Religion

Fishing for Souls, Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne,, 1614. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

‘Christianity at the Crossroads’ by David N. Hempton review

Christianity at the Crossroads: The Global Church from the Print Revolution to the Digital Era by David N. Hempton peers beyond the pulpit and into the congregation.

Henry VIII, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1540. Fine Art Images/Bridgeman Images.

The Excommunication of Henry VIII

Henry VIII’s break with Rome was a watershed moment for England and for Christendom. Did the papacy have itself to blame?

‘The Deceits of the World’, by Cristofano Bertelli, c.1558-62. The pilgrim, with his staff over his shoulder, is captioned ‘He who pretends to come from Galicia’. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

Pilgrims and Poverty in Renaissance Rome

Rome welcomed and tended to the vast numbers of pilgrims who arrived in the 16th century, but its attitude to its own poor could be very different.

‘Mrs Fish and the Misses Fox: the original mediums of the mysterious noises...’, c.1852. Library of Congress. Public Domain.

The Birth of Spiritualism

On 14 November 1848 the Fox sisters conjured up a movement when they made contact with the dead – or so they claimed.

‘The end of a Bohemian vampire as his coffin is opened and a red hot iron is plunged into his evil heart’. Illustration by René de Moraine from Paul Féval’s Les Tribunaux Secrets, 1872. Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo.

‘Killing the Dead’ by John Blair review

In Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World, John Blair proves that you can’t keep a good corpse down.

World map identifying Asia with Shem, Europe with Japheth, and Africa with Ham. From Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae, printed in Augsburg, 1472. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Austin, Texas. Public Domain.

Noah’s Ark and the Slave Trade

After the Flood, Noah’s sons were repurposed to support a new worldview justifying racial hierarchy and slavery.

The Creation of the Sun and the Moon, Master of Jean de Mandeville, c.1350-70. J. Paul Getty Museum. Public Domain.

‘The Medieval Moon’ by Ayoush Lazikani review

More than science waiting to be understood, The Medieval Moon: A History of Haunting and Blessing by Ayoush Lazikani illuminates the enchanted orb of poets.

Fresco of Saint Augustine from the Lateran, Rome, sixth century. Bridgeman Images.

Saint Augustine: An African in the City of God

Saint Augustine was educated for a Roman world, but it was his time in North Africa that shaped his identity, his faith, and Christianity itself.

Zoroaster, 19th-century Indian illustration. Heritage Images/TopFoto.

Zoroastrians in the Great Game

In the early 1900s the small but influential Zoroastrian community in India contemplated establishing a colony in Iran. Could the Parsis rely on British support?