Religion

Our ongoing coverage of faith and religion — and its influence on important issues around the globe.

Religion
Examining the question: What is and isn’t antisemitic?
12:22
Sacred Spaces
Tibetans in Massachusetts celebrate 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday
5:33
Striped red-and-white flags adorn a sacred grove in a quiet neighborhood in Ranchi in India. The ubiquitous flags are an assertion of tribal identity.
Sacred Nation
Adherents of Sarnaism try to preserve their identity and culture by pushing for more recognition of their faith in India
Clothes are on display at the Mar Design tailor shop in central St. Louis in northern Senegal.
Lifestyle & Belief
Muslims in Senegal prepare for Eid al-Adha celebrations
Bollywood actresses from left, Siddhi Idnani, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, Adah Sharma and producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah during a press conference for the movie "The Kerala Story" in Mumbai, India, May 17, 2023.
Media
Is the fictional film ‘The Kerala Story’ cautionary or propaganda?
mosque
Conflict & Justice
‘Back to normal’ at Jerusalem’s holiest site 
People walk through an informal settlement for trash segregators in Bangalore, India.
Justice
Waste collectors in Bangalore face discrimination and exploitation
A decorated street carpet known as an alfombra created for Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala.
Lifestyle & Belief
Guatemalans commemorate Holy Week with colorful street carpets
Ramrati reads Ramcharitmanas every morning on the lane that connects Barakhamba to KG Marg, in New Delhi, India, March 29, 2014.
Lifestyle & Belief
This 16th-century epic poem sparks political controversy in India
The Singh family in a promotional video for the specially designed Bold Helmets.
Lifestyle & Belief
This mom couldn’t find sports helmets to accommodate her sons’ Sikh religious requirements, so she designed her own
man at podium outside in the snow
Politics
India’s Rahul Gandhi supporters finish 5-month rally and march against increasingly nationalist state
Muslims in Nigeria attend Eid prayers at the Kofar Mata prayer ground in Kano Nigeria, Sunday, May 24, 2020. 
Random rules: Part I
Exterior of the Museum of the City of New York, with a promotion for the "City of Faith" exhibition currently on display, New York, Dec. 1, 2022.
Lifestyle & Belief
Museum exhibit highlights New York’s sacred spaces
Humanist Purnendu Goswami, 49, at his ashram in the pilgrimage town of Vrindavan, India. Goswami runs a school for underprivileged children on the ashram grounds.
Sacred Nation
‘Fanaticism is all about aggression’: One man’s journey from a Hindu nationalist to a humanist
woman at ceremony in front of line of people
Sacred Nation
Contempt for the messiah: The scandal behind Shinzo Abe’s murder
Kolkata's artists had to burn the midnight oil to get their Durga pujas ready early for the special art preview for visiting dignitaries. 
Religion
Art and religion remix at this goddess festival in Kolkata
An Aerial view shows Gyanvapi mosque, left, and Kashiviswanath temple on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi, India, Dec. 12, 2021.
Religion
Hindu claims to Varanasi mosque stoke religious tensions in India
people in the crowd
Sacred Nation
Evangelicals in Brazil want to make contact with Indigenous groups. But why?
people at a church
Sacred Nation
Brazil’s evangelicals work with the US on a political mission
minister at the pulpit
Sacred Nation
Brazil’s evangelicals stand with President Bolsonaro
Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, center, arrives for a great chanting ceremony at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on March 16, 2007.
Lifestyle & Belief
‘Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet’
A large crowd od people are shown outside of the tan-colored Grand Mosque with a man selling beaded jewelry in the nearground.
Sacred Nation
After the revolution, a secular Sudan?
Protesters carry a banner with Sarah Halimi's face and name printed on it in a protest over a court's decision not to try her killer.
Protest
A French court won’t try the killer of a Jewish doctor. Thousands are protesting.
Large crowds of people surround river in India
Religion
India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world’s largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears
An aerial Muslims attend Friday prayers in the courtyard of a housing estate next to the small BBC community center and mosque in east London, Britain, July 10, 2015.
Religion
How coronavirus is changing the way Muslims celebrate Ramadan
Marcjanna Kubala wears a red coat in front of a sign with Jewish-related words.
Religion
Young people in Poland are rediscovering their Jewish roots
Amma embraces a devotee surrounded by others in orange and white robes
Lifestyle & Belief
A small, Catholic, Midwestern farming town embraces an Indian ‘hugging saint’
Instagram
Indonesia’s newest Gen Z craze? Marrying someone you’ve never even dated.
Two students taking a picture with the Washington State governor
Global Nation Education
New Washington law on religious accommodations could serve as model for other states
Benjamin Netanyahu sits with his hand covering his mouth.
Identity
What Israel’s new election reveals about the struggle over Jewishness
An anti-abortion marcher carries a picture of Jesus Christ during a rally at the Supreme Court during the 46th annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C. on January 18, 2019.
Lifestyle & Belief
When does life begin? It might depend on your faith.
sign on store for atheism
Religion
Atheism has been part of many Asian traditions for millennia
A woman looks to the side.
Caste in America
Caste discrimination exists on college campuses. Some schools are trying to change that.
Congressional Representatives-elect Rashida Tlaib, left, and Ilhan Omar, right, will both use Qurans during their ceremonial swearings-in on Jan. 3, 2019.
Immigration
Two reps were sworn in on the Quran. It’s a symbolic moment for Muslim Americans.
A woman poses for a photo surrounded by red Christmas ornaments in Bangkok, Thailand.
Religion
Photos: The world celebrates Christmas
A priest stands over a pale white body on a bed surrounded by demon heads.
Religion
Exorcisms have been part of Christianity for centuries
Freddie Mercury on stage wearing a yellow leather jacket and singing to the sky.
Religion
Freddie Mercury’s family faith: The ancient religion of Zoroastrianism
A close up of image of ancient Dead Sea scroll texts.
Religion
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a priceless link to the Bible’s past
In this photo from 2009, the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I (left) and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill stand side-by-side during a Sunday service in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George at the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey
Religion
Orthodox Christianity faced with a political divide
A muslim pilgrim climbs Mount Al-Noor
Religion
Middle Eastern conflicts leave prices high as hajj gets underway
Jewish man prays at altar with pews behind him, USA flag in background
Religion
A gift from small-town Iowa brings light to Paraguay’s capital
three young men in old city jerusalem
Religion
This Ramadan tradition is under threat in Jerusalem
Egyptian men and Sufi Muslims practice ritualized Zikr (invocation)
Arts
Finding forms of devotion in Tuyo’s Conselho do Bom Senso
Colorful stained-glass windows depicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Sherborne Abbey in Dorset, England.
Religion
Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday
Paul Farren, who's Catholic, and Robert Miller, who's Protestant, hope their new book can get people talking about forgiveness. They say it's the only way to live in true peace.
Belief
Two priests from opposite sides of Northern Ireland’s sectarian divide have something to say about forgiveness
The Rev. Billy Graham, accompanied by his son Franklin, went on a seven-city trip to Romania in 1985 that was marked by crowds in excess of 100,000 at times.
Religion
‘America’s pastor’ Billy Graham leaves global legacy
Catholic high school students from all over the country attended Friday's "March for Life" event in Washington, DC. This group from Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas took buses to be there.
Religion
For some Christians, being ‘pro-life’ isn’t just about being against abortion
The Christmas tree at Faneuil Hall marketplace in downtown Boston is from Long Island, New York. But is it a religious symbol? Many people say, not really.
Religion
Are Christmas trees religious? Well, yes … and no.
The branches of a Christmas tree ready to be harvested are seen in a field at Wick Farm in Colchester, Britain, November 29, 2017.
Culture
What I learned by getting my very first Christmas tree
People pray in the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs where 26 people were killed in a shooting attack on November 5, 2017. The church was opened to the public as a memorial to those killed.
Conflict
After a mass shooting, thoughts and prayers. But then what?
Children play near an American flag during the annual Muslim Day Parade in New York City.
Belief
How the everyday phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ became a political lightning rod
Rev. Ray Hammond says Bethel AME Church really has no choice but to provide sanctuary for an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador.
Religion
A black church in Boston says it’s called to be a sanctuary
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in front of the White House after the Trump administration on Tuesday scrapped the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that protects from deportation almost 800,000 young men and women who wer
Religion
Evangelicals are speaking out in favor of DACA recipients
Brother Guy Consolmagno is a Jesuit priest and the director of the Vatican Observatory.
Belief
For this Vatican astronomer, the solar eclipse is divine coincidence
A Christian man, portraying Jesus Christ, is hung on a cross during a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday in al-Qraya village, in southern Lebanon on April 14, 2017. Muslims also revere Jesus as a prophet. In the Quran, the stor
Culture
Muslims revere Jesus too, but this Turkish author sees the Islamic Jesus in a new light
Lee Man-hee is the founder of Shinchonji, an apocalyptic Christian group from South Korea that's attracted followers in numerous countries, including the US. Lee identifies himself as "the promised pastor," mentioned in the Bible. His critics say that Lee
Culture
This apocalyptic Korean Christian group goes by different names. Critics say it’s just a cult.
Imam Mohamed Magid stands in front of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) mosque in Sterling, Virginia, U.S. on May 19, 2016. In a statement after the murder of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, Magid said, “We are devastated and heartbroken as our commu
Religion
The murder of a Virginia teen has ‘shaken up the entire American Muslim community’
Supporters and critics of President Donald Trump gathered to protest outside of the Minnesota capitol building on March 4, 2017.
Religion
It took a couple of tries, but the Southern Baptists just condemned ‘white nationalism’
People are seen inside Iran's parliament during an attack in central Tehran
Conflict
ISIS has wanted to strike in Iran for a long time
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for his first international trip as president, including stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican, Brussels and at the G7 summit in Sicily, from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U
Global Politics
Donald Trump’s first foreign trip is a lot like a pilgrimage. And that’s the point.