Religion

Ex-Mormon artist pulls exhibition from Arizona museum over concurrent Mormon art show

The artist Angela Ellsworth withdrew her show due to a communication breakdown with Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum

Artefacts discovered down well shed light on ancient Roman rituals

The objects, found within the Ostia Antica archaeological site in southern Italy, include burnt animal bones and a carved wooden chalice

Indianews

As India erects a grand Hindu temple on site of razed mosque, more Islamic heritage faces prospect of destruction

The Ram temple in Ayodhya, consecrated next week, has been the subject of a long and deadly campaign by Hindu nationalist groups

A new museum dives deep into the history of faith in Britain

The Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland features both historical objects—such as the 13th-century Bodleian Bowl—and contemporary works of art

What will German monasteries do with colonial-era objects in their collections?

Wide-ranging nationwide survey will catalogue artefacts held by monasteries and convents that were collected by missionaries in Africa, Asia and South America

Portrait of Omai? What about bringing Henry VIII’s epic tapestry back to the UK, says British businessman

The piece by Pieter Coecke van Aelst remains in Spain but Jonathan Ruffer wants to show it at his new Faith Museum in County Durham

Religionanalysis

Breaking a taboo: religion is being invited into three major museums

Working with Visual Commentary on Scripture, London’s National Gallery and Berlin’s Bode Museum and Gemäldegalerie are uniting art and theology

Vatican tapestry of Leonardo's Last Supper gets extremely rare outing

How the Pope washed the feet of 13 priests during Holy Week is at the heart of a new exhibition outside Turin

Professor who was controversially fired for 'Islamophobia' after showing depictions of Prophet Muhammad is named

US university's decision to dismiss employee for displaying the 14th- and 16th-century works has been described as an "egregious violation" of academic freedom

Was Vermeer a painter of pleasure or a staunch Jesuit supporter? New book challenges our knowledge of the artist

Gregor Weber's biography "Johannes Vermeer: Faith, Light and Reflection" also supports the controversial view that Vermeer used a camera obscura

Scottish museum of religion is finally coming out of lockdown—more than two years after the pandemic hit

Faith leaders and community groups campaigned to save Glasgow's St Mungo Museum of Religious Art and Life from the risk of permanent closure

Mamma mia! Posters for Naples blasphemy show spark outrage

Blasphemy laws in Italy are strict and can result in fines

An Afghan cultural worker’s life under the Taliban: 'There is nothing left for us here and we can’t go anywhere else'

In a new series "Dispatches from Afghanistan", we speak to artists about their experiences since the rise of the Taliban. Here, Mansoor laments the world’s silence over Afghanistan's fate

An Afghan artist's life under the Taliban: burning art, deleting social media accounts and living in hiding

In a new series "Dispatches from Afghanistan", we speak to artists about their experiences since the rise of the Taliban. Here, contemporary artist and curator Mina recounts the horrors of her failed escape attempt

Muslim mob attacks Hindu temple in Pakistan after eight-year-old boy allegedly urinates on library floor

Paramilitary forces deployed after local police fail to protect the religious shrine

Why some people still care passionately whether St Jerome was Italian or Croatian (he was neither, actually)

An exhibition in Split shows that being 1,600 years old does not take you out of politics

Antony Gormley lends sculpture to fill an empty spot on the medieval façade of Wells Cathedral in England

The near-life-size contemporary work will join 300 historic depictions of saints and kings

New hope that Istanbul orphanage—Europe's largest timber building—can be saved from ruin

After decades of neglect, a fundraising drive could restore Prinkipo Orphanage as an environmental research centre

Indianews

Indian museum hopes to reconcile bitter saga of sectarian conflict near disputed holy site

A planned mosque and cultural centre will celebrate the syncretic culture of Hinduism and Islam in the northern city of Ayodhya

Turkeynews

Court ruling converting Turkish museum to mosque could set precedent for Hagia Sophia

Decision that Kariye Museum must become a Muslim house of worship again could imperil its Byzantine art and have repercussions for other early Christian monuments

Hidden daily lives of Hasidic Jews in Jerusalem are captured in marvellous book of photographs

Photographer was given privileged access to document scenes and to make portraits among the people of this conservative group

Book looks at the persistence of the scroll throughout the Middle Ages

Even when the codex became ubiquitous, scrolls held a special place for the written word

Booksreview

Agents of faith: the art of votive offerings

Bard Graduate Center's 25th anniversary exhibition considers devotional offerings across religions

Hundreds of Christians protest against McJesus sculpture at Haifa Museum of Art in Israel

Finnish artist Jani Leinonen has asked museum to remove the work—with no response

Restoration of rare English Medieval altarpiece reveals a history of serial vandalism

The Battel Hall retable, which survived the fury of 16th-century iconoclasts, bears later scars of graffiti and "witchmarks" against evil spirits

Isenheim Altarpiece restoration finally back on track after public outcry

More than 30 conservators will treat paintings and sculptures, seven years after French culture ministry halted reckless cleaning of two panels

Turin’s Chapel of the Holy Shroud—almost entirely destroyed by fire—reopens after €30m restoration

State-of-the-art conservation project that took 21 years brings masterpiece of Baroque architecture back to its former glory

Is Bergamo’s rediscovered Mantegna linked to a triptych in the Uffizi?

Accademia Carrara’s curator Giovanni Valagussa explains how he put “two and two” together

Booksreview

Prefab(ulous): the story of an 18th-century chapel made entirely in Rome for a church in Lisbon

This fascinating survey offers both detailed commentary and lavish illustrations