Monthly Archives: October 2010
VA Baptists’ Separationist Push Back
By Mark Silk — October 30, 2010
Last week, the Virginia Baptist Mission Board decided it was time to push back against the historical revisionism of Barton, Skousen, and Beck. that tries to pretend that the United States was not founded on the principle of separation of church and state. So it voted to commission a pamphlet for lay readers setting the […]
Obama to visit largest mosque in Indonesia
By Tracy Gordon — October 30, 2010
(RNS) President Obama plans to visit one of the world’s largest mosques during his trip to Indonesia in November, the White House announced Thursday (Oct. 28). The visit to Istiqlal Mosque on Nov. 10 will precede a speech about U.S. outreach to Muslims throughout the world, said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser. Rhodes […]
Gallup: Most religious Americans have high levels of well-being
By Tracy Gordon — October 30, 2010
(RNS) The most religious Americans also have the highest rates of well-being, according to a new Gallup survey. The finding is based on a survey of more than 550,000 people about their physical and emotional health and their work environment. Overall, the very religious received a score on Gallup’s well-being index of 68.7 percent, while […]
Right wingers, Chelsea Clinton included on top Jews list
By Tracy Gordon — October 30, 2010
(RNS) Russian and right-wing Jews make a splash in this year’s list of influential people compiled by The Forward, the country’s largest national Jewish weekly newspaper. Crowning the 2010 “Forward 50,” published Oct. 26, are: Google co-founder Sergey Brin; U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Misha Galperin, head of Jewish Agency International Development; Supreme Court Justice […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — October 29, 2010
‘Tis a day for surveys, my friends. A new Gallup survey says very religious Americans are emotionally and physical healthier than other Americans. A new Pew poll shows white mainline Protestants and evangelicals abandoning congressional Democratic candidates in October. Catholics (despite the best intentions of Cardinal-designate Raymond Burke) are split evenly between Dems and Republicans. […]
Author tells personal tale of shooting and forgiveness
By Tracy Gordon — October 29, 2010
MOBILE, Ala. (RNS) In “The Devil in Pew Number Seven,” Rebecca Nichols Alonzo tells a deeply personal story of God, faith, murder and forgiveness. The story centers on her parents, a Holiness church pastor and his wife, who left Satsuma, Ala., in the 1970s to shepherd a flock in the struggling Free Welcome Holiness Church […]
COMMENTARY: Faith communities must change with the times
By Tracy Gordon — October 29, 2010
(RNS) Our nation’s faith communities face extraordinary challenges in the new, soon-to-begin decade. But many clergy are in a state of denial, or worse still, believe their old ways will continue to work in a rapidly changing America. Peter Steinfels, the former New York Times religion writer and an astute observer of the Catholic community, […]
Pope says science can unite humans with God
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI told scientists that their research can lead to knowledge of God by revealing the natural order of the universe. The pope made his remarks on Thursday (Oct. 28) before a plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican. The evident logic governing the universe “leads us […]
White House denies rumors about Obama and Sikh temple
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
(RNS) The White House has denied reports that President Obama will avoid a Sikh shrine while visiting India next week because the required head covering might have fanned false rumors about his faith. “The decision we made was driven by … the interests of time, how to best advance our common interests with India in […]
Southern Baptist pastor appeals suit over Obama’s birth
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
(RNS) Southern Baptist gadfly Wiley Drake will appeal a court’s dismissal of his suit claiming President Obama was not born in the U.S. and is ineligible for the presidency. Obama has a Hawaiian birth certificate but Drake and others in the “birther” movement claim he is not a natural-born citizen. Drake, a former vice president […]
Service blends American Indian and Christian beliefs
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) Smoke wafts upward as the Rev. Mike Peters blows on the Knick-Knick, a sacred herbal blend of spearmint leaves, red willow bark, sage, sweet grass and bayberry bush. “As the smoke goes up, the Creator’s blessings go down,” Peters says. A dozen people sitting in a circle listen as he prays. […]
Wellness and Religion
By Mark Silk — October 28, 2010
If you’re not religious at all, it’s not going to increase your wellness to become moderately religious. Now if you become very religious, it’ll increase your wellness a little bit. According to Gallup. Moral: Don’t worry about the relationship between religiosity and wellness.
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — October 28, 2010
President Obama will stay next month at the Indian hotel attacked by terrorists in 2008, according to the White House. Gandhi’s museum and grave are also on the itinerary; the Sikh’s Golden Shrine is not, though the administration shot down speculation that Obama is dodging the shrine to avoid being photographed in a headscarf and […]
Danforth centers hopes to set tone for civil religion
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
ST. LOUIS (RNS) Just across from the Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University, employees are moving into a new center named for another legendary Missouri politician. The John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics, launched last year with a $30 million gift from the Danforth Foundation, officially opened its doors on Tuesday […]
La. parish bans Halloween on Sunday
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2010
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Some families may be debating whether to send kids out to trick-or-treat on Sunday night, but there’s no debate in Louisiana’s Livingston Parish, where local laws forbid the observance of Halloween on a Sunday. This year, for the first time, in unincorporated parts of the parish of 120,000, Halloween is on Monday, […]
Page 1 of 12
