In the officially secular nation of France, will the elections become a fight over Muslim piety? Religion is never far from the surface of French politics, but it's often dressed up as a debate over immigration. 

It captivated America and much of the world. In 1993, a 51 day stand-off in Waco, Texas, between the FBI and a religious cult known as the Branch Davidians came, literally, to a fiery end. Those who died became martyrs — but martyrs to whom?

Eight months on from the referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, many of its key supporters are still trying to understand the reasons for its defeat. Why did six in ten Australians vote "No"?

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hung much of his politics on Hindu Nationalism, but after a surprising election result, are we now seeing an end to this force in politics?

In a revealing book, historian Neil J Young details the 70 year effort by gay and lesbian Americans to cultivate support among Republicans.

South Africa's historic election result has left the ruling ANC party short of a majority in the parliament. As it struggles to get the extra seats it needs, will it need to rely on some of the small, explicitly religious parties?

With the EU elections coming up, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban has styled himself as defender of a so-called Judeo-Christian Europe.

Beijing has tried to control Tibetan Buddhism, but how successful has it been in doing so?

The war in Gaza has now claimed over 35,000 lives. The nearby country of Jordan has tried to balance its condemnation of Israel’s military tactics, against its relationship with the US and Israel.

From statues of the Virgin Mary weeping, to angels appearing in visions, the Vatican has issued new guidelines on how to deal with the supernatural.

Could the death of Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi, open up a chance for reform in the hard-line regime?

Each year, about two million people visit Auschwitz in Poland, and many of them are Jewish teenagers. But how young is too young to visit to the largest death camp of World War II?

In the past, the Vatican – and even a Pope – played a secret role in the development of artificial conception. And the vital ingredient was a basic human substance.

The federal budget is in, and foreign aid funding has fallen well short of international targets. Catholic aid agency Caritas has asked for a doubling of the emergency aid fund, but did they get anything like what they sought?

Is Pope Francis a man of the left or a more cuddly version of a classic church conservative? Since the release of his latest statement on human dignity, both sides are claiming him.

In a timely warning, psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed says violence can be the darkest form of the search for belonging. What motivates a terrorist, from a psychological perspective?

The Vatican and the French government are in a major stand-off. It's over the question of whether the state can prevent the Church from sacking a nun.

Australia's national cabinet met this week to try to curb the domestic violence crisis. And women's advocates have renewed their call to restrict the access children and teens have to online pornography.

In countries where governments drove major investigations into child sexual abuse, churches have since imposed much stronger safeguards for children. That's according to a new study by the Australian Catholic University.

The hand waves, the music pumps, and the preacher wearing branded sneakers, skips across a stage. It's the face of modern religion, but is there a line between belief and entertainment?

ANZAC Day is one of the few times left when much of the country gathers together for a secular ritual. How important are such customs like these as markers of belonging, in Australia and abroad?

Jewish Americans have made themselves integral, especially to the literary, theatrical and intellectual life of their adopted home. But is the so-called golden age of American Judaism over?

NSW police have declared a knife attack on a Sydney bishop to be a terrorist incident. The violence outside the church after the attack also suggests Australia isn't immune to social tensions, but are they common?

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has made it official. He's declared the invasion of Ukraine a "holy war" to "defend the single spiritual place of Holy Russia."