[3][dead link‍] The magazine regularly features reporting, personal essays, and book reviews on a broad range of topics.

It seeks "with reporting, incisive commentary, and coverage of books and the arts to bring the mind of the Church and a generous, urbane spirit to bear on the questions of modern life.

"[5] The magazine derives its logo from a previous English Catholic periodical of the same name, published by Thomas Earnshaw Bradley during the Victorian era.

[9] The Lamp regularly features work from prominent writers and public intellectuals, including Giorgio Agamben, Peter Hitchens, Sam Kriss, and David Bentley Hart.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat praised the magazine in April 2021 as "Christian journalism that isn't just part of the culture war.