Catholic Church of the Saviour,also called Xishiku Church or Beitang in Beijing, China

Building Notre Dame in Beijing

Chinese church architecture progressed from initial setbacks to reflect a two-way transfer of design and building techniques as East met West.
El Aquelarre by Francisco Goya

Accused as a Witch? Sue ’em!

That’s what they did in the Kingdom of Navarre, where some of the victims brought suit against their accusers for defamation and other offenses.
Interior courtyard at the Thian Hock Keng Temple in the Tanjong Pagar area of downtown Singapore, a traditional Taoist temple established in 1839

Debating the Definition of Taoism

Taoism and Hinduism are two different spiritual systems, but one thing they have in common in Singapore is that they’re both very difficult to define.
An illustration from the masthead of The Catholic Worker

Catholics Against Racism

As early as the 1930s, Black Catholic parishioners formed alliances with their white counterparts to put their churches in service of anti-racist goals.
A priest holds a christening for a baby of Tibetan ethnic minority group attends a mass at a church of Cizhong Village on December 25, 2006 in Deqin County of Yunnan Province, China

A Tibetan Christmas

The story of Cizhong’s Catholic holiday festival began when French missionaries arrived in northwest Yunnan with plans to spread their faith across Tibet.
Patrick White, ca. 1940

The Two Worlds of Patrick White

In writing and life, the Australian Nobel Laureate was ever preoccupied by the search for spiritual meaning and the fraught relationship between God and blundering humanity.
Pleurants (Weepers), unknown artist, ca. 1295

Theologies of Emotion in Medieval Europe

The framework used by theologians to understand emotions changed in the Middle Ages, thanks in part to new translations of Arabic texts.
Three angels hosted by Abraham, Ludovico Carracci, c. 1610-1612

Xenophilia: Golden Rule of the Stranger

We may have heard enough about xenophobia, the fear of the stranger. But what of its opposite, the love for a stranger, better known as hospitality?
Saint Jean de Brebeuf Confronts the Huron Indian Council

Making Scents of Jesuit Missionary Work

The use of sensory stimulants like incense gave Jesuits a common framework with the North American nations they encountered on missionary trips.
Preah Vihear Temple

A Postcolonial Preah Vihear

The debate over who “owns” Preah Vihear dates to the early twentieth century, when the French government drew the border between Cambodia and Siam (Thailand).