Eva Frank

Meet Eva Frank: The First Jewish Female Messiah

Was this revered female figurehead an empowered leader or a tragic victim in her father's wake?
Barabbas

A Passover Tradition to Promote Jewish Unity

Freeing a prisoner—a gesture of generosity and benevolence—may have been a way to bring together a fractured spiritual community.
A woman wearing a head scarf

Muslim Women and the Politics of the Headscarf

For many women, wearing the hijab was—and is—an element of piety, but it's been coopted into a political symbol.
Jim Allen (L), a self-described member of the Vice Lords street gang, gets a hug from former Gangster Disciple and current community activist Q. L. Anthony following a press conference September 2, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.

What Do Chicago Gangs Provide to Their Members?

Confronted with discrimination and violence, gangs evolve and serve members differently, even when patterned after existing groups.
An image of Marshall Applewhite from the poster for the docuseries Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults

Behind the Curtain of the Heaven’s Gate Cult

On the 25th anniversary of UFO cult Heaven's Gate's mass suicide, a religion scholar examines its theology and doctrines in the context of the New Age Movement.
Cover of Muhammed Speaks, 1975

The Nation of Islam’s Role in US Prisons

The Nation of Islam is controversial. Its practical purposes for incarcerated people transcend both politics and religion.
Hindu devotees celebrate during Holi with colored powders at the Banke Bihari temple on March 26, 2013 in Vrindavan, India.

Gender and Caste at Holi

The Hindu festival of Holi celebrates love, colors, and the arrival of spring. How it's celebrated can vary significantly throughout India.
Terence McKenna

Terence McKenna’s Anarchic Psychedelic Religion

Terence McKenna was an evangelist for the use of psilocybin and other mind-altering drugs, as a way to transcend and escape “untrammeled rationalism.”
A woman with cerebral palsy using her phone

Navigating Dating Apps While Disabled

How disabled people use dating apps, whether specific to their communit(ies) or not, can raise personal questions about how to present themselves.
blue aerial view of Chicago streets with red flashes that indicate gun shots

What Happens When Police Use AI to Predict and Prevent Crime?

With the dawn of artificial intelligence, a slew of new machine learning tools promise to help protect us with data.