What Was the Protestant Reformation? Luther, Print, and Christendom
The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther challenged the Church's sale of indulgences.
September 2025
May 2024
Why Humans Are Religious: The Cognitive Science of Belief
Religion is universal across human cultures and deep in human history. Cognitive scientists have developed compelling theories about why — and the...
What Is the Roman Catholic Church?
A thorough examination of the Roman Catholic Church: its apostolic origins, historical development from early councils through the Great Schism,...
April 2024
What Is Sikhism?
A comprehensive guide to Sikhism: its founding by Guru Nanak, the ten Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib, core theology, the Khalsa, langar, and the...
What Is Islam? Faith, History, and Civilization
A comprehensive guide to Islam covering its founding, the Five Pillars, the Sunni-Shia split, the Islamic Golden Age, Islamic law, and the...
What Is Hinduism? The World's Oldest Living Religion
A comprehensive guide to Hinduism covering its ancient origins, sacred texts, philosophical schools, the many forms of the divine, the caste...
What Is Confucianism? Ethics, Ritual, and the Art of Being Human
A thorough guide to Confucianism: who Confucius was, the five relationships, the concepts of ren and li, the Analects, Neo-Confucianism, the civil...
What Is Christianity? Belief, History, and Global Influence
A comprehensive guide to Christianity covering the life of Jesus, the early church and councils, the great schisms, Catholicism, Orthodoxy,...
What Is Buddhism? The Dharma, Its History, and the Question of Suffering
A comprehensive introduction to Buddhism: the life of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, major schools (Theravada, Mahayana,...
March 2024
How Different Cultures Think About Death
From Mexican Día de los Muertos to Japanese ancestor veneration to the Torajan death feasts of Indonesia — how different cultures approach death,...
June 2022
What Is Judaism? Torah, History, and the Covenant People
A comprehensive guide to Judaism: the Torah and Talmud, key concepts of covenant and tikkun olam, major denominations, the history from Babylonian...
What Is Daoism?
Daoism is one of China's major philosophical and religious traditions, built around the Dao (the Way), wu wei (effortless action), and harmony...
What Is Mythology?
Mythology is the study of sacred narratives that cultures use to explain origins, justify social order, and explore the human condition.