(RNS) The calendar may have said 2010, but for Pope Benedict XVI and much of his global flock, it looked and felt a lot like 2002. For the second time in a decade, damning charges of child molestation at the hands of Catholic priests dominated headlines, this time reaching the highest levels of the Vatican, […]

UConn women’s basketball streak is done. Trinity men’s squash streak continues. I’m headed north to Acadia for a little rest and recreation. And a little holiday from blogging. A Happy New Year to you all!

Over the years, Gallup has asked Americans whether they “think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life or losing its influence.” And unlike other Gallup survey questions having to do with belief in God and worship attendance, the results have varied a good deal. Right now, we’re at one of those […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (RNS) He is the most famous — and the loneliest — atheist in the country. For 14 years, Michael Newdow, an emergency room doctor and attorney, has challenged what he sees as violations of the First Amendment’s protection against established religion. He works alone from his Sacramento home, his only tools a computer, […]

Courtesy Culturomics.

It can look the enemy in the eye, and embrace one of his arguments.

Sez Culturomics.

According to my culturomical calculation. 

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Responding to my post on military chaplains post-DADT, commenter Sandra Brown writes: First […]

Hi Folks, The Religion News Roundup is taking a much needed vacation. To the 44 percent of you who like people to wish you “Merry Christmas,” well, then Merry Christmas. And for the 49 percent who prefer a more generic greeting, Happy Holidays. In any case, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you on Jan. […]

(RNS) Americans who are “very religious” are more likely to practice healthy behaviors than those who are less religious, a Gallup survey shows. The new findings are based on a survey of more than 550,000 people who were asked about their decisions related to healthy eating, smoking and exercise. Overall, very religious Americans scored 66.3 […]

(RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops and other Christian groups are hailing the Senate’s ratification on Wednesday (Dec. 22) of a treaty with Russia that would reduce both countries’ nuclear arms by about 30 percent. Despite some early objections from Republicans, the Senate approved the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) by a vote of 71 […]

(RNS) It used to be that Americans focused their religious lives around brick-and-mortar structures — churches, synagogues, mosques and temples — for worship, study and assembly. Members of various faith communities considered those buildings the center of their spiritual lives as they gathered for religious rites of passage including baptisms, baby namings, bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies, […]

(RNS) Twelve drummers? Ten leaping lords? Two turtle doves? Chances are, the gifts in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are not high on anyone’s Christmas list this year. In fact, it’s hard to imagine they were ever popular presents. “It’s not a literal song,” said Mickey Mullany, a professional caroler in Baltimore who admits to […]

Following the dispute in Phoenix over whether Catholic hospitals can offer emergency abortions (to save the mother’s life), the ACLU wants the feds to ensure that Catholic hospitals don’t put ideology ahead of medicine; the NYT fears Catholic bishops are giving “license to jeopardize women’s lives,” while the Arizona Republic says a “fundamental Catholic commitment […]