Animism & Traditional Beliefs
   

African Traditional Religions

Images of the Dogon people practicing their animist religion with its festivals and Sirian mythology. of the Hogon, the spiritual leader of the village and of traditional funeral rituals.

Mexican Indigenous and Maya Spirituality

Images of aspects of the Maya religion that survives today among the Maya people of Mexico and the Highlands of Guatemala, as well as the syncretism of the traditional Maya religion and Roman Catholicism.
 

 

Asian Animism


Images of Korean village guardians, Kafir effigies worshipped by the Kalash and Nuristani people in the Hindu Kush Range in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We also feature images of Siberian shamanistic totems.

Día de los Muertos in Mexico

Images of the Day of the Dead in Mexico, that represent the mixture of Christian & Pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. Images of altars to the dead and cemeteries, where people decorate the graves of loved ones with offerings.
 

 

Andean Traditional Spirituality

Images of holy sites, items of worship & rituals of the Quechua & Aymara people that are a result of the syncretism between Christian and pre-Hispanic spirits and beings, such as the Carnaval de Oruro.

Native American Spirituality

Images of pow-wows and other ceremonies, in the personal and spiritual dimension. Images of totem poles and communal housing in British Columbia, Washington State and Alaska.
 


Australian Aboriginal Spirituality

Images of Australian Aboriginal artists and their paintings depicting the Dreamtime, Dreaming or Altjeringa.

Polynesian Spirituality

Images of sites, items of worship & rituals of Maoris and Hawaiians. Comprehensive coverage of all archaeological areas of Rapa Nui, Easter Island.
   

 Asian Religions & Beliefs
   

Baha'i Faith


Images of the Bahá'í House of Worship or Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Delhi, India.

 

Jainism

Images of the holy sites, temples and rituals practiced by followers of the Jain faith in India, including Jain sculptures carved in to the cliffs of Gwalior and temples in Palitana, Jaisalmer, Ajmer, Osiyan, Kolkata and Nalanda.
 

 

Balinese Hinduism & Spirituality


Images of the holy sites, places of worship and rituals of the island of Bali. The unique Balinese religion and culture is the result of the syncretism of classical Javanese culture with Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia.

Shintoism

Images of Mount Fuji and Shinto shrines and torii gates with Japanese people worshipping and practicing their Shinto rituals in Tokyo, the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara, the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine and the Shrines and Temples of Nikko.
 

 

Cao Dai

Images of the holy sites, places of worship and rituals of the Tay Ninh Holy See in Vietnam.



Sikhism


Images of the holy sites, Gurdwaras, rites and rituals practiced by followers of the Sikh faith in India, Pakistan and Canada, including the Harimandir Sahib, known popularly as the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India
 

 

Chinese Religions & Spirituality

Images of temples and rituals practiced by the followers of Confucianism and Daosim or Taoism in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.

Zoroastrianism

Images of the holy sites, temples and rituals in Iran and India, including the Zoroastrian Fire Temple and Towers of Silence in Yazd, Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire and the Necropolis of Naqsh-e Rustam.

 

 

Hinduism

Images of the holy sites, temples, rites and rituals practiced by followers of the Hindu denominations of Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartha in India, Nepal, Malaysia & Singapore. We also feature images of various Hindu Gods. 		 
   

 Buddhism
   

Places in the Life of Gautama Buddha

Images of Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha; Bodhgaya, site of Buddha's enlightenment; Rajgir, where he meditated; Sarnath, where Buddha first taught the Dharma & Vaishali, a place Buddha visited after his enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism

Images of the holy sites, places of worship and rituals practiced by followers of the Mahayana Buddhist school in India, China, Korea, Japan and Borobudur, Indonesia.
 

 

Early Buddhism in South Asia

Images of Ghandara Buddhist sites, such as Taxila, Takht-i-Bahi & the Bamiyan Valley; Buddhist paintings and sculptures in the Caves of Ajanta & Ellora; Great Stupa at Sanchi, Nalanda, Rajgir, Nagarjunkonda & the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur.

Theravada Buddhism

Images of the holy sites, places of worship and rituals practiced by followers of the Theravada Buddhist school in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.
 

 

Buddhism in Southeast Asia

Full coverage of the Buddhist complexes of Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and  Sigiriya in Sri Lanka; the Angkor Temple Complex in Cambodia; Ayutthaya in Thailand and Bagan, Mandalay, Rangoon, Bago & Inle Lake in Myanmar

Tibetan Buddhism

Images of the holy sites, places of worship & rituals in Tibet, including the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Shigatse & Giantse. of Tibetan Buddhist temples in the Himalayas, including Nepal, Bhutan and India.
   

 Christianity
   

Roman Catholic Church

Images of Roman Catholic cathedrals, churches, artistic representations of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ & Catholic Saints and of Catholic rites and rituals all over the world, especially in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Lutheranism

Images of Lutheran Churches in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Latvia, Estonia and Chile. of the Martin Luther Memorials in Wittenberg, Germany.
 

 

The Holy See

The library contains many images of the Vatican, and many of the artistic & architectural masterpieces, such as St. Peter's Basilica, the largest religious building in the world and pilgrims attending mass in the Vatican.

Anglicanism

Images of Anglican Churches of the Anglican Communion in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and the Caribbean.
 

 
Día de los Muertos in Mexico

Images of the Day of the Dead in Mexico, that represent the mixture of Christian & Pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. Images of altars to the dead and cemeteries, where people decorate the graves of loved ones with offerings.

Protestantism & Evangelical Christians

Images of churches and rituals practiced by followers of various Protestant and Evangelical Christian Movements and Sects in North America, Central & South America.
 

 
Easter Celebrations in Guatemala
Images of flower and sawdust carpets and the Easter processions on Good Friday in Antigua and Easter Sunday in Chichicastenango. Our images of devout people during Easter week in Guatemala truly reflect the syncretism of Christian and Maya traditions & beliefs.

Coptic Christianity

Images of Coptic Christian cathedrals, churches, artistic representations of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ & Coptic Saints and of Coptic rites and rituals in Cairo, Wadi Natrun, Aswan and Abu Mena in Egypt.
 

 
Easter Celebrations in Ayacucho
Images of candlelit processions on Good Friday and El Señor de la Resurreción procession, when Christ is carried out of Huamanga Cathedral atop a huge white pyramid adorned with 3,000 candles on Easter Sunday before dawn.

Eastern Christianity

Images of Eastern Orthodox Churches, Icons and Iconostasis in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Iraq, Syria & Turkey. Images of Orthodox Easter celebrations in Russia.
   

 Islam
   

Sunni Islam

Images of mosques and holy sites in Palestine, Iraq Syria, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, China, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Senegal, Turkey, Albania and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Sufism

Images of whirling dervishes in Syria and of tombs of Sufi saints in Thatta, Pakistan; Mahan, Iran and Fatehpur Sikri, India.

 

 
 


 

Shia Islam

Images of mosques and holy sites in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. We  feature the Tombs of Shiite Imams in Najaf, Karbala, Samarra & Baghdad in Iraq Qom & Mashhad in Iran.

Islamic Art


We also feature images of the historic Islamic centres in Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Toledo in Spain; Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat in Morocco, as well as extensive coverage of Islamic Cairo in Egypt.
   

 Judaism


 

Judaism Today


Images of the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem & Masada, Israel. Photos of Synagogues and Religious Buildings and Jewish cemeteries in Western & Eastern Europe.

The Shoah & Holocaust Memorial Sites


Photographs of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Buchenwald Concentration Camp, the Holocaust memorials to the Warsaw Ghetto, the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin and the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.