Religion

Surface of Mars as seen by NASA's Mars Pathfinder

Islamic Authorities Issue Fatwa on One-Way Trips to Mars

A group of imams in the UAE (the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment or GAIAE) have issued a fatwa prohibiting muslims from going to Mars

Your Weekly Sermons, Illustrated

Artist John Hendrix finds divine inspiration every Sunday when he goes to church

Everybody is listening, but nobody is learning.

When Are We Going to Stop Making Famous People Argue About Evolution?

From the Scopes trial to last night's Nye/Ham face-off, Americans love pointless creationism debates

Humans Are Naturally Inclined to Believe We’re Immortal

Even children who live in a culture with no beliefs about existence before birth have a concept of "pre-life"

Definitely sinning right now.

How Medieval People Decided Whether Sex Was Acceptable or Not

Spoiler alert: your sex is definitely Medievally sinful

The World’s Third Oldest Bible, the Codex Washingtonianus, Is Making a Rare Museum Appearance

When the Codex was first published publicly in 1912, it caused a controversy because it contained an extra passage in the Gospel of Mark

Saint Coronatus joined a convent in Heiligkreuztal, Germany, in 1676

Meet the Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism’s Forgotten Martyrs

Art historian and author Paul Koudounaris elucidates the macabre splendor and tragic history of Europe’s catacomb saints

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What Urban Planners Can Learn From a Hindu Religious Festival

Every 12 years, one Indian city balloons from a few million residents to tens of millions. How does this happen with such ease?

An Arab city of the early medieval period. Urban centers in the Middle East were of a size and wealth all but unknown in the Christian west during this period, encouraging the development of a large and diverse fraternity of criminals.

Islam’s Medieval Underworld

In the medieval period, the Middle East was home to many of the world's wealthiest cities—and to a large proportion of its most desperate criminals

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The Incredible Disappearing Evangelist

Aimee Semple McPherson was an American phenomenon even before she went missing for five weeks in 1926.

The Siberian taiga in the Abakan district. Six members of the Lykov family lived in this remote wilderness for more than 40 years—utterly isolated and more than 150 miles from the nearest human settlement.

For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II

In 1978, Soviet geologists prospecting in the wilds of Siberia discovered a family of six, lost in the taiga

The burial ground to what some claim is Jesus' final resting place.

The Little-Known Legend of Jesus in Japan

A mountain hamlet in northern Japan claims Jesus Christ was buried there

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The Day Henry Clay Refused to Compromise

The Great Pacificator was adept at getting congressmen to reach agreements over slavery. But he was less accommodating when one of his own slaves sued him

Geronimo as a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1898

Geronimo’s Appeal to Theodore Roosevelt

Held captive far longer than his surrender agreement called for, the Apache warrior made his case directly to the president

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The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism

Their seances with the departed launched a mass religious movement—and then one of them confessed that "it was common delusion"

Fox Sisters

“A Very Common Delusion”: Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters

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The Traumatic Birth of the Modern (and Vicious) Political Campaign

When Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California in 1934, new media were marshaled to beat him

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The Unknown Story of "The Black Cyclone," the Cycling Champion Who Broke the Color Barrier

Major Taylor had to brave more than the competition to become one of the most acclaimed cyclists of the world

In Janos, Mexico, Mormon guide John Hatch chats with a youngster at a 17thcentury Catholic church.

The Romneys’ Mexican History

Mitt Romney’s father was born in a small Mormon enclave where family members still live, surrounded by rugged beauty and violent drug cartels

The Potala Palace, Lhasa: home to nine successive Dalai Lamas, a number of them suspiciously short-lived.

Murder in Tibet’s High Places

The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most revered religious leaders, but that didn't prevent four holders of the office from mysteriously dying

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