Religion

Religious Permanence

The human brain evolved to be religious, but religion also evolved to appeal to the human brain.

Bo Winegard

18 Nov 2022 · 10 min read

Scientology’s War on Psychiatry

What caused L. Ron Hubbard to turn on a discipline he had once accepted?

Jonathan Salem-Wiseman / Stephen Wiseman

18 Oct 2022 · 16 min read

The Great Cover-Up

Islamists used a religious lie to crush Mahsa Amini, but women can win this war.

Asra Q. Nomani

30 Sep 2022 · 8 min read

Our Glorious Unhead of State

The idea of an Australian republic is attractive to some, but there's a strong case for a humble head of state.

Harry Lehmann

21 Sep 2022 · 4 min read

Salman Rushdie and the Islamic Punishment for Blasphemy

For centuries, the orthodox Muslim view has been that those who insult Muhammad must be summarily killed.

Gordon Nickel

2 Sep 2022 · 13 min read

Myth-making Isn’t the Right Way to ‘Indigenise’ Our Universities

Too often, the noble goal of reconciliation is being co-opted by those seeking to invent fake histories and advance politicized narratives.

Terry Moore and Carol Pybus

26 Jun 2022 · 16 min read

The Alchemist Emperor of Prague

As the Holy Roman Empire descended into religious conflicts, its Habsburg ruler surrounded himself with magicians, astrologers, and scryers.

Martyn Rady

27 May 2022 · 7 min read

Pacifism and Papal Fallibility

The Pope is a perverse sort of pacifist, not a man of peace.

Brian Stewart

20 May 2022 · 7 min read

Imagine There’s No Svarga: Rediscovering Cārvāka, India’s 2,700-Year-Old Atheistic Tradition

The Cārvākas considered only matter—that which could be sensed—to be real.

Kushal Mehra

1 May 2022 · 8 min read

How the Christian Bible Became Separated Into ‘Old’ and ’New’

There is no firmly established technical term for the Bible in Judaism. The Hebrew scriptures may simply be referred to as “the Bible,” and the term “Jewish Bible” is sometimes used to distinguish it from the Christian Bible. In Hebrew, terms such as miqra (“scripture”) or kitve haqqodesh (“sacred texts”