Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
History and Religion

2024-02-23T14:46:50-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Ancient Secret of the Dunhuang Cave

Last updated on: February 23, 2024 at 2:46 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

The discovery of a long-hidden library in a cave near Dunhuang, China, was one of the great archaeological finds of all time. And if you’ve never heard of it, you aren’t alone. The discovery of the Dunhuang cave library was “on par with Tutankhamun’s tomb and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” wrote Jacob Mikanowski in the New Yorker (October 9, 2013). The library held more than 45,000 manuscripts and printed documents that had been hidden for 900 years. The texts were... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in China

Religious art

2023-08-20T18:38:49-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Oklahoma Approves a Religious Charter School

Last updated on: August 20, 2023 at 6:38 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

Last month, the state of Oklahoma approved the first religious charter school in the nation. Oklahoma is now facing lawsuits as well as pushback from the charter school movement. St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, an online school proposed for rural students, will receive tax money and also provide Catholic instruction. Until very recently, this would have been considered a clear and obvious violation of the Estabishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. But recent U.S. Supreme... Read more

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Christianity

Religion and current events

Establishment Clause

Religion and current events

Religion in U.S. history

Wall of separation

2023-08-07T20:21:41-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Tale of the Buddha’s Tooth

Last updated on: August 7, 2023 at 8:21 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

Sri Lanka’s Festival of the Tooth is possibly the oldest Buddhist festival in Asia. Indeed, elements of the festival, called Esala Perahera, probably pre-date Buddhism’s arrival in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. Esala Perahera roughly translates into “procession of the eighth lunar month,” and following a lunar calendar the festival usually happens in July or August. In 2023 it will be held from August 21 to August 31. In 2024 it will be from July 10 to July... Read more

Buddhism

Travel and Religion

Buddhism

Buddha

Buddhism in southeast Asia

2023-08-07T13:51:12-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Meaning of Faith

Last updated on: August 7, 2023 at 1:51 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

What is the meaning of faith? In particular, what is the meaning of the word faith in a religious sense? This is important, because “faith” often is used as a synonym for “religion.” Religious people are said to be “people of faith” who are following a “faith tradition.” Because religion is a hard word to define, understanding the meaning of religious faith would be a big help in understanding it. The 20th century Christian theologian Paul Tillich said, “There is... Read more

General Christian

Buddhism

Christianity

Faith

2023-07-17T20:52:04-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Defining Religion, and Why That’s So Hard

Last updated on: July 17, 2023 at 8:52 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

What does the word religion mean? I often hear that Buddhism is not a religion, but many Buddhists disagree and say it depends on how religion is defined. Many dictionary definitions make religion out to be something connected to the belief in and worship of God or gods, which leaves Buddhism out. How else is religion defined? I direct you to an essay in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on “The Concept of Religion.” It makes the point that... Read more

More Voices

General Christian

Origins of religion

Defining religion

2023-07-12T18:17:01-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Prophet’s 100th Birthday

Last updated on: July 12, 2023 at 6:17 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

I recently moved, and this morning while unpacking a box of books I came across one I probably haven’t looked at for 50 years — The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. When I was in college — 1969 to 1973 — this was one of the books everybody read, or claimed to have read, or at least carried around and cited occcasionally. The Prophet was first published a century ago in 1923, and I doubt that it has ever been out... Read more

More Voices

2023-07-03T14:56:14-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Rev. Edgar Gardner Murphy and the Movement to End Child Labor

Last updated on: July 3, 2023 at 2:56 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

Child labor is making a comeback in the U.S. Several states are passing laws to weaken protections for child labor so that younger children may be gainfully employed for hours every day. This is just one more “What century is this, again?” issue; they seem to be becoming more common. Violations of federal child labor laws are on the rise. Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Labor fined a meatpacking company $1.5 million after the agency found it had... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Religion and current events

Religion in U.S. history

2023-06-19T06:45:48-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Getting Juneteenth Right

Last updated on: June 19, 2023 at 6:45 am By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

Juneteenth — June 19 — is an official holiday now, commemorating the ending of slavery in the U.S. This is an accomplishment worthy of commemoration, of course. But I do wish that politicians and news media would get the history right. Every year we’re subjected to a mangled narrative of what happened on June 19. 1865, that doesn’t exactly match the facts. Compulsive history nerd that I am, I must explain what the narratives get wrong. On June 19, 1865,... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Juneteenth

Religion in U.S. history

2023-06-18T14:08:20-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Christian Temperance Movement

Last updated on: June 18, 2023 at 2:08 pm By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

The Temperance movement was one of the most long-lasting and influential religious/social activist movements in history. That’s right; the Temperance movement, which you may associate with prim old ladies breaking up saloons with axes. Temperance impacted U.S. politics for more than a century. It also was an international cause, or at least a trans-Atlantic one, with temperance organizations in Europe as well as North America. And although I speak of it in the past tense, it never completely went away.... Read more

General Christian

Christianity

Religion and politics

2023-06-26T00:57:58-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Afterlife of the Bamiyan Buddhas

Last updated on: June 26, 2023 at 12:57 am By Barbara O'Brien

0 Comments

The giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, were destroyed in March 2001 on orders of the leader of the Taliban. Now the Washington Post reports that the Taliban is selling tickets to view the Buddhas’ smashed remains. “Authorities have set up a ticket office at the foot of the larger of the two figures, where they charge Afghans 58 cents and foreigners $3.45 to visit,” correspondent Rick Noack writes. “Armed guards sit next to an ice cream vendor nearby. There... Read more

Buddhism

Religion News

Buddhism

Ashoka

Buddhism in Central Asia

Religion and current events

Religious art

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the king of Israel known for his wisdom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul Solomon Hezekiah David

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Buddhism Christianity Daoism Hinduism Indigenous religions Islam Judaism Mysticism New Age Origins of religion Paganism Popes Popular Religious Movements Protestantism Psychology and religion Religion and current events Religion and folklore Religion and News Media Religion and politics Religious Art and Music Religious Freedom Religious mistakes Religious philosophy Religious scriptures Religious Violence science and religion Spiritualism Technology and religion The Catholic Church The Dalai Lama The Reformation Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022

TRENDING AT PATHEOS History and Religion