Martin Luther’s Monsters
Prodigies, or monsters, were opaque and flexible symbols that signaled that God was sending some message.
When Monks Went Undercover to Steal Relics
Because relics were understood to be capable of working miracles, any relic that was stolen must have wanted to be.
Ancient Monks Got That Quarantine Feeling, Too
Listlessness, boredom, torpor, that "noonday demon" that tempts you away from spiritual connections—that's what was called acedia.
How Spirit Photography Made Heaven Literal
Are the departed watching over us, and if so, what are they wearing? Victorian spiritualists believed that ghosts could be captured on film.
How Comparative Religion Took Root in the 19th Century
Many Americans considered faiths outside Christianity and Judaism to be "pagan." Unitarian minister James Freeman Clarke argued otherwise.
Ok papist
England faced a generational divide almost 500 years ago, as the Protestant Reformation split the nation apart.
Following Haajar’s Footsteps to a Feminist Reading of Islam
A personal experience with the Hajj brought to life the iconic figure of Haajar, whose tenacity and stoicism highlight the importance of women in Islam.
The Pious Undead of Medieval Europe
Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg's eight-volume history contained stories of the living dead—and, he believed, proof of the Christian resurrection.
The Complex Economics of Medieval Convents
Medieval convents were better funded than many scholars assume, thanks in part to royal patrons sympathetic to the holy women's mission.
Why Did Christianity Thrive in the U.S.?
Between 1870 and 1960, Christianity declined dramatically across much of Europe. Not in America. One historian explains why.