.
Mosaic in San Vitale Basilica, Ravenna, Italy.
nimu1956/Collection E+ via Getty images
Coronavirus is causing religious communities to rethink ways of expressing their faith. In the spirit of finding innovative ways to continue rituals, the pilgrimage to Lourdes was conducted online.
Josaphat sits Dreaming in a Landscape, from the Workshop of Diebold Lauber, c 1469.
Getty Musuem
It was only in the 19th century the West became aware of Buddhism as a religion in its own right – but the Buddha had been a Christian saint for centuries.
Woodcut, circa 1400. A witch, a demon and a warlock fly toward a peasant woman.
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The idea of organized satanic witchcraft was invented in 15th-century Europe by church and state authorities, who at first had a hard time convincing regular folks it was real.
Had Trump read the text he held, he would have found a story of liberation for slaves, a divine preference for the poor, and a damning critique of any empire that oppressed its people.
Protesters smash the window of a Chase bank during protests in Oakland.
AP Photo/Philip Pacheco
Understanding how unrest informed both early Christianity and the foundational stories of the United States can serve as a guide in this current period of turmoil.
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity