Religion

The ashram's entrance was once closed to visitors, who had to sneak in or bribe a guard.

Abandoned Beatles Ashram Is Opened to the Public for the First Time in a Long, Long, Long Time

Get back to the site of the Fab Four's disastrous meditation retreat

See the Vatican Light Up With Images Warning Against Climate Change

Animals prowled across St. Peter's Basilica in a move to connect Earth's beauty with the dangers of climate change

How many curls can you count?

A Buddha in Japan Is Missing Half of Its Curls

What happened to the Buddha of Nara's famous 'do?

There’s an Elephant Buried Underneath the Vatican

The forgotten remains of a beloved, 16th-century papal pet

A page of the original King James Bible

The Origins of the King James Bible

A handwritten draft of the world's most famous bible has been discovered in England

Pope Francis is Dropping a Prog Rock-Inspired Album

Rock the Pope

A Letter About Darwin’s Belief in God Just Sold for Nearly $200,000

Just 41 words long, it provides a missing link for historians who have long wondered what the naturalist thought about religion

Pope Francis: The World "Still Has Time" to Act on Climate Change

The pontiff spoke strongly about environmental action in an address to President Obama and the American people

A statue of Junipero Serra, Catholicism's newest saint, stands in front of San Gabriel Arcángel, the California mission he founded in 1771.

Why Are Native Groups Protesting Catholicism's Newest Saint?

Nearly 250 years after Junipero Serra founded California's first missions, questions linger about his legacy

Kapparot for penance and purification at Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem, Israel.

It Is Officially Legal to Ritually Kill Chickens on the Streets of New York City

A judge ruled that there was not enough evidence that the practice was a public nuisance

Half of American Catholics Have Lapsed

But 11 percent eventually return to the church

A Brief History of the Popemobile

From sedan chair to Mercedes-Benz

New Proof That Ancient Egyptians Bred Birds of Prey

A recent 3-D scan of a mummified falcon shows it was force fed sparrows and mice

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

People Have Always Been Obsessed with the End of the World

Since ancient times, art and fiction love to play in the fertile ground of the apocalypse, but it hasn't always been healthy

American Vegetarianism Has a Religious Past

Thank the creators of corn flakes and graham crackers for veggie burgers and not-dogs

Aymara people prepare an offering to Mother Earth during the sunrise of the winter solstice ceremony in La Apacheta, El Alto, on the outskirts of La Paz.

In Bolivia's High-Altitude Capital, Indigenous Traditions Thrive Once Again

Among sacred mountains, in a city where spells are cast and potions brewed, the otherworldly is everyday

The fragments comprise two parchment leaves, written in Hijazi script on sheep or goat skin.

Carbon Dating Reveals One of the Oldest Known Copies of the Quran

Manuscript fragments found in U.K. library were written between 568 and 645

Hundreds of people gather at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayer. After the prayers, families and community members get together to celebrate with food and gifts.

Photos of Muslims Celebrating Eid al-Fitr Across the Globe

Muslims mark the end of Ramadan with food, festivities, gifts and prayers

In Egypt, There Was Once a Tomb Full of Eight Million Dog Mummies

Devotees of the Ancient Egyptian deity Anubis buried dogs at the necropolis of Saqqara

A Playmobil Figure of Martin Luther Has Become the Fastest-Selling of All Time

The first edition of 34,000 figurines sold out in 72 hours

Page 27 of 32