Fundamentalism is a 20th-century invention, in many ways a response to the rapid social change brought about by modernity and global capitalism, says Giles Fraser. It is a perversion of religion, and in no way the real thing, let alone its 'heartbeat'.

The bludgeoning conclusion of Paul Thomas Anderson's much-lauded, Oscar-nominated film "There Will Be Blood," which has recently been released on DVD, features a preacher forced to renounce his faith in God and admit charlatanry. Spencer Dew investigates.

Humanism is a philosophy and approach to life that has Christian, atheist, deist and theist roots, says Mark Vernon. So when it is taught in schools, what kind of approach will be adopted?

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has caused a heated debate with a proposal that instead of single-faith schools funded by the public, all schools should become practising multi-faith institutions.

A Canadian church magazine has become the first North American sponsor of a travelling exhibit of the life and work of natural scientist Charles Darwin, which opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on 8 March and will come to Britain.