Jarena Lee

Jarena Lee, The First Woman African American Autobiographer

Jarena Lee was the first female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1836, she published her autobiography.
Triumph of St. Benedict

What Monks Can Teach us about Managing our Work Lives

Medieval monks used labor-saving innovations like the mill not to increase productivity, but to free up more time for what they wanted to do.
Antiques Roadshow

The Religious Experience of Antiques Roadshow

What has made this slow, quiet television show about antiques the sleeper hit of PBS? One scholar describes the show as enacting near-religious rituals.
AKM Adam

A.K.M. Adam and Postmodern Biblical Studies

Welcome to Ask a Professor, our series that offers an insider’s view of life in academia. This month we interviewed A.K.M. Adam.
Martin Luther Cranach portrait

Why Martin Luther’s Body Type Mattered

Five hundred years after posting his ninety-five theses and launching the Reformation, Martin Luther remains a big man of history. Literally.
Salt Lake City Temple Glass Holy of Holies

How Mormons Have Made Religion Out of Doubt

Because of its commitment to continuing revelation, Mormonism is replete with examples of individual doubt that have resulted in more, not less, religion.
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.
Rainbow colored stained glass windows

What Helps Gay Christians Feel Welcome at Church?

Gay Christians have special challenges when it comes to integrating an LGBT identity within a religious identity.
Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860

Misunderstanding the Book of Genesis

A short history of the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis reveals it's largely a modern dogma. 
President George W. Bush on first National Day of Prayer and Remembrance

Civil Religion

The US has created its own "civil religion," a complex body of ambiguous public assertions of faith that obscure the varied, private beliefs of the populace.