Erasmus Economist Blog

Ideological rifts widen as Catholic bishops ponder endangered forests and married priests

Islam’s followers are not so much firebrands as nomads in search of a home

Conflicts within Slavic Orthodoxy are having some strange side effects

Why Islamic debates over slavery matter to everyone

Despite the abolition of outdated laws, a culture of freedom is failing to take hold

A cherished tradition of independence can lead to abuses and poor management

The extraordinary events of 1989 are half-forgotten as clerics look elsewhere

It offers a fixed point in a transitory world

From the Roman to the Abrahamic, the prime minister’s spiritual history is a mess

Building bridges between an anti-racist movement and a conservative faith

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus accompanied his Russian counterpart to the magnificent monastery of Valaam this week

A new sensitivity over discrimination in the secular world is making it harder for religious institutions to apply a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy

State secularism and personal freedom clash over the hijab and the burkini

A twitter-spat over Donald Trump’s immigration policy reveals a deep cleavage in America’s religious right

Why the government’s effort to create a more devout society has failed

A controversial proposal for the Amazon basin would set a precedent for the Catholic church

Squabbles between churches in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey are bound up in global politics

The home of the Enlightenment sees dark portents

Why Pope Francis likes the French view of temptation

A document urging clemency provides a snapshot of global Sunni Islam. It is revealing to see who did and did not sign

The Russian Orthodox church claims credit for preserving the country’s nuclear arsenal. It is extending its reach ever farther

Fundamentalist faith is proclaimed, and contested, in America’s forces

A British judgment on preaching to colleagues and clients

Devout women in the Teutonic world have had enough

When life at the margins goes mainstream

When a fast becomes a slow diplomatic dance

Members of a religious commission find common cause in relation to Russia and China

Amid the ebullience of Orthodox festivities, disputes among Eastern churches ease just a little

The Religious Society of Friends wrestles with theism

Traditionalists take issue with Francis’s relatively liberal style, while finding merit in his predecessor’s conservatism

Ancient churches are the greatest glory of Europe’s cities, and a headache for those trying to look after them

A jarring blast from the past

A historically broad church is stretched to the limit

In both Ireland and Cyprus, the relationship between an armed rebel movement and a Christian church remains contentious

Stopping violence should not mean repressing belief

But in a secular age, Christian groups find common cause.

Bad news for a Canadian conservative and an Ulster liberal

For many Muslims, the far right isn’t the main problem

Many groups, Jedi fans among them, have sought religious classification in Britain

Where peace comes dropping slow

The prayerfulness of small new states

When conservative Islam meets secular thinking on equality

The verdict casts doubt on the church’s ability to cleanse itself

Many faiths can make light work

Social media are a source of danger

The decision comes ahead of a Vatican summit on sexual abuse this week

A judge makes life easier for churches and faith schools

Creationism retains a broad appeal

Even though they profess indifference to them

Irish and American clergy are at odds on the matter

In Britain, words like extremism and Islamophobia are furiously contested

After years on death row, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy is vindicated once more

Behind the scenes, Francis gives heart to the protesters

In the southern Balkans, ethnic and ideological conflict has a sectarian edge

It has emerged in different forms in both Russia and China

The departure of American forces from Syria worries some ancient faiths

A tolerant society that also includes the religious right

A religious split echoes geopolitical tensions

A religious ascetic who relished the human body

A delightful documentary considers the link between American Jews and songs for the winter holidays

A ruling on Greece has wider European implications

In Kiev and Moscow, church loyalties are a matter of state

It is one thing to draw up a list, another to punish an offender

On opposite ends of the migration debate

But faith groups could do more with their money

The Episcopal church, with its grandeur and nostalgia, was a natural spiritual dwelling-place

But some believe that church matters are starting to resemble earthly power struggles too closely

In Britain and Belgium, religion and animal rights go head to head

A concept born in the cold war comes home to roost

Archbishop Ieronymos is struggling to sell a deal to his bishops

It has other failings. Here, at least, it is sincere

But now it emphasises reconciliation, peace and the human sinfulness that lead to war

The leader of the faith objects to appellations that omit the name of Jesus Christ

In the West, it is considered less important

On free speech and liberty of belief, Europe pulls in different directions

On both sides of the Atlantic, the Salafist form of Islam exists in all its complexity

Disagreements about a 17th-century letter could prefigure a split in the Eastern church

In America, Germany and elsewhere, churches and other places of worship are testing their standing against the state

Decisions taken in Istanbul could have serious ramifications for religious and geopolitical relations in eastern Europe

The couple had the right to refuse a customer’s request for a cake declaring support for gay marriage

The English and Americans offer pragmatism, the French zeal

A rambunctious prelate, sometimes ceremonial, never pompous

A happy breed of nativists who like their religion cool and English

But traditionalists fear that principles have been sold out

The small Middle Eastern community is losing its young to secularism

The row could increase support for Ukraine's embattled president

A group of Muslim scholars offer a view from the Islamic tradition

Faith can mould politicians even if they reject it

A meeting between the Patriarchs of Moscow and Constantinople seems to bode well for the country’s aim of autocephaly

Jonathan Sacks accuses him of using the language of classic, pre-war European anti-Semitism

Where does the country stand on the spectrum from Catholic to post-Catholic?

A court recognises an Islamic union, but insists it is not setting a precedent

Rod Dreher favours introversion inspired by a spirit of repentance

Attempts to recreate the nature-loving worship of old are gaining popularity even if they are based on guesses

Boris Johnson is accused of wooing the Islamophobes

A rainmaker who cajoled the religious and made them greener

A cardinal loses his rank for the first time in nine decades

A gathering in Washington, DC this week carried a message of hope

Religions gather strength as they cross the ocean

A dialogue of the deaf over faith and schooling