Vladimir Putin speaks to Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill (center) in Samolva, Russia, on Sept. 11, 2021.
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The war in Ukraine is just the latest chapter in a long, tangled relationship between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Venezuelan priest Arturo Sosa Abascal, second from right, receives congratulations after being chosen as new superior general of the Jesuits in 2016.
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The Jesuits are among the Catholic Church’s most influential religious orders but no strangers to controversy.
The flag of Ukraine has been tied around a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ outside a church in Pennsylvania amid the Russian invasion.
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To many Ukrainians, Jesus’ mother has a special relationship with their country.
Two men speak in the backyard of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, Ukraine, March 2, 2022.
AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
Over centuries, theory on just war has developed six main criteria for assessing conflicts.
The relationship between public health and faith is far older than the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Responses to COVID-19 health guidelines have been polarized, including in churches. But religious communities have a long history of involvement in public health.
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It is not unusual that Morrison talks about prayer in his responses. But we might expect more than just prayer from a devout Christian who also happens to be prime minister.
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State schools in England and Wales are legally required to provide acts of collective worship.
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary have inspired pilgrimages – and souvenirs – in Lourdes, France, for more than a century.
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St. Bernadette’s visions of the Virgin Mary in the 19th century inspired the pilgrimage site millions of Catholics flock to each year.
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The practice of excluding LGBT+ people from religious spaces has a long, winding history. New research sheds light on the experiences of two dozen people here in Australia.
Bearers carry the relic and the statue in honor of St. Anthony of Padua during a procession in Rome, Italy. St. Anthony of Padua was proclaimed a doctor of the church in 1946.
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Saints are recognized for exceptional virtue and faith. But some also are commemorated for their scholarship.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sits in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 8, 2015. A long-awaited report on sexual abuse faulted his handling of four cases.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
A German report accused retired Pope Benedict XVI of mishandling several cases of sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. Here are a few of our related articles on the Catholic Church’s crisis.
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The story can be traced back many centuries to a time of warfare between Christian European countries and the Muslim Ottoman Empire.
The number of women religious leaders is growing, but the 2018-2019 National Congregations Study, which surveyed 5,300 U.S. religious communities, found that only 56.4% of these communities would allow a woman to “be head clergy person or primary religious leader.”
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Three female academics discuss how women are forging new pathways in faith leadership throughout religions that traditionally have been patriarchal.
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Two Christmas traditions – those around the birth of Jesus and Santa who brings gifts to all – contain strong elements of magic.
Amid the pandemic, confetti fell on an almost-empty Times Square last New Year’s Eve.
AP Photo/Craig Ruttle
Today most societies take the A.D. time system for granted. That wasn’t always the case.
One page fragment was found in West Germany in a shop adjacent to stalls selling spiced wine and cuckoo clocks in a busy Christmas market.
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Piecing together the mystery of medieval chant books means studying hand-made objects from centuries ago.
The Magi’s latter two gifts to Jesus were natural resins that are becoming increasingly rare.
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Trees that produce resin for frankincense and myrrh – used for thousands of years in healthcare, worship and trade – are facing collapsing populations.
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Academics reflect on books on topical issues in Nigeria that they read in 2021.
Lots of families wrestle with how – and whether – to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas.
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Figuring out whether to celebrate holidays, and how, is tricky for lots of interfaith families – but thoughtful communication makes a difference.
Nativity angels.
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The routine of holding nativity plays and other Christian practices has led them to be viewed as part of British culture.