Religion

Dickens and the Construction of Christmas

The best-loved of Britain's novelists penned a tale that struck a potent chord in the popular revival of the season of goodwill. Geoffrey Rowell explains its appeal and its powerful religious and social overtones.

Heretical Sects in Pre-Reformation England

Greg Walker reassesses the evidence for believing that Lollard 'known men' and other evangelicals acted as the underground army that undermined the medieval Catholicism of Henry VIII's church.

Church of Bom Jesus, Goa

Edward Norman on the Eastern promise of Western sainthood to be encountered in the Church of the Bom Jesus in Goa.

Our Mother, Which Art in Heaven?

The debate over the role of women in the Anglican church continues to rage in the UK. A historical look at the role of women in Christianity is presented.

Islam - The Roots of Misperception

Akbar Ahmed offers the most timely review of how history and stereotype have often combined to make Western Orientalism a hindrance rather than a help in mutual understanding between two cultures.