Australians have always preferred to keep their faith private, and politics “out” of religion. But the two are intrinsically entwined, and always have been.
A Nativity presentation showing the three wise men being led by the Star of Bethlehem.
Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is giving rise to speculations that it is the same astronomical event as the biblical Star of Bethlehem. An expert explains why it is not.
The Shrine of the Holy Nativity, Bethlehem, 1849.
David Roberts
On Nov. 7, when President-elect Joe Biden urged in his address that we “give each other a chance,” his words summoned Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address of 1865.
‘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.
Religious services through Zoom: A pastor conducts online services from the basement of her home in Falls Church, Virginia.
Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
During the pandemic, the practice of faith has moved to being a more personal one for many. A scholar of the Judeo-Christian tradition explains how tragedy often resulted in private piety.
Members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal organization, which began in Pennsylvania in 1967, holding a meeting in France.
Photo by Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma via Getty Images
The Catholic charismatic movement in the United States began during the 1960s. The practices of Catholic charismatics encompass various forms of Pentecostalism.
God creating night and day.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Trump recently suggested that a vote for Biden would hurt God. Religion scholars explain what, in Christian theology, it would take to injure the creator.
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.
Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche communities, poses for a photograph after he received the Templeton Prize at St. Martins-in-the-Fields church in London, U.K., in May 2015.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Jean Vanier, Catholic founder of L'Arche International, allegedly had abusive sexual relationships. Religious tolerance for the veneration of male leaders may be partly to blame.
Apostle Paul and his followers collected aid, likely for early Christians.
Giovanni Paolo Panini /Hermitage Museum via Wikimedia Commons
In the late second century, some Christian groups in Rome began directing financial aid toward people living in another city, who were going through a crisis. That act of giving has lessons for today.
Graham Chapman as Brian in Terry Jones’s ‘Monty Python’s Life Of Brian.’
(HandMade Films/Python (Monty) Pictures//Monty Python's Life of Brian)
‘Life of Brian’ is a perfect introduction to how a seemingly-irreverent parody of films about the historical Jesus can offer stronger historical insights than more earnest fare.
What people value in their God, they value in life. Today, this might mean men can conclude that if they are right, they, too, have the right to be dominating.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry speaks during an event about the environment at the White House on July 8, 2019, as President Trump looks on.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
The percentage of Christians in Turkey declined from nearly 25% in 1914 to less than 0.5% today. Their future looks even more uncertain in today’s political climate.
Despite courting the Jewish vote, President Trump has used anti-Semitic rhetoric.
AP/John Locher
A task force has been assembled in the US Senate to fight anti-Semitism. A specialist in Jewish-American history says the group has a big job ahead of it. Anti-Semitism has a long history in the US.
Warner Sallman painted Jesus in oil after people raved about his black and white sketch. It has been reproduced millions of times.
Warner Sallman/collage by The Conversation
April 30 is the birthday of one of the most famous artists you never heard of: Warner Sallman painted the famous “Head of Christ,” circulated in the millions on postcards, portraits and nightlights.
Ash Wednesday ritual at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 6, 2019.
P Photo/Jim Mone)
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity
Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Associate Research Professor, Political Science, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State