Religious History

Statuary inside the salt cathedral.

Step Inside This Underground Cathedral, Carved Into the Walls of an Abandoned Salt Mine

An old mine has transformed into a subterranean worship space, 650 feet underground

Prayer wheels are just one of the sounds preserved and remixed in a new project.

Listen to the Sounds of Sacred Spaces Around the World

A new project documents, then remixes, religious and spiritual sounds

Archeologists found this piece of parchment rolled up in a jug in a cave on the cliffs west of Qumran.

Archaeologists Might Have Found Another Dead Sea Scroll Cave

It could be cave number 12

President Dwight Eisenhower at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Feb. 2, 1956.

The History of the National Prayer Breakfast

The tradition began with President Eisenhower and has often been a place for the chief executive to talk about his faith

Anger is no match for Patience—no matter how large her sword.

Here’s What Happens in a "Comic Book" Drawn by Medieval Monks

<i>Psychomachia</i> pits vice against virtue in a battle for human souls

Why the Templar Secret Rituals Were So Controversial

From spitting on the Christian cross to strange sexual acts, the Knights Templar's secret rituals were controversial

Was This Hidden Tunnel Used by the Knights Templar?

It's unclear if the Knights Templar created the secret tunnel in Acre, Israel, as an escape route or a way to secretly export valuable items

A panoramic view of the "Square of Miracles," including the famed tower of Pisa.

One Time, They Closed the Leaning Tower of Pisa Because It Leaned Too Much

It marked the first time in the tower's long life that it was was closed for repair.

Sabbathday Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine used to be a thriving community.

There Are Only Two Shakers Left in the World

One of America’s oldest religious sects still survives

How the Knights Templar Came to Be

After a group of pilgrims were murdered in 1119, nine crusaders formed a pact to protect any others like them from harm

Refugees wait for water at a camp in Delhi. The partition of India put millions on the move.

After Nearly 70 Years, the India-Pakistan Partition Gets a Museum

The Partition Museum is unrelenting in its portrayal of a brutal era

An interior shot of Hagia Sophia. Its name means "Holy Wisdom" or "Sacred Wisdom."

You Can Hear Hagia Sophia’s Sublime Acoustics Without a Trip to Istanbul

Stanford scientists have digitally created the building’s unique sound, taking listeners back to the Middle Ages

The National Menorah and one of the state Christmas trees near the White House in 2009.

Someday, Maybe We’ll Have Hanukkah in July

Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this year because not everyone follows the same calendar

The Beckery monastery as it would have looked in the fifith century

Oldest Community of Monks in U.K. Discovered

The find was thanks to a community training dig

Do We Finally Know How the Holy Grail Disappeared?

How did an onyx cup thought to be the Holy Grail disappear from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 909 AD?

What Pilgrims Heard When They Arrived in America

They came to America seeking religious freedom, but what did their prayers, and those of the local Native Americans, sound like?

American soldiers in Nimrud in 2008, with the Ziggurat in the background.

ISIS Has Destroyed a Nearly 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Ziggurat

The ziggurat of Nimrud was the ancient city’s central temple

The historic St. Anne's Well after it was rediscovered and excavated.

A “Cursed” English Well Has Been Rediscovered

An old photograph led archaeologists to the long-lost well

The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo sits atop a hillside overlooking Lake Alban.

Pope Francis Isn’t Using His Summer House, so the Vatican Is Letting the Public in

Get a rare look at the pope’s luxurious vacation home

One of the world's oldest-known carvings of the Ten Commandments will soon go up for auction.

The Oldest-Known Carving of the 10 Commandments Is Going up for Auction

But the buyer won’t be able to take it home

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