Pope Francis issued the mission statement for his papacy, outlining how the Catholic Church and the papacy itself must be reformed.

The discovery of a 2,600-year-old simple wooden shrine in Nepal has made archeologists rethink Buddha's birth date.

A British academic believes she has identified from ancient texts the actual site of the elusive Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The son-in-law of Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship to help feed the needy.

A controversial church leader and critic of homosexuality has made peace with a prominent transgender adversary as she battles kidney disease.

Charities are bracing themselves for an influx of more than 40,000 struggling Kiwi families who can't afford to serve Christmas dinner or put presents under the tree this year.

Recently, to much mirth, the capital's new Anglican Bishop despoiled his lovely cathedral's entrance by residing there in a wooden crate.

With a swing of his powerful arm, a prison guard landed a wicked-looking cane on a dummy wearing the white uniform of convicts in Brunei.

An evangelist whose inspirational autobiography has been labelled "99 per cent false" is here on a speaking tour - sparking a warning from some churches.

An attempt by Iran's reformist President, Hassan Rouhani, to abolish the chant "Death to America" as part of his drive to improve relations with the West has angered hardliners.

One of the largest remaining privately owned blocks of land in inner Auckland is for sale.

A New Zealand church has been let off the hook for forbidding a gay man from becoming a priest.

As a concession to belt-tightening, the decision by a sybaritic German bishop to take a budget airline flight to Rome is looking like too little, too late.

After winning many hearts and minds with vows of change and personal deeds, Pope Francis' reform strategy moves into higher gear tomorrow.

A 52-year-old Papakura man has been arrested in relation to an attack on a Buddhist monk who was bashed unconscious at his South Auckland monastery.

About half a million filled the streets of Jerusalem for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's funeral procession, one of the largest ever held in Israel.

Over the past week, there have been two devastating terror attacks.

Parliament will today amend a century-old trust which was set up to convert Maori to Christianity and evangelise to "heathen races'' all over the world.

The Pope has claimed that big business' worship of money is causing misery and despair for ordinary people, in one of his strongest attacks yet on the global economic system.

An Auckland father who says his daughter was told during religious instruction that she would go to hell is campaigning to have the classes dropped from her state school.

Pope Francis has declared himself a "sinner" and said the Catholic Church will "fall like a house of cards" unless it is able to focus more on the "essentials" of preaching the Gospel and less on politics and bureaucracy.

Michael Hewat's opinion piece on Islam makes two bold demands.

Britain's leading Muslim organisation isn't happy with a judge's landmark ruling that women should not give evidence in court while wearing the veil.

In 2010 a horribly misguided United States Christian pastor announced his plans to publicly burn a pile of 200 copies of the Koran.

All pupils in French state schools will be reminded this week that they are not allowed to wear items of religious clothing.

He was cleared of sexual misconduct in a criminal trial, but a Korean pastor says he's being victimised by the Presbyterian Church of NZ.

New Zealand's Catholic Church says it will "reflect" on a decision by Auckland Anglicans to sell out of all fossil fuel investments within two years.

A defiant deposed Presbyterian Korean pastor has vowed to continue leading church services despite being barred for sexual misconduct and abuse.