The routine of life has been disrupted for most people as they stay at home to slow down the further spread of the coronavirus. A scholar who studies boredom offers some helpful tips.
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Articles on Religion and society
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As the coronavirus spreads and life comes to a standstill, people are coming up with a host of rituals to maintain a sense of order and human connection.
Faith communities are changing many traditional practices to deal with coronavirus restrictions. A historian of the Bible argues how innovation has long been part of religious practice.
The Greeks treated their city-states like bodies. To protect them from disasters, it was the poor that were often sacrificed.
As the coronavirus spreads far and wide, a political philosopher argues that it is a time to understand that the idea of individual happiness does not work without thinking of the larger good.
Islamic law requires Muslims to ritually clean their body before praying. This guidance has particular relevance at a time when hand-washing is important to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
A first-century B.C. Roman poet and philosopher, Lucretius was worried that our fear of death could lead to irrational beliefs and actions that could harm society.
A scholar who spent 24 months in the Uighur-dominated regions of China recalls when the Chinese crackdown on Uighurs started in 2017 – people were picked up and never returned.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended pilgrimage to its holy sites. Many Muslims travel to these holy sites round the year for a pilgrimage known as Umrah. Here is what it means to their faith.
A group known as The Satanic Temple was started with the political goal of advocating for the value of church-state separation. This group is now challenging the traditional definition of religion.
Many Americans imagine evangelicals as a monolithic group that supports conservative policies and always talks about their faith. Three experts found in a study that the picture is far more complex.
During a recent visit to India, Trump spoke at the world's largest cricket stadium. Cricket came to India in the 18th century through British sailors and is a revered cultural institution in India.
A shared commitment to democracy was always key to the India-US relationship – until Trump. A foreign policy expert explains what's on the agenda for Trump's trip to India and what's missing.
A round-the-clock strike of Muslim women in a working-class neighborhood of Delhi is India's most enduring pocket of resistance to religious discrimination, inequality and gender violence.
A peace deal with the Taliban has been signed. But rebuilding Afghanistan after three decades of conflict will take much more than an accord, says a scholar of peacebuilding.
Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia all punish blasphemy harshly – even with death. Such laws have political as well as religious motives, says a scholar on Islamism: They're a tool for crushing dissent.
Trump's firing of witnesses who testified during his impeachment trial has been described as 'retribution.' But these actions are actually revenge, a political scientist says.
After a bribery scandal that took down four presidents and led Congress to dissolve, some Peruvians are putting their faith in an austere religion called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact.
In recent years Bangladesh has seen an increase in attacks on religious minorities. A scholar explains how certain extreme views on how Islam is to be followed are taking center stage in the country.
Spirituals were created out of the experience of enslaved people in the US. They weren't songs of anger – but of an abiding belief in the victory of good over evil.
Top contributors
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Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University
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Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University
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Lecturer, Concordia College New York | Journalist-fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Concordia College New York
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Clinical Assistant Professor of History, Arizona State University
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Mathew Schmalz is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
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Professor of Political Science, International Affairs and Israel Studies, Northeastern University
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Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, IUPUI
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Instructor and Associate Director, Case Western Reserve University
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Ph.D. Student, University of Arizona
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Anthropology Ph.D. Student, University of California, Irvine
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Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
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Assistant Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature, University of South Carolina
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Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Associate Professor of Forensic Science Education & STEM Education and the Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Phoenicia University
