Divine inspiration was at the centre of music for thousands of years – until post-war conservatoires got other ideas.
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
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.’
The tomb of Abelard and Héloise.
Alexandre Lenoir, via Wikimedia Commons
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?
British author Philip Pullman.
Dylan Martinez/Reuters
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.
A memorial for the victims of the shooting at Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, including 25 white chairs painted with a cross and and rose, is displayed in the Texas church. A man opened fire inside the church yet his attack has not been labelled terrorism.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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?
In recent years, Australians appear to have become both more willing to declare themselves religious, and more willing to say they have no religion.
Lyndon Johnson, who was friends with evangelist Billy Graham, wasn’t targeting religious groups when he pushed his eponymous amendment in 1954.
AP Photo
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.
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.
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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’.
Pope Francis marks the end of the Jubilee of Mercy by closing the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Tiziana Fabi/pool photo via AP
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.