This article examines the promotion of the cults of the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux by their daughters, nuns of the Carmel of Lisieux, from the time of Thérèse’s death in 1897 until the late 1950s. Louis and Zélie Martin were made saints in the first joint canonisation of spouses in the history of […]
The Bloomsbury handbook of religion and popular music, edited by Christopher Partridge and Marcus Moberg, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, 440 pp., £130.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-47-423733-8
Johnny Hallyday’s skill was his ability to be all things to all people, says Sophia Deboick. It was this that allowed him to become the embodiment of a nation
Medieval hermits were the agony aunts of their day
The death and resurrection of Elvis Presley, by Ted Harrison, London, Reaktion Books, 2016, 272 pp., £16.00 (hardback), ISBN: 978-1-78-023637-7
The Manchester mayor is donating 15% of his salary to tackling homelessness in the city. But can alms-giving ever be a viable alternative to state safety nets?
Boy bands have traditionally been an Anglophone affair. But there’s one massive European group which has got in on the act – and its cultish fans are as extreme as any others in their devotion. Sophia L Deboick on the remarkable rise and – relative – fall of Tokio Hotel
Immigration has transformed the Catholic Church in the UK and, says Sophia L Deboick, Brexit will change it once again
They are perhaps Britain’s most European band of all, far bigger on the continent than in their homeland. Here, Dr Sophia L Deboick traces Depeche Mode’s creative awakening, back to its roots, behind the Iron Curtain
A new decree forbids Catholics to scatter ashes, and insists on the sanctity of the cemetery. But in terms of burial options, the Vatican are way behind the times
