Pope Francis.
By John Cornwell - 24 May 9:11

Vatican watchers will find strong clues about the direction of Pope Francis in On Heaven and Earth: a series of conversations Bergoglio held with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires.

Soldiers walk past a flag flying at half-mast at Woolwich barracks. Photograph:

Targeting a community at large for the criminal activity of a few is unacceptable.

The rainbow flag, symbolising gay pride, flying above the Cabinet Office
By Mehdi Hasan - 20 May 14:36

I've made homophobic remarks in the past, writes Mehdi Hasan, but now I’ve grown up — and reconciled my Islamic beliefs with my attitude to gay rights.

Prayers at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, London in 2011.
By Omar Shahid - 17 May 10:33

Over 100,000 people in Britain converted to Islam between 2001-2011, yet it is believed that up to 75 per cent may have since lost their faith. Who are they - and how do they feel about the way of life they embraced then quickly abandoned?

My mother didn’t have any say in her divorce - I did.
By Irna Qureshi - 15 May 17:33

My mother and I both married men from Pakistan. Both marriages ended in divorce, but their circumstances and our attitudes towards them could not have been more different: it is a sign of how much has changed.

Paul Lamb and Jane Nicklinson at the Royal Courts for a hearing on legalising do
By Nelson Jones - 14 May 13:39

A recent YouGov poll has shown that a majority of people - from almost all religious denominations - support doctor-assisted dying. It is our secular and spiritual leaders who are refusing to catch up.

Christopher Anderson's portrait of his wife, Marion, and baby Atlas
By Jonathan Sacks - 02 May 7:22

Faith is the redemption of solitude.

Photograph: Getty Images
By Jemima Khan - 23 April 15:19

Jemima Khan investigates why more and more Muslim women in Britain are choosing to become “co-wives”. For many divorced, widowed or older women, could polygamy be a practical answer to their problems?

Author Sam Harris, whose work is central to the Islamophobia allegations.
By Andrew Zak Williams - 19 April 8:49

The atheist community is right to pursue rational, civilised debate, and should be able to do so without being tarred as bigots.

From the art series "A Place Beyond Belief, 2012" by Nathan Coley.
By New Statesman - 27 March 18:08

Why do religious stories continue to mean so much to so many of us, even to the self-described “new, new atheists”?

Pope Francis. Photograph: Getty Images
By Catherine Lafferty - 27 March 13:03

The realm of sex and reproduction in particular is an area where the Vatican needs to improve its approach to its female followers.

Canterbury cathedral. Photograph: Getty Images
By Alex Hern - 26 March 12:18

"Four out of five British adults believe in the power of prayer." Really? Really?

By Mehdi Hasan - 21 March 10:30

It's a shameful fact that Muslims are not only the victims of racial and religious prejudice but purveyors of it, too.

Justin Welby, the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Photograph: Getty Images
By Peter Tatchell - 21 March 10:02

On the occasion of his enthronement as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Young women hiking on the Chiltern Hills
By Aisha Gani - 14 March 19:51

Young women from BME backgrounds are discovering that there's more to hiking than the white middle class stereotype.

Pope Benedict addresses his final meeting with the cardinals in the Vatican.
By John Cornwell - 14 March 10:33

After promising beginnings with the Vatican II council, the Catholic Church lost its way under the reactionary leadership of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, says John Cornwell. Can it now change course?

Pope Paul VI
By Christopher Hitchens - 28 February 18:26

"To judge by the tide of uncritical sentimentality which swept over the British press ... you might have thought that the Reformation had never taken place".

Cardinal Keith O'Brien
By New Statesman - 25 February 15:23

The UK's most senior Roman Catholic priest has stepped down with immediate effect.

A screen capture from the film Mea Maxima Culpa
By Philip Maughan - 21 February 17:34

Reviewed: Mea Maxima Culpa.

An anti-gay marriage protest in France, on January 13. Photo: Getty
By Nelson Jones - 14 February 16:39

The advice, given to MPs today, also refutes suggestions that unwilling clergy might be forced by human rights law to marry same-sex couples.

Pope Benedict XVI at the Colosseum during the Way Of The Cross procession
By Nelson Jones - 11 February 17:14

History may well be kinder to Joseph Ratzinger than his contemporary critics.

Pope Benedict XVI, who is resigning on 28 February. Photograph: Getty Images
By Alex Hern - 11 February 12:17

Benedict XVI to step down on 28 February, citing "health reasons".

Campaigners for equal marriage at the Conservative party conference last year.
By Nelson Jones - 01 February 10:04

It might not look the same as in the US, but the UK still has a strong historic link between religious and moral conservatism and Conservative politics, Nelson Jones argues.

British Airways employee Nadia Eweida holds her crucifix
By Nelson Jones - 15 January 15:51

But even a defeat can be said to advance campaign groups' narrative that Christians are being "marginalised" by militant secularism.

Ray Andrews in his Southwark church.
By Hannah Meltzer - 02 January 13:59

He smokes roll-ups, his ring tone is Abba, and he is passionately in favour of gay marriage; what’s "Father Ray" doing in a church which won't recognise his relationship?

Photograph: Getty Images
By Caroline Crampton - 24 December 13:05

From the challenges facing the new Archbishop of Canterbury to the reaction to the "Innocence of Muslims", it's been a busy year in discussions of religion.

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