Notions of heaven have changed through the ages, from an eternity centred on God to a more secular place where loved ones will reunite.
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Articles on religious belief
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Forcing people to separate science and religion can lead to damaging denials of science.
Arguments over religion miss the point that we have religious urges, whether or not we think they are justified.
The founder of Islam, Muhammad, saw himself as the last in a line of prophets that reached back through Jesus to Moses, Abraham and Noah. But while the three religions worship the same God, he divides as much as he unites.
Nigeria must reduce its population growth to increase the quality of life for people in the country. A better knowledge of contraceptives can help achieve this.
The Antill 7: On belief.
The Conversation, CC BY-ND46.9 MB (download)
Four stories on belief: from the allure of cults and conspiracy theories, to the effect of trauma on faith, to the way dogma has influenced science – and if technology can actually shift our beliefs.
Abu Nasr al-Farabi can teach us about the thinking behind radicalisation, and offers a warning to terrorists guilty of 'over-belief'.
Terrorism is a denial of the basic tenets of almost all religions.
What, exactly, are the political goals of The Satanic Temple, which formed in 2013? A religion professor attended a recent satanic ritual to find out.
The prosperity gospel – a uniquely American strand of Christian theology – creates a dilemma for its adherents.
The tradition of republicanism offered us civil religion, a foundation of belief that could counter any politics or policy that demands sacrifice in this world to be compensated in some “beyond”.
How should we celebrate Christmas during a time when religious extremism inspires terrorist attacks and young people are abandoning the church?
The belief in demonic possession – often thought to be a relic of The Dark Ages and the Salem Witch Trials – remains surprisingly mainstream.
Members of a church expect to find mutual support from one another - emotionally and spiritually. This is not the case at the South African branch of The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.
The furore around freedom of sexual orientation vs religious freedom at a South African university should lead to deeper thinking about Christianity's historical role in promoting liberalism.
Does God exist? Is piety worth it? Can violence be justified? Philosophy can offer a way to engage with these questions on which there are often widely differing beliefs.
Why are atheists deemed as untrustworthy as rapists?
The sacrament of marriage does not depend on the law, which exists only to regulate the rights and responsibilities arising from the practice. For religious believers, same-sex marriage won't change their union.
There are religious and non-religious extremists and we should not confuse violent believers with religion itself, which has a long history of peacemaking.
Notions of gods arise in all human societies, from all powerful and all-knowing deities to simple forest spirits. A recent method of examining religious thought and behaviour links their ubiquity and the…
Top contributors
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Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Texas State University
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Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland
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Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
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Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Otago
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Research Fellow, Sydney Democracy Network, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer & UG Programme Director, Department of International Politics, City, University of London
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Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics, University of York
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Visting Research Fellow, Queen's University Belfast
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PhD Candidate at the Institute for Social Justice, Australian Catholic University
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Senior Lecturer, Strathclyde University
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Professor Emeritus of Cognitive NeuroImaging, Aston University
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Assistant researcher, University of Sydney
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Lecturer of Psychology, University of Washington
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Professor of Psychology, Skidmore College
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James McGill Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies, McGill University
