According to an entry in the Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine, a religious ritual is any repetitive and patterned behavior that is prescribed by or tied to a religious institution, belief or custom ...

The residents of ancient Pompeii performed regular religious rituals using fancy imported incense resins that came from far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. These sacrificial offerings are ...

Our lives are redolent with rituals, from personal to promulgated, from silly to serious, from religious to civic and secular. In The Politics of Ritual, Molly Farneth casts a determined eye on the ...

A growing share of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence, but most still want churches to stay out of politics, a 2026 survey finds.

Rituals can mark time and space, create new identities, and connect people to something bigger. Rituals aren’t meaningless actions. They can mark time and space, create new identities, and connect ...

A new book reports growing interest in bespoke rituals. But when God’s not in the equation, rituals lose their potency.

The Easter Bunny is a much-celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter Bunny might ...

Co-authored with Dr. Ken Baskin. Few things are more important to human psychology writ large than religion. But what does this concept really mean? The more deeply we investigate it, the odder ...

Controversies regarding religion in the classroom in the United States are as old as the public school system itself. Most recently, a Louisiana law mandates that posters of the Ten Commandments be ...