Latest from Religion and Beliefs

Fear of God: It's what makes us nicer

Scientists have found a long-awaited explanation as to why humans have for centuries maintained orderly societies: the fear of an angry god.

Where to eat this Chinese New Year

Food is key to Chinese New Year, and families and restaurants will ring in the Year of the Monkey with special feasts.

Destiny's prices double

Destiny Church wants its faithful to dig deeper this year, almost doubling the cost of tickets to attend its annual conference.

Cameron backs banning of veil in public places

Muslim women can be banned from wearing veils in schools, courts and other British institutions, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Alan Duff: Fanatics want to darken our dawn

Many of us want to know what makes Muslims tick, writes Alan Duff. Don't send me death threats yet, you of Muslim faith. This columnist is not out to get you.

5 Facts about Sunnis and Shias

A look at Islam's two main denominations to help make sense of the Saudi-Iran crisis.

Ben Rich: Saudi executions just business as usual

The beheadings sent a clear message to militant Islamists and the Shi'a that the state would not hesitate to employ its monopoly on violence against those who challenged its authority, writes Ben Rich.

Onus on Muslim world to quash Isis sex slavery

Islamic law forbids the enslavement of Muslims, but all that did was to encourage a roaring trade in the enslavement of non-Muslims that lasted for over a thousand years, writes Gwynne Dyer.

Brussels on edge as hunt continues

Belgian security forces are still hunting down suspected Isis militants after making more than a dozen arrests in a series of raids yesterday.

What to expect from a mormon funeral

Lomu became a Mormon, joining the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 2012. It is understood Lomu's funeral will be held at a branch of the church.

Donna Miles-Mojab: West must work with Muslims to fight Isis

A 2009 Gallup survey of European Muslims showed they are just as likely, if not more so, to identify with the country in which they live, than the rest of the population.

Brussels suburb raising jihadis

Just across the canal from the chic cafes a largely Muslim area that has become one of the world's main breeding grounds of violent Islamic extremists.

Cartoon: Deadly attacks in Paris

Chris Barfoot: Respect for war dead impels search for peace

There is a dissonance between the reality of modern war and the high ideals by which war is justified, writes Chris Barfoot. These ideals form a deadly combination.

Former nun shares rocky road

As a young woman growing up in Auckland in the 60s and 70s, Maria Hall dreamed of "boys, of love and marriage, and of living on a houseboat".

Key's response on threats facing NZ

Prime Minister John Key has rejected claims that New Zealand's spy agencies are overstating national security risks to "justify their existence".