Erasmus
Notes on the interplay between religion and policy, in the spirit of the Dutch Renaissance humanist and scholar
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20191005_AMP501.jpg)
The future of the Catholic church
A high-noon moment for Pope Francis over the Amazon
Ideological rifts widen as Catholic bishops ponder endangered forests and married priests
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/erasmus_w_cred_0.jpg)
Islam and politics
Why American Muslims lean leftwards for 2020
Islam’s followers are not so much firebrands as nomads in search of a home
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190907_BLP510.jpg)
Turbulent priests
Taking sides in the Orthodox Church’s battles over Russia and Ukraine
Conflicts within Slavic Orthodoxy are having some strange side effects
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190831_blp901.jpg)
Religion and free speech
Blasphemy laws are quietly vanishing in liberal democracies
Despite the abolition of outdated laws, a culture of freedom is failing to take hold
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190817_BLP507.jpg)
Spire straits
English cathedrals attract the devout, the dotty and darker forces
A cherished tradition of independence can lead to abuses and poor management
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190810_BLP509.jpg)
Christianity and Marxism
Church leaders in central and eastern Europe remain surprisingly loth to condemn their old adversary
The extraordinary events of 1989 are half-forgotten as clerics look elsewhere
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190803_BLP504.jpg)
Religion and vulnerability
Why charismatic Christianity is popular with migrants
It offers a fixed point in a transitory world
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190727_BLP503.jpg)
Religion and British politics
Boris Johnson’s confusing and contradictory religious history
From the Roman to the Abrahamic, the prime minister’s spiritual history is a mess
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190727_BLP501.jpg)
The Latter-day Saints
Overcoming the Mormon legacy on race
Building bridges between an anti-racist movement and a conservative faith
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/20190720_BLP517.jpg)
Russia, Belarus and Orthodoxy
Why Vladimir Putin took an atheist to an ancient monastery
President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus accompanied his Russian counterpart to the magnificent monastery of Valaam this week
![](https://www.economist.com/img/b/1424/801/90/sites/default/files/000_lp8ux.jpg)
Religious employers
Why much is at stake in a tale of teachers in Middle America
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