Hoax Museum Blog: Religion

Virgin Mary in Window — Not a deliberate hoax, but bogus anyway. A leaky window seal causes a peculiar moisture pattern to form on the window of Milton Hospital. True believers swear it's the image of the Virgin Mary.

Weeping Mary — For the past six months thousands of people have been flocking to see a small fibreglass statue of the Virgin Mary in a church in Perth, Australia that is supposedly weeping rose-scented tears. But many scientists, including Doug Clarke of Murdoch University, dismiss the statue as a hoax: Mr Clarke believes that when the statue was made, a cavity was built into the head of the statue and for some reason he believes it has been filled with an oil similar to soya-bean oil.

Australian Jedis — Some more news from Australia: More than 700,000 people identified their religion as "Jedi Knight" in Australia's national census conducted last year.

The Shroud of Turin — The Shroud of Turin is back in the news. It turns out that the Vatican has secretly been allowing a scientist to perform tests on it for the past few months. Apparently the scientist is trying to get a more accurate reading of the exact age of the shroud's fibers, following criticism of 1988 tests of the age of the fibers.