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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

For our latest survey data about views of religion’s role in public life, read our 2025 report “Growing Share of U.S. Adults Say Religion Is Gaining Influence in American Life.” The vast majority of U ...

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 ...

Say what you want about the body modification trends of the 21st century, but our prehistoric ancestors did a number to their digits. Men and women of the Palaeolithic era in Western Europe may have ...

A man burns joss sticks in a cemetery during the Ching Ming Festival, or Grave Sweeping Day, in Hong Kong. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images) How we did this For this report, we surveyed 10,390 ...

(RNS) — Taylor Swift’s fans engage in global rituals showing how the pop superstar’s music creates a sense of belonging and near-religious devotion. (RNS) — Every morning on the way to school, ...