Soldier eating matzo, 1940s

Matzo and Oreos: Keeping Kosher in America

The koshering of America's food industry has mostly gone unnoticed. Yet most people who specifically buy kosher foods are not Jewish.
dead sea scroll

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Still Unscrolling

The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered some 70 years ago after 2000 years in the desert, have had a controversial and conflicted life.
Merry Christmas in Gaelic

How Irish Holidays Blend Catholic and Pagan Traditions

Many Irish holidays blend the Catholic faith with ancient Celtic tradition and mythology. Some original pagan holidays are still practiced in Ireland today.
Menorah

How Hanukkah Became “Jewish Christmas”

For most of the Jewish world, Hanukkah is a minor holiday. What happened in America?
Photograph: 	
Sunrise between the stones at Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice in the mid 1980s.

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StonehengeSunrise1980s.jpg

Celebrating Solstice the Ancient Greek Way

The winter solstice Festival of Poseidon was epic.
Jim Jones

Drinking the Kool-Aid at Jonestown

Did you drink the Kool-Aid? The phrase has become such a part of the vocabulary that for many its origins have been obscured.
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo

The Lost History of Early Muslim Americans

 Islam in America is clearly nothing new.
Chick Tract

Chick Tracts and the Culture Wars

Jack Chick has been called the “most widely read theologian in history.” His Chick tracts have circulated for years. He was also vehemently anti-Catholic.
Helena Blavatsky

Spiritualism, Science, and the Mysterious Madame Blavatsky

Madame Helena Blavatsky was the 19th century's most famous and notorious occultist. She was also the godmother of the New Age movement. 
Timothy Leary

How LSD Went From Research to Religion

The lines between psychological research and mysticism were blurry in the early days of LSD.