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May 2023

May 02, 2023

Coronations in Westminster Abbey: A History

King Charles's coronation on May 6 will be a really fancy Anglican Church service, and...

April 2023

April 29, 2023

The Deeper Meaning of Agnosticism

Agnosticism is a word coined in 1869 by the English biologist T. H. Huxley. And...

April 27, 2023

How a Bronze Statue by Michelangelo Became a Cannon

Even geniuses can have rough patches. One of Michelangelo's major works, a huge bronze statue...

April 22, 2023

Do the Ten Commandments Belong in Public School Classrooms?

The Texas Senate has passed a bill that mandates posting the Ten Commandments in every...

April 19, 2023

The True Story of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Michelangelo's frescos on the Sistine Chapel ceiling represent the peak of the High Renaissance. Even...

April 15, 2023

Pope Sixtus IV and the Italian Renaissance

The reign of Pope Sixtus IV, 1471 to 1484, is still felt in Rome today....

April 13, 2023

How the Renaissance Popes Made Rome

The Renaissance popes made Rome what it is today. In spite of its previous existence...

April 09, 2023

How the Italian Renaissance Began

The Italian Renaissance was one of the shining jewels of human history. The Renaissance itself...

April 05, 2023

The Controversial History of Michelangelo’s David

The fallout from the recent Michelangelo's David controversy continues. If you've spent the past month...

March 2023

March 31, 2023

The Story of Michelangelo’s Pietà

Of all the great works of art associated with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ,...

March 29, 2023

The Surprising History of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper has a surprising history. Even being asked to paint...

March 26, 2023

How the Meiji Era Changed Japanese Buddhism

The Meiji Era, which began in the late 19th century, utterly upended Japanese Buddhism. Sweeping...

March 24, 2023

Buddhist Nuns of Japan vs. the Patriarchy

The Buddhist nuns of Japan, like their sisters in other parts of Asia, struggled against...

March 18, 2023

The First Japanese Buddhist Nuns: A Contentious Story

The first Japanese Buddhist nuns were not welcome in Japan. It's recorded that three Japanese...

March 15, 2023

Chinese Buddhist Nuns: A History of Perseverance

For centuries the only fully ordained Buddhist nuns anywhere were in east Asia -- China,...

March 12, 2023

The Determined Buddhist Nuns of Sri Lanka

The Buddhist nuns of Sri Lanka have needed determination for there to be nuns at...

March 11, 2023

The Buddhist Nun Controversy

The Buddhist nun controversy stems from the many barriers Buddhist women have faced in Asia. ...

March 05, 2023

The Oneida Community: An Experiment in Perfectionism

The United States in the 19th century was a surprising place. Although it was marked...

March 04, 2023

Talking With the Dead in 19th Century America

Talking with the dead was all the rage in the United States in much of...

February 2023

February 26, 2023

13th Century Mystics and the Beguines

Christian mysticism flourished in 13th century Europe. Many of the 13th century mystics were Beguines,...

February 24, 2023

The Beguines: Independent Holy Women of the Middle Ages

Beguines were women of medieval Europe -- and later -- who dedicated themselves to charity,...

February 19, 2023

The Mirror of Simple Souls

The Mirror of Simple Souls is a classic work of medieval Christian mysticism that was...

February 17, 2023

How Hercules Reached Japan

Heracles was a hero of ancient Greek mythology. He's better known to most of us...

February 12, 2023

Tibet’s Declaration of Independence and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama

Tibet's declaration of independence is a statement released by His Holiness the Thirteenth Dalai Lama,...

February 11, 2023

When Britain Invaded Tibet

Britain invaded Tibet in 1903. The British did not intend to conquer Tibet but to...

February 05, 2023

The Golden Urn and the Succession of Dalai Lamas

The government of China is in possession of a particular golden urn. This urn, it...

January 2023

January 31, 2023

China’s Claim to Tibet and the Seventh Dalai Lama

China's claim to Tibet as a territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is...

January 27, 2023

The Sixth Dalai Lama’s Short and Tragic Life

The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso (1683–1706) didn't want the job. He was enthroned as...

January 24, 2023

How the Fifth Dalai Lama Became Ruler of Tibet

The Fifth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), was the first Dalai Lama...

January 21, 2023

When U.S. Christian Denominations Split Over Slavery

In the years before the U.S. Civil War, three major Christian denominations split over slavery....

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