Fact Sheets

Factsheet: Purim

February 23, 2021

By Lianne Kolirin What is Purim? After the destruction of…

Factsheet: Buddhism

February 12, 2021

Buddhism is followed by approximately 535 million people worldwide and…

Factsheet: the Methodist Church

February 5, 2021

The Methodist movement is a denomination of Christianity which was…

Factsheet: Christmas

December 20, 2020

Christmas is one of the major annual festivals in Christianity,…

Factsheet: Jehovah’s Witnesses

December 15, 2020

Jehovah’s Witnesses are the followers of a Christian-based religion perhaps…

Factsheet: Hanukkah

December 10, 2020

Hanukkah is an annual eight-day Jewish religious festival which commemorates…

Summer’s over: Paganism and the festival of Samhain

October 20, 2020

The festival of Samhain on 31 October, has ancient origins…

Factsheet: Judaism

October 12, 2020

Judaism is the first and oldest of the world’s Abrahamic…

Factsheet: Hinduism

October 8, 2020

Hinduism, whose adherents make up 15% of the global population,…

Abuse and the Church of England – Timeline

October 4, 2020

Timeline of the Church of England’s recent history of sex…

Factsheet: Christianity

October 4, 2020

Fact sheet on Christianity, with 2.5 followers – 30% of…

Factsheet: Islam

September 30, 2020

Islam is one of the world’s largest faiths, with an…

Factsheet: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

September 24, 2020

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day…

Factsheet: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

September 24, 2020

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly…

Martyn Percy & Christ Church Oxford – Timeline

September 8, 2020

By Tim Wyatt The Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, has…

Humanist weddings factsheet

July 3, 2020

Humanist wedding history, beliefs, other faiths responses, recent court case…

Mystical, neo-Nazi and explicitly malevolent: the Order of Nine Angles

June 29, 2020

Beliefs, background, in the news, list of commentators. By Dr.…

The Presidents’ Church becomes a new battleground

June 4, 2020

St John’s Episcopal church opposite the White House – history,…

Factsheet: Pentecost

May 29, 2020

Pentecost is a Christian festival which celebrates the giving of…

Genesis II, the ‘non-religious church’ that wants you to drink bleach

May 1, 2020

by Sarah Harvey The American president Donald Trump, at a…

The Pagan Festival of Beltane

April 30, 2020

Factsheet on the pagan festival of Beltane. History, customs, beliefs,…

How digital technology became sacred for Hindus

April 29, 2020

By Tilak Parekh The coronavirus has led to seismic and…

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

April 24, 2020

By Dr David Robertson In times of stress, people look…

Fascinating facts about…rainbows

April 21, 2020

By Rosie Dawson Along with the heartbreaking images of the…

Is the Church growing online?

April 16, 2020

By Dr. Peter Phillips From the start of the coronavirus…

God and coronavirus – a primer

April 15, 2020

By Professor Stephen Pattinson Western theistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)…

Cardinal George Pell freed from jail

April 7, 2020

Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican treasurer, has been freed…

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the 2020 Memorial

April 6, 2020

The one major ceremony in the calendar of the Jehovah’s…

Coronavirus and the Sacred

March 27, 2020

By Professor Gordon Lynch How do we explain the phenomenon…

Coronavirus: how it affects religious dietary laws

March 24, 2020

By Lianne Kolirin Images of panic-buying and empty supermarket shelves…

Fascinating facts about … St Patrick

March 15, 2020

17 March, St Patrick’s Day, is usually celebrated as a…

Factsheet: Holi

March 9, 2020

Holi is an annual festival in which Hindus celebrates the…

‘Anti-Muslim’ law brings violence to India

March 7, 2020

By Tim Wyatt Anti-Muslim rioting in India’s capital Delhi last…

Coronavirus: Impact on UK Churches

March 3, 2020

By Tim Wyatt As the government announces its plan to…

Church at the heart of South Korea coronavirus

February 28, 2020

Sixty per cent of the 1,000 coronavirus cases in South…

L’Arche and Jean Vanier

February 28, 2020

By Tim Wyatt

Unregistered religious marriages

February 27, 2020

By Russell Sandberg

Factsheet: Lent and Easter

February 24, 2020

Easter is the central event in the Christian calendar, which…

What is the Anglican Synod?

February 13, 2020

By Tim Wyatt

Living in Love and Faith

February 12, 2020

Progress on the Church of England’s Living in Love and…

Factsheet: Antisemitism

February 5, 2020

Antisemitism is prejudice against Jews based on race, nationality, religion…

Franklin Graham banned

February 5, 2020

William Franklin Graham III is a Christian evangelist and missionary.…

Kashmir: The Facts

February 3, 2020

By Professor William Gould, University of Leeds

Church Bells – Interesting Facts

January 30, 2020

By Trevor Barnes

Anglican Cathedrals in the British Isles

December 9, 2019

Thousands of people are expected to visit English Cathedrals this…

Faith manifestos

December 6, 2019

by Tim Wyatt [/fusion_text][fusion_text] Faith groups in the UK have…

How faith communities vote in UK elections

November 29, 2019

Faith leaders, in contrast to the convention that they leave…

Religion in political manifestos

November 29, 2019

by Tim Wyatt [/fusion_text][fusion_text] The main political parties in the…

Church of England glossary

November 5, 2019

Key words, titles and explanations to understand the C of…

Hate Crime Against Faith Groups in The UK

October 28, 2019

Detailed look at Home Office hate crime figures for 2018-19…

International Freedom of Religion or Belief Day

October 25, 2019

International Freedom of Religion or Belief day (27 Oct 2019)…

Collective worship in England and Wales

October 17, 2019

by Dilwyn Hunt Legal action in a campaign to replace…

Sex Abuse in UK Christian Churches

October 9, 2019

Charting the history and scale of sex abuse in British…

Glossary of Jewish Terms

September 16, 2019

Aliyah Literally means “ascent” but has come to mean the…

Roman Catholic Glossary of Terms

September 9, 2019

by Catherine Pepinster MASS This most important church service for…

Factsheet: Ahmadiyya

September 4, 2019

Ahmadiyya is a Muslim-derived religious movement which follows the teaching…

Hillsong Church

August 12, 2019

Hillsong Church is an Australian Evangelical “mega church” with branches…

Yoga in Britain

August 5, 2019

by Suzanne Newcombe [/fusion_text][fusion_text] OVERVIEW Yoga, which is spreading in popularity…

What is Iskcon?

July 3, 2019

by researchers at Inform [/fusion_text][fusion_text] Krishna consciousness BACKGROUND The International Society…

The Vatican and the transgender ‘crisis’

June 24, 2019

by Catherine Pepinster [/fusion_text][fusion_text] The Vatican’s decision to issue guidance on…

Islamophobia defined

June 13, 2019

by Chris Allen TOWARDS A WORKING DEFINITION The term Islamophobia was…

Contemporary Persecution of Christians

June 11, 2019

by Julia Bicknell [/fusion_text][fusion_text] The first Christian killed for daring to…