Above us stretches the 'sacred canopy': the starry sky with which homo sapiens religiosus has covered the existential void for thousands of years. Religions, political ideologies, and cultural frameworks form the foundations through which we structure our world and endow it with meaning. In this multifaceted collection, Peter Franken reflects on the grand pendulum swings of human civilisation. Drawing on religious studies, history, political analysis, and cultural criticism, he reveals the common thread connecting our past with our present — from classical antiquity to contemporary societal debates.