Religion

Following the surprisingly quick election of the first non-European pope in a millennium, Alexander Lee recalls some of the more controversial papal conclaves

In 1952, the Society of Friends celebrated its tercentenary. One of the Quakers' greatest achievements was the founding of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1681. By Henry J. Cadbury.

Elizabeth Wiskemann re-examines a period of transition between the House of Savoy's reign and the dominance of the Pope in Italy.

Atheism today is widely perceived to be the opposite of spirituality. This assumption is turned on its head when we look at the neglected origins of the Victorian ‘non-believing’ movement, epitomised by the controversial freethinker, William Stewart Ross, says Alastair Bonnett. 

It is impossible to engage fruitfully with European history without some understanding of peoples' religious beliefs, argues Paul Lay.

Hugh Trevor-Roper recounts how the “Cromwellian Exiles” returned from abroad to restore the English Church's episcopal structure.

Gerald Cobb explores secrets of the capital's ecclesiastical architecture.

T. Charles Edwards on the position of Catholics in Victorian England.

Christopher Dawson profiles the historical writing of "the last of the encyclopaedists".

J. Guthrie Oliver discusses a major source of funds for both medieval England and the Church.