Soul Search

Pope Leo is the first Augustinian pontiff and has quickly made headlines speaking out about war an peace — which makes sense, because St Augustine was a major influence on Western understandings of war and when it is morally justified.

NASA's Earthrise photo sparked an environmental movement, but decades later the environmental crisis has gotten worse, not better. What's missing from how we relate to our common home?

What's the difference between a pilgrimage and a holiday? Going for Hajj in Mecca is an obvious pilgrimage, but something like going to Graceland for Elvis Week gets a bit tricky. So what does pilgrimage look like today?

Reporting on what happens at the Vatican means being exposed to the best and worst of the church — and humanity. Colleen Dulle has had a front row seat to the biggest stories in the Catholic world. It's profoundly shaped her Catholic faith and her belief that telling the truth opens a path to healing.

Does a society lose anything if we lose religion? Niki Harré is a lifelong atheist who wanted to test this. She took a year off from her job as an academic, to the point of setting herself up as a 'secular priest!' What did she uncover?

Australia's devotion to sports takes on many religious qualities. And in many religious traditions, the physical discipline of the body is one way of working on the soul. So, how do shared activities, like running groups or football clubs, keep us healthy physically, mentally — and spiritually? 

We tend to think of death as constant — unchanging — but when and how we die looks very different today than it did even 100 years ago. So what does it mean to think about your own mortality in the 21st century?

How might silence and stillness help us meet the challenges of our time? Fr Laurence Freeman is an English Benedictine monk, and one of the most well-known meditation teachers in the world.

If a neighbour turned up on your doorstep, would you know them by name? In some ways we are more connected than ever before, but knowing and loving your neighbour has become thin in our increasingly individualised society. So how can we build flourishing communities with our neighbours?

Imagine living life without money — cutting up your credit card, closing up your bank account, and finding new ways to feed and clothe yourself. On Soul Search, we examine what it might look like to step away from the cycle of getting and spending, and towards a gift economy.