Saint Wilgefortis

Meet Saint Wilgefortis, the Bearded Virgin

A Christian martyr, Wilgefortis was divinely gifted with a sudden growth of facial hair to escape forced marriage, only to be crucified by her father.
Jamia Mosque in Nairobi

A Mughal Mosque in Kenya

Built for Punjabi migrants brought to Africa by the British and modeled on Mughal architecture, the Jamia Masjid in Nairobi serves Kenya’s Muslim minority.
Acharya Shri Bhikshu, the founder and first spiritual head of Śvētāmbara Terapanth

Jain Ascetics in a Material World

The Jain Śvētāmbara Terāpanth sect began as an ascetic discipline, but it has increasingly emphasized physical health over renunciation of the body.
Walter Evans-Wentz and Lama Kazi Dawa Samdup, c. 1919

Where Tulpas Come From

Created through the power of the human mind, tulpas bear little resemblance to anything found in the Tibetan traditions in which they allegedly originated.
The dream of Zulaykha, from the Amber Album, c. 1670

Dreams in Islam

Even before the founding of Islam, Arabia was home to professional dream interpreters.
a globe surrounded by symbols of faith

Come Let Us Argue: Faith and Intellectual Humility

Can belief in the divine endure in an individual who possesses an openness to being wrong? How do doubt and faith co-exist among the religious?
La Befana by Bartolomeo Pinelli, 1821

A Visit from La Befana

In the Catholic tradition, Epiphany is the day the Three Kings first met Baby Jesus. But in Italy, it’s also the day La Befana shows up with a basket of gifts.
Top portion of a "Letter from Heaven," produced in England, 18th century

Himmelsbriefe: Heaven-Sent Chain Letters

For more than a thousand years, people have used letters allegedly written by Christ as both doctrinal evidence and magical charms.
Joseph Durham looking at an urn

The Care of the Dead: A Reading List

An interdisciplinary bibliography exploring the care of the dead and how our final choices are shaped by culture, religion, economics, technology, and war.
Saint Clare of Montefalco

Autopsy of a Saint

In the late thirteenth century, followers of the Italian abbess Clare of Montefalco dissected her heart in search of a crucifix.