Did slaves contribute more than solely their labor to the success of rice plantations in the New World? In pursuit of the answer, one researcher is extracting little bits of memoir trapped inside rice grains.
The ancient Indian ascetic practice of detachment from worldly goods looks a little like modern simplicity—but appearances can be deceiving.
Pilgrims and tourists are flocking to a baptismal site in the Holy Land in search of religious experience—and souvenirs.
Rituals soothe, excite, and unite people throughout the world. But how exactly do they work, and what makes them so meaningful?
How can a political candidate as offensive and outrageous as Trump be so popular? Fifty-year-old insights into how religion works may hold the key.
Hundreds of memorial statues stolen from Kenya and Tanzania have ended up in U.S. museums. Should the principle of informed consent be applied to (apparently) inanimate objects?