Soul Search

Currently around the world, billions of people are fasting for Ramadan and Lent. What are the spiritual motivations for fasting? And what happens when we press pause on food, water, and acquiring things?

In Australia, one-in-four women will experience violence by an intimate partner. There's been little research into rates of violence against women in Christian churches, but from what we do know, the rates of violence are the same — if not higher.

There's a paradox to Sydney. It's long been an oasis for LGBT people in Australia, but it's also globally known as the home of particularly traditional — some would say conservative — kind of Christianity. There's a tension in this dual identity, but these two communities do sometimes overlap. When LGBT people grow up in these churches, they need to decide.

What's your favourite monster story? Descriptions of monsters and evil creatures are more than just a cheap thrill — they can reveal a lot about our moral systems, and our beliefs about how the universe works.

As the Russia-Ukraine rages, there's a book cherished by both sides — the Philokalia holds what many consider the true spiritual essence of Orthodoxy: Stillness and ceaseless prayer.