Monthly Archives: June 2007
10 Minutes with … Sally Quinn
By Andrea Useem — June 28, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Started by two leading journalists with little background in religion, On Faith, the multi-contributor blog at Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive, has rocketed to prominence since it launched last November, registering some of the highest traffic levels on the already popular washingtonpost.com Web site. Each week On Faith moderators Sally […]
COMMENTARY: My Name is Cathleen, and I’m a Celebaholic
By Cathleen Falsani — June 28, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) I don’t recall the first time I indulged in my guilty pleasure _ the dirty little secret I am about to confess. What I do remember is that the first hit was like crack (or so I’m told), and I’ve been addicted ever since. Admitting one has a problem […]
Under the Bodhi Tree
By Daniel Burke — June 27, 2007
A Buddhist monk in the northern India state of Bihar, where legend has it the Buddha attained enlightenment, is taking local government and religious officials to task for supposedly cutting off a branch of the famed Bodhi tree. According to Buddhist history, the Awakened One meditated beneath this tree (or, as the story explains, one […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Canadian Anglicans, Lutherans Say No to Same-Sex Unions WINNIPEG, Manitoba (RNS) The national governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada on Sunday (June 24) defeated by the tightest of margins a motion to forge ahead with same-sex blessings across the country. The church’s lay and clergy delegates voted to […]
On 07/07/07, Luck Runs Hotter Than on 06/06/06
By RNS Blog Editor — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It comes only once a century. So for the host of religious traditions that see 7 as the most sacred digit, 07/07/2007 is looking like the perfect day for everything from weddings to worldwide activism. Or at least it’s better than last year’s eerie 06/06/06. According to David Frankfurter, […]
RNS Daily Digest: 1,825 words
By RNS Blog Editor — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Pope Changes Rules on Election of Next Pope VATICAN CITY (RNS) In a move that could lengthen the process of choosing the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI has ruled that popes must always be elected by a two-thirds majority of eligible Roman Catholic cardinals. The […]
Play Tries to Bridge Divide Between Gays, Mormons
By Christ Herlinger — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Not many theater productions include a glossary of Mormon theological and ecclesiastical terms in the program. Then again, Carol Lynn Pearson’s play, “Facing East,” defies a number of expectations. Pearson’s somber but compassionate one-act portrayal of a Mormon family’s struggle to come to terms with the suicide […]
COMMENTARY: Lessons from the Duke Lacrosse Scandal
By Tom Ehrich — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service DURHAM, N.C. _ Now that District Attorney Mike Nifong has been removed for misconduct in handling rape allegations against three Duke University lacrosse players, it is time to learn from this 17-month saga. I’m not talking about simply closing the book on a rogue DA, breathing a sigh of relief, […]
On 07/07/07, Luck Runs Hotter Than on 06/06/06
By RNS Blog Editor — June 27, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It comes only once a century. So for the host of religious traditions that see 7 as the most sacred digit, 07/07/2007 is looking like the perfect day for everything from weddings to worldwide activism. Or at least it’s better than last year’s eerie 06/06/06. According to David Frankfurter, […]
Supreme Court Turns Down Challenge to Faith-based Office
By Adelle M. Banks — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday (June 25) that taxpayers affiliated with an atheist group do not have standing to challenge the White House initiative channeling federal funds to religious groups providing social services. Overturning a federal appeals court decision, the justices gave the White House a 5-4 victory […]
Court Rules Against Student in `Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ Case
By RNS Blog Editor — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Public school officials do not violate a student’s free speech rights when they prohibit displays that promote illegal drug use, the Supreme Court ruled Monday (June 25). The 5-4 decision appeared to satisfy religious groups which had expressed concern that a ruling could give schools power to limit […]
After Obama’s Pep Talk, UCC Looks to Continue Momentum
By Daniel Burke — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service HARTFORD, Conn. _ With fiery speeches on faith and politics, the United Church of Christ’s General Synod here has seemed at times as much a revival or political rally as a mainline church meeting. The nearly 10,000 church members gathered here through Tuesday (June 26) heard speeches from journalist Bill […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Canadian Lutherans Say No to Same-Sex Blessings WINNIPEG, Manitoba (RNS) Susan Johnson, elected Friday (June 22) as the first female National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, says she’s “really disappointed” her denomination defeated a motion to bless same-sex relationships. On Saturday (June 23), 52.5 percent of delegates […]
Unitarians Find They’re Almost Universally White
By RNS Blog Editor — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ Joseph Santos-Lyons is this city’s first homegrown minister of color in the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, the church that proudly represents the far left pole of American religion. During the UUA’s recent national General Assembly here, Santos-Lyons was “fellowshipped” (the equivalent of a large-scale ordination), a […]
SIDEBAR: Unitarian Universalism at a Glance
By Nancy Haught — June 26, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ A quick glance at the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations: Q: What’s the origin of Unitarians and Universalists? A: Unitarians date from 1568, when some Christians in Transylvania declared that they did not believe in the trinity _ the understanding that three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) […]
