c. 2007 Religion News Service

U.S. `Satisfied’ With Religion’s Public Role, But More Want Less

WASHINGTON (RNS) For the third consecutive year, the number of Americans calling for less religious influence in public life exceeded the number of Americans who want more, according to a new Gallup poll. Most Americans, however, remain “generally satisfied” with organized religion’s role in the U.S., the survey round.

Nearly 40 percent of Americans say religion’s level of influence “in the nation” should not change, 32 percent would like it to have less influence and 27 percent would like it to have more, according to the survey. Weekly churchgoers are much more likely to agree that religion should have greater influence on government and politics than those who go to church less frequently, the survey found.

Opinions also tended to shift depending on political affiliation. Some 41 percent of Democrats believed religion should have less impact, while 43 percent of Republicans felt it should have more.

During President Bush’s first term, 2001 through 2004, more Americans believed the role of religion should increase than wanted its influence to fade. But by 2003, the numbers began to shift, and by 2005 a greater number of Americans believed religion should have less influence on public life.

The number of Americans who think religion should have less impact has increased 10 percentage points since 2001, according to Gallup.

The Gallup Poll of 1,018 adults was conducted between Jan. 15 and Jan. 18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

_ Katherine Boyle

No Exemptions for Catholic Agencies in New British Discrimination Law

LONDON (RNS) The Roman Catholic Church has lost the fight to opt out of new laws in England and Wales banning discrimination against gay couples, throwing its adoption agencies into a bind.

Despite protests from Catholics, who were supported by the Anglican Church of England in their campaign against the laws, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Monday (Jan. 29) that there would be “no exemptions” for faith groups when the Equality Act comes into force April 6.

The act will outlaw discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation.

In a bid to soften the impact, Blair _ whose wife Cherie is a prominent Catholic _ said the adoption agencies would be given 21 months to get ready to adopt the new rules.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, had warned that its adoption agencies would close rather than obey any regulations that require them to hand over babies to gay couples.

After the prime minister’s declaration that there would be no exemptions to the Equality Act, the cardinal, interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corp., expressed disappointment.

“The government has a right to legislate and homosexual couples are also able to adopt in other agencies,” Murphy-O’Connor said, “but we want to hold onto this principle,” that “normally children should be brought up by a father and a mother.”

He added, “We hold that that is extremely important.”

The cardinal said “there may well be some way in which, without breaking the law, our Catholic services can continue in their work according to Catholic principles.” But he did not elaborate.

The prime minister insisted that the 21-month “grace” period faith-run agencies have been given to adjust to the new rules was a “sensible compromise” in the dispute between church and state.

But Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said “it would be a great pity … if people weren’t able to act according to their conscience for the sake of the common good in our country. It would be a lack of freedom for religious conviction.”

_ Al Webb

New Dean Tapped for Conservative Jewish Seminary

(RNS) The Jewish Theological Seminary, the center of the worldwide Conservative Judaism movement, has tapped alumnus Rabbi Daniel Nevins as its next Rabbinical School dean.

Nevins, 40, has led Congregation Adat Shalom in Farmington Hills, Mich., for the past 13 years. He will assume the new post July 1, succeeding Rabbi William Lebeau, who served as dean since June 2002.

JTS Chancellor-elect Arnold M. Eisen said in a statement that Nevins had “impressed the search committee and me with his energy, his ideas, and his passionate commitment to Torah, the Jewish people, and Conservative Judaism. Danny’s deep appreciation for our movement’s standards, its principles, and its pluralistic nature will serve us well at this time of challenge and transition for the movement.”

Founded in 1886, JTS is conducting a communitywide survey to decide whether to begin admitting homosexual students. As a member of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Nevins recently co-authored a statement in favor of normalizing the status of gay and lesbian Jews. The assembly ultimately left it up to individual rabbis and seminaries to decide whether to officiate over same-sex commitment ceremonies or admit homosexual students.

“I look forward to working with an extraordinary team of faculty, students, and administrators to create a sacred place of Torah study and observance,” Nevins said in a statement.

Prior to graduating from the JTS Rabbinical School in 1994, Nevins received a master’s degree in Hebrew letters from JTS in 1991 and a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard College in 1989. The New Jersey native has also studied at Yeshivat HaMivtar in Jerusalem, and was the recipient of the prestigious Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

_ Nicole Neroulias

Quote of the Day: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

(RNS) “We are a nation of faith. It doesn’t necessarily have to be mine.”

_ Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister, in an interview on “Meet the Press” about his decision to launch an exploratory committee for a possible run for U.S. president.

DSB/LF END RNS