Film review: Hereafter
In taking on the afterlife, Clint Eastwood delivers a trite ghost story that is desperate to be taken seriously, finds Fred Rowson
Faith & Religion
Book review: Apocalypse for Beginners by Nicolas Dickner
Philip Womack is disappointed by the end of the world
Book review: The God Instinct by Jesse Bering
Do we have innate religious tendencies? Jake Wallis Simons turns to a new book to find out
It’s the faith, stupid!
Social scientist Olivier Roy has been tracking religion for three decades. Caspar Melville talks to him about his new book Holy Ignorance
Film review: Of Gods and Men
This depiction of the last days of seven monks murdered by extremists has been widely celebrated, but its questionable take on Christian devotion is ultimately dissatisfying, says Fred Rowson
Hot type
Andrew Mueller revels in the vituperative opinions of HL Mencken
Book review: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong
Ophelia Benson finds Karen Armstrong's spiritual manifesto lacking in spirit and laughs
Careless talk?
Some secularists believe that any communication with believers amounts to collaboration. Paul Sims isn’t so sure
Bad Faith Awards 2010
Who gave the silliest sermon or pious pronouncement of the past year? Thousands of you voted and the results are in
Inside the mind of Scientology’s Messiah
Twenty-five years after his death, Michael Bywater revisits the sacred texts of the pulp science writer turned prophet L Ron Hubbard