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With a date set for the UK’s next General Election, Paul Bickley asks whether the 'religious vote' matters. This is the fourth General Election in nine years, though at least this Parliament has nearly lasted its full duration (albeit with three Prime Ministers). Reminds me of good old Brenda from Bristol: "You're joking. Not another … Continued

What do we know about the spiritual roots of the armed resistance against British colonialism? For the youth movements of Bengal, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was a formative teacher behind their ideas of ‘spiritual violence', ‘white demons’, and the mother land. In this blog, Sourajit Ghosh tells us more about these secret revolutionary societies. I begin … Continued

How should we hold appropriate discussions of ‘cults’ and minority religions? It’s a sensitive topic with varied implications for academic disciplines and supportive organisations. In this blog, Aled Thomas and Edward Graham-Hyde share some insights from their upcoming book, 'Cult' Rhetoric in the 21st Century: Deconstructing the Study of New Religious Movements. Why is the term … Continued

Two years ago the new Personal Status Law was codified, introducing default guidelines for marriage, divorce, and child custody in Saudi Arabia, and changing the relationship between law and Sharia councils. Beata Polok and Zubair Abbasi explain the implications of the law. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on a transformative journey. Through its … Continued

The Persian Version was recently released in cinemas around the world to mixed reviews. In this article, Michael Dhanoya explains why the film has a particular impact on Shīʿa Muslims, and how they have responded to it. The Persian Version — Hollywood's latest dramedy — has split audiences. While critics have hailed it a feel-good … Continued

Made famous by Netflix’s Wild Wild Country, the story of Osho, FKA the Bhagwan, the leader of the Rajneesh movement, has been a contentious one. In this article, Gurmeet Kaur goes back to Osho as a spiritual leader, looking at his teachings on family, sexuality, meditation, and lifestyle, to ask whether he could be a … Continued

In a region with a strong syncretic heritage, how should we interpret the burgeoning religious fervour surrounding the recent Ram Mandir celebrations in the Indian Sundarban? In this piece, Ankana Das outlines her ethnographic research in the area, and the evolving relationship between Hindus, religious minorities, syncretic deities, and the incumbent Hindu governance. On February … Continued

Who are the Rosicrucians and what does their history reveal about the foundations of new religious movements today? Stephanos Peppas outlines some of their origins and lasting impacts. The Rosicrucians, a “secret” community using a variety of symbols, emerged at a time of profound social, religious, and scientific upheaval in Europe, referencing many contemporary cases … Continued

Within international law there are significant frameworks contributing to the promotion of religious tolerance and the peaceful coexistence of diverse religions. But challenges emerge in the implementation of them. In this blog, Nazanin Baradaran explains those challenges and the subsequent opportunities should we successfully overcome them. . In the tapestry of the 21st century, the … Continued

After newly re-elected president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suffered a heavy defeat in Turkey’s recent municipal elections, Sultan Tepe analyses the present landscape of political rhetoric and campaigns. Turkey's 2024 local elections Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came in second place in Turkey’s municipal elections on March 31 2024, losing control of major cities … Continued

Last week we took a comparative look at the morality police and interpretations of law between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This week, in the second part of his work on Democratic vs. Corrupted Shārīe'ā, Mohamed ‘Arafa pitches a way forward for Islamic jurisprudence and moral authority. Undoubtedly, interpretations of "commanding the right and forbidding the … Continued

Cults, spirituality, and new religious movements Submissions are now open for articles which look at one or all of the above. These categories can be open to interpretation and we encourage a critical engagement with each term, particularly when it comes to cults.* Nonetheless, cults are regularly intertwined with spiritual and religious elements, often using … Continued

Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar have all issued famous fatwas. So how should we think about different interpretations of morality? In this article, the first of two parts, Mohamed Arafa analyses different sources of moral authority in Islam, illustrating the debate with examples from scholars, historians, and jurists … Continued

As India gets ready for its general elections this spring, attention is drawn to the role of religion and nationalism in campaign politics. This article puts Partha Chatterjee’s critiques in conversation with Benedict Anderson’s theory of imagined communities, with Hindu nationalism as an ideal site of analysis. One of the foremost experts on nationalism, Benedict … Continued

“A powerful tool for reflecting on the role of secular liberal governance in a world increasingly defined by religious diversity” — a review of Governing Religious Diversity in Global Comparative Perspective, edited by Tariq Modood and Thomas Sealy (2024) Routledge. Governing Religious Diversity in Global Comparative Perspective, edited by Tariq Modood and Thomas Sealy, provides a timely and … Continued