A professor who has researched the Universal Life Church unpacks why many couples now prefer to hand-pick loved ones to perform their ceremonies.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Churches
Displaying 1 - 20 of 40 articles
This is a green light for creating the largest-ever compensation fund for sex abuse claims.
Donkeys and palm leaves are both associated with Christianity’s Palm Sunday – but their symbolism couldn’t be more different.
Several members were killed March 9, 2023, in Germany. Many people hold stereotypes about Jehovah’s Witnesses but are unfamiliar with their beliefs.
A scholar of British history explains how the ornate church and its significance to the monarchy have changed over centuries.
The Catholic Church’s membership numbers are growing fastest outside Europe and the Americas, and Catholics’ priorities look very different across the world.
Incidents of terror attack on churches in Nigeria don’t happen in a vacuum. They are driven by jihadism, pastoral conflicts and related criminality.
In a country where Christians are a minority, understanding how religious groups use traditional arts and music to convey their faith and identity is important to preserve their cultural legacy.
Just as Christians in the 1800s were persecuted for embracing foreign teachings, today the regime in power vilifies civil society and opposition political parties as foreign agents.
Temples are often open to the public for a period after construction or renovation, but only church members may enter once religious ceremonies begin.
Lviv is an important Renaissance and baroque urban centre in Eastern Europe, and its two remaining synagogues survived mass destruction in the Second World War.
To understand Russia’s war in Ukraine, look to the blend of religious and militaristic nationalism under Putin – on full display in the Church of the Russian Armed Forces.
It is not uncommon for people to believe that the cause of their illnesses is a result of curses or punishment from a deity or witchcraft.
Responses to COVID-19 health guidelines have been polarized, including in churches. But religious communities have a long history of involvement in public health.
Congregations can help bridge gaps left by government programs, especially for many immigrants and others who are not eligible for SNAP benefits.
Religious organisations have the potential to draw people out of their private, racially segregated lives, into a safe social space.
Megachurches and the men who lead them can be superrich. So why don’t the IRS and local authorities see a cent in taxes? A scholar explains.
Secret burials are the stuff of gothic fiction, but these gothic events actually happened to Indigenous children.
A public monument, a place of memory and a crumbling testament to how far we’ve come. A centuries old church in windy Suffolk, England, is a world away.
Public health officials and religious conservatives fought over church closures. Data now shows that those who attended worship more frequently in the pandemic reported higher rates of the virus.
Top contributors
-
Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
-
Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago
-
Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
-
Lecturer, UNSW Sydney
-
Professor Practical Theology, University of South Africa
-
Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University
-
Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
-
Director of Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, Calvin University
-
Professor of American Religious History, Vanderbilt University
-
PhD Candidate in Architecture, The University of Queensland
-
John Mark Capper is a Friend of The Conversation.
Consultant and Associate Professor of Theology, Australian College of Ministries, Sydney College of Divinity, University of Divinity
-
Associate Director, Purdue University
-
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State
-
Associate Professor of Religion, Kalamazoo College
-
Postdoctoral Researcher in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
