Monthly Archives: July 2009
ABC to ECUSA: Drop Dead
By Mark Silk — July 28, 2009
Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury (ABC), is not at all happy with the Episcopal Church’s resolutions declaring that partnered gay people can be called to all church offices and preparing the way for the church’s blessing of same-sex unions. In a letter issued from his palace yesterday, Williams charges ECUSA with 1) not having […]
Hutterites lose driver’s license claim in Canadian Supreme Court
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2009
TORONTO (RNS) A group of Hutterites in the Canadian province of Alberta have lost their bid to be issued special driver’s licenses without photographs. The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday (July 24) ruled 4-3 to uphold provincial rules making a digital photo mandatory for all new licenses. Two Alberta Hutterite colonies had argued for […]
Poll: Mormons most likely to be offended by Hollywood
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) Mormons are the faith group most likely to say Hollywood threatens their values, followed by Jehovah’s Witnesses and evangelicals, according to a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The survey showed more than two-thirds of Mormons (68 percent) rebuffed the entertainment industry, followed by 54 percent of Jehovah’s […]
Churches push $10 minimum wage by 2010
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) Religious leaders and advocates, not satisfied with the 70-cent rise in the federal minimum wage that went into effect on Friday (July 24), are calling on congressional leaders to hike it up to $10 by 2010. Even after the increase to $7.25 an hour, more than 600 interfaith leaders across the nation have […]
Williams suggests secondary role for rebel Episcopal Church
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2009
(UNDATED) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams suggested Monday (July 27) that the Episcopal Church may have to accept a secondary role in the Anglican Communion after voting to allow gay bishops and blessings for same-sex unions. Williams, the spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, said “very serious anxieties have already been expressed,” about […]
What would God do?
By Daniel Burke — July 27, 2009
As religious groups line up on both sides of the health care reform debate, Oliver Thomas has an interesting look at what various scriptures say about caring for the sick and the needy. “Our Scriptures were written long before talk of deductibles, pre-existing conditions and single payers,” he writes. “But indirectly, the Christian, Hebrew and […]
Alamo explained
By Adelle M. Banks — July 27, 2009
After evangelist Tony Alamo was convicted on Friday of transporting girls across state lines for sexual purposes, a Southern Poverty Law Center expert explained why a verdict of this sort took decades to occur. “This man has been running around the country for decades getting away with doing awful things and hurtful things to people,” […]
Wardens walk fine line on religious materials for inmates
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2009
(UNDATED) For Jarvis Masters, his Buddhist journals bring peace from the panic he feels on death row in California’s San Quentin State Prison. An article entitled “Life in Relation to Death” by a Tibetan Buddhist lama helps him learn the Buddha’s ways. He wears a string of 108 beads, called a Mala, around his neck […]
This revolution will not be secularized…
By Mark Silk — July 27, 2009
…completely. Roger Cohen, in his powerful piece on Iran in the current New York Review, tries to capture the mix of anti-clericalism, religiosity, and secularism he witnessed during last month’s post-election protests: In that moment, the crowd seemed irresistible, too large to be harmed, too strong to be cowed, and it was as if the […]
Solving the health reform/abortion conundrum
By Mark Silk — July 27, 2009
To subsidize coverage of abortion services or not to subsidize, that is the question. Pro-life activists and legislators don’t want health insurance reform to provide a back door for federal funding of abortions. However, not only could that make it impossible for some taxpayers to obtain coverage for abortion services that private insurers now offer, […]
Dancing Down the Aisle
By RNS Blog Editor — July 25, 2009
HAHAHAHA This has been made available so that you all could learn how to have a church wedding just like this one!!
Ryan-DeLauro and the culture wars
By Mark Silk — July 25, 2009
For 30 years, abortion has been the keystone of the culture wars. It is the issue that galvanized the religious right as a national political force and brought evangelicals and conservative Catholics together. If gay rights has been a moving target that wise conservative heads see as a losing cause, abortion stands solid, as divisive […]
Britain, hard-hit by swine flu, alters worship rituals
By Tracy Gordon — July 25, 2009
CANTERBURY, England (RNS/ENI) Fears about the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, are curtailing religious activities of both Christians and Muslims as they worship and express their faith, especially in Britain. Health authorities believe that the H1N1 flu pandemic is having a greater impact on Britain than on other European countries, […]
N.J. corruption probe shines unwelcome spotlight on Syrian Jews
By Tracy Gordon — July 24, 2009
DEAL, N.J. — This wealthy seaside town might not have a Syrian Jewish community at all if it hadn’t developed as a summer escape for Brooklyn’s Syrian Jews, more than 10,000 of whom visit each summer. Indeed, in the Syrian Jewish community, Deal is known as “Brooklyn South,” and the approximately 1,000 who stay here […]
Ore. parents acquitted in daughter’s faith-healing death
By Tracy Gordon — July 24, 2009
OREGON CITY, Ore. — Jurors on Thursday (July 23) acquitted two parents accused in the faith-healing death of their infant daughter on all but one count, a stunning legal victory in a case that pitted religious freedom against parental responsibility. Carl and Raylene Worthington were charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment after their 15-month-old […]
