Monthly Archives: July 2010
Muslim Americans, ACLU Seek Data On FBI Profiling
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 29, 2010
Huffington Post (RNS): Muslim American groups and the American Civil Liberties Union are demanding the FBI turn over records relating to agency guidelines they say permit the FBI to collect and use racial and ethnic data. Read more.
COMMENTARY: And the truth shall set you free
By Tracy Gordon — July 29, 2010
(RNS) Judging from a recent Gallup Poll, politicians, corporations, the entertainment media and religious institutions are in a close competition to prove which is least trustworthy. A jaded public has come to expect the worst, and regularly receives it. Headlines about politicians’ lies hardly warrant attention anymore. We’ve gone from George Washington, who could not […]
Mormons see potential in online proselytizing
By Tracy Gordon — July 29, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Not so long ago, Mormon missionaries were prohibited from using the Internet, even to contact their families. The system then loosened a bit to allow weekly e-mails home and some occasional viewing of church materials. Now the nearly 14 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is attempting to revolutionize […]
Thursday’s roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 29, 2010
As a federal judge struck down major portions of Arizona‘s “papers, please” immigration law, a majority of Americans thinks the waves of immigration a century ago are no longer helpful. Religious groups, who claimed a major victory in the ruling, vow to press on. “Left Behind” co-author Tim Lahaye says President Obama is bringing us […]
Religious Liberty in Tennessee
By Mark Silk — July 29, 2010
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who happens to be running for governor of the Volunteer State, has caught a bunch of flak for his recent comments on the stump suggesting that Muslims might not merit First Amendment protection. Asked to comment on the proposed construction of an Islamic community center in Murfreesboro, he said, “You […]
RNS-SCHULLER-PROFILE: After public family feud, another Schuller steps in
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 29, 2010
RNS-10-MINUTES: 10 minutes with Max Lean
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 29, 2010
Senate Democrats plead for religious support on key bills
By Tracy Gordon — July 29, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Top Senate Democrats said Wednesday (July 28) that Democrats need the help of religious groups in overcoming Republican opposition to key pieces of legislation. In a media roundtable hosted by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Democrats’ Steering and Outreach Committee, senators said the majority of “the faith community” is fully on […]
Anglicans Reject Move To Kick Out Episcopal Church
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 29, 2010
Huffington Post (RNS): Anglican leaders meeting in London have rejected a move to “separate” the Episcopal Church from the wider Anglican Communion, a proposal that officials called premature and “unhelpful.” Read more.
July 28, 1989
By Alfredo Garcia — July 29, 2010
It’s really a great experience to look back and see what was happening in times gone past. Here at RNS, we’ve got some archives from past years, so I will occasionally pick up and look to see what was happening on a given date in, say, 1989, or maybe 1994. I don’t have links to […]
Gospel singer Doug Oldham dead at age 79
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2010
(RNS) Doug Oldham, a prolific gospel singer and ministry partner of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, died July 21 at the age of 79. Oldham, who was a soloist at Falwell’s Thomas Road Baptist Church and helped the evangelist raise money to start Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., died at a Virginia hospital while awaiting […]
Muslims, ACLU seek data on FBI profiling
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2010
WASHINGTON (RNS) Muslim American groups and the American Civil Liberties Union are demanding the FBI turn over records relating to agency guidelinesthey say permit the FBI to collect and use racial and ethnic data. The groups allege that the Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide, an FBI policy manual published in 2008, gives FBI agents the […]
Jordan River called `too polluted’ for baptism pilgrims
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2010
JERUSALEM (RNS/ENInews) Concerns about pollution and water quality have prompted an environmental advocacy group to call for the banning of baptisms in the lower Jordan River, where the Bible says Jesus was baptized. “For reasons of public health as well as religious integrity, baptism should be banned from taking place in the river,” said Gidon […]
Pension fight raises moral and legal concerns for ELCA, publisher
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2010
(RNS) As the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) fights to stay out of a legal battle over unpaid pension benefits, all sides agree on at least one point: More is at stake than the millions of dollars owed to some 500 pensioners of Augsburg Fortress, the ELCA’s publishing arm. Last month, the ELCA asked […]
10 minutes with … Andrew Kosorok
By Tracy Gordon — July 28, 2010
(RNS) Sculpture professor Andrew Kosorok certainly has his hands full for the next three years making representations of the names of God — all 99 of them. Having gained an interest in Islam after 9/11, Kosorok found that many parallels between his Mormon faith and Islam. Islam’s traditional 99 names for God — “The Provider,” […]
