RELIGION
Why Isn't Fish Considered Meat During Lent?
Why do Catholics swap Big Macs for Filet-O-Fish during Lent? According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, the meat/fish divide boiled down to sex, simplicity, and farts.
Why Do We Cross Our Fingers For Good Luck?
Why do we cross our fingers when we’re hoping for a lucky break? Dig into the theories and symbolism behind this age-old gesture.
How Do Muslims Fast for Ramadan if There's No Sunset?
What's a Muslim in Longyearbyen, Norway or Barrow, Alaska supposed to do when there's no sunrise or sunset to guide their fasting? Starve? Fly south for Ramadan?
11 Patron Saints of Food, Coffee, and Alcohol
Why Do We Knock On Wood?
There may be an ancient spiritual connection between trees and good luck—or it could all be child's play.
Can You Fire the Pope?
Reader Gabrielle wrote in to ask: “Can a pope be ousted? And has it happened before?”
How Do They Make the "Pope Smoke"?
When the Catholic cardinals meet to pick a new pope in the “papal conclave,” they’re sequestered in the Sistine Chapel so that their deliberations aren’t influenced by the outside world and that their ballots, burned after each round of voting, remain sec
What's the Difference between Churches, Chapels, and Cathedrals?
For every world religion, there is a place to worship. For Christianity, there are a confusing variety of names for these places, which are frequently—but incorrectly—used interchangeably. Church, chapel, and cathedral are the trio of terms most commonly
11 Scary Evil Monsters From World Religions
Religion teaches its followers lessons through parables about kindness and love and doing the right thing. But if all that fails, there’s always the threat of a scary monster to drive the point home. 1.
15 Patron Saints for Modern Situations
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints, often referred to as All Saints' Day or All Hallows (hence October 31 is Halloween, a contraction of All Hallows' Evening). In honor of the day, we present to you some of the lesser-known
6 Saints With Rather Intense Stories
November 1st is All Saints Day, a day to commemorate all the saints, known and unknown. In recognition, here are the stories of six known saints. 1 & 2. Perpetua and
Chanukah by the numbers
The ancient Greeks borrowed from the Hebrew by turning aleph and bet (the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, respectively) into alpha and beta, which is where the English word originates. Centuries later, Jews would repay the compliment by appropri
Why Did The Vatican Review Harry Potter?
Like millions this weekend, I eagerly saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm ready to give it rave reviews and apparently I'm not the only one. The Vatican also gave the movie two thumbs up, as it were. The Pope has been down on the boy wizard in
10 Gorgeous Pilgrimage Sites You Need to See
By Steve Wiegand 1)
The Adventures of St. Patrick
Slave, traveler, evangelist, abolitionist, and saint. A scant 400 years after Jesus' birth, the priest known as Patrick took the Great Commission seriously, to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth by converting the frightening barbarians of that sca
6 Open Letters That Changed the World
Epistolary history is full of open letters, those that are written with the intent that they'll be read by a wide audience. Here we've collected six of the best (or at least, most influential) open letters of all time. 1. Letter from Birmingham Jail W
When Nuns Meet Sports
When Nuns Meet Sports by Jason Plautz Athletes are rarely shy about their religion, whether they're dedicating their MVP award to God or crossing themselves before stepping to the plate. But still, organized religion generally stays out of sports. After
Kelvin is Lord!
If you're planning to worship a dead scientist today, you might as well give it up for Lord Kelvin: Giver of Laws (of thermodynamics). According to the brilliant Kelvin is Lord! website, Lord Kelvin is our only salvation from
The Hindu Milk Miracle
On September 21, 1995, something strange started happening in India: statues of Hindu gods began to drink milk. One worshipper offered a spoonful of milk to a statue of Lord Ganesha, and the milk apparently disappeared as if the statue was drinking it.
5 Surprising Divinity School Dropouts
From Hollywood superstars to adulterous dilettantes, several seminary dropouts have managed to find success in the secular world. Here's a sampling of the finest in almost-clergy.
Raelity check
We have the Raeliens to thank for so many things, not least of all the human cloning company, Clonaid, and the sadly defunct Raelien theme park, UFOland. The Canadian park, before its recent closure, featured the largest hay structure in the world, along