Sixth-century mosaic depicting Jesus before Roman governor Pontius Pilate washing his hands, at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy.
(Nick Thompson/Flickr)
The expression to “wash one’s hands of responsibility” comes from Christian scripture and has been part of a toxic legacy of blaming Jews for Jesus’s death.
Medieval Christians believed that heaven was a realm filled with dancing. Italian painter Fra Angelico’s ‘Last Judgment’ showing dancing angels.
Fra Angelico's Last Judgment/Wikimedia
Despite opposition from the early church, dance was an integral part of Christian devotion for many centuries before falling out of favor.
Although a product of the current cultural environment, QAnon also reproduces trends and dynamics from the earliest history of Christianity.
(Shutterstock)
A revisionist reading of reality, in which social and political events are only understood by a chosen few, is the basis of the QAnon gospel.
John White Alexander’s ‘Repose’ (1895).
Heritage Images via Getty Images
The ethics of idleness have been debated for thousands of years.
AAP/Vatican media handout
The pontiff visited war-torn areas of the north and gave a major address at the home of the main monotheistic religions.
A statue of Bishop Richard Allen outside the historic Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
A history of how African American congregations in Philadelphia weathered crises over 200 years.
Lent is a period of fasting and reflection for many Chistians.
Pascal Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The 40-day Lenten season, when many Christians observe fasting, began in mid-February. A scholar explains how the practice may have emerged around the fifth century.
Diney/Pixar
If you still haven’t seen this movie about a jazz pianist whose soul goes on a great adventure, it’s about time you did.
Tubman, left, with a few of the former slaves she helped escape.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Although millions voted to put her face on the bill in an online poll, many still don’t know the story of her life and the role faith played in it.
Mary, the mother of Jesus.
GettyImages
She was a radical and revolutionary figure who is just as important to the story of Christmas as her son.
Shutterstock
Australians have always preferred to keep their faith private, and politics “out” of religion. But the two are intrinsically entwined, and always have been.
The Shrine of the Holy Nativity, Bethlehem, 1849.
David Roberts
Recent archaeological studies suggest that early Christians were identifying important sites as little as a century after the last of the gospels.
The Ghazanchetsots Cathedral was damaged earlier this year during fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
A peace deal brokered by Russia ended the war on Nov. 9, but the rich architectural heritage of the region is still at risk.
The Adoration of the Shepherds by Guido Reni (1642).
Wikimedia
It will always be too early, depending on who you ask, so put up your decorations whenever you want if it makes you happy.
A wolf in the Białowieża Forest, Poland.
EPA-EFE/Wojciech Pacewicz
Historians and scientists discovered how colonisation in eastern Europe changed ecosystems – and the societies embedded in them.
An image of 15-year-old Carlo Acutis during his beatification ceremony in Assisi, Italy.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Many saints are venerated for specific reasons, professions or even nations. There are saints who are believed to provide assistance in selling a property.
Where history, politics and Christianity combine.
Kamil Krzaczynski/EPA
Joe Biden and Mike Pence both wrote op-eds in a Christian paper. How their use of Christianity, history and politics differ.
A moral minority of evangelicals are moving away from Trump.
Scott McIntyre/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
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.