Monthly Archives: March 2011
Vatican opens dialogue with atheists
By Tracy Gordon — March 26, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A new Vatican initiative to promote dialogue between believers and atheists debuted with a two-day event on Thursday and Friday (March 24-25) in Paris. “Religion, Light and Common Reason” was the theme of seminars sponsored by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture at various locations in the French capital, including Paris-Sorbonne University […]
Tennessee amends anti-Shariah bill
By Tracy Gordon — March 26, 2011
(RNS) Tennessee lawmakers are rewriting a bill that described Islamic law as a threat to U.S. security and seemed to equate peaceful Muslim practices with terrorism. State Sen. Bill Ketron and House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, both Republicans, offered the revision after questions arose about the proposed bill’s constitutionality. “The revision reflects our original […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — March 25, 2011
Nearly 60 percent of evangelicals believe God uses natural disasters to send messages, according to a new survey conducted by RNS and Public Religion Research Institute. More than half of evangelicals say God punishes whole nations for the sins of individuals, according to the survey. The vast majority of mainline Protestants and Catholics disagree. Do […]
Chaplains offered exit plan as gay training starts
By Tracy Gordon — March 25, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Army has started training chaplains on the repeal of the ban on openly gay military members, saying those who are unable to follow the forthcoming policy can seek a voluntary departure. “The Chaplains Corps’ First Amendment freedoms and its duty to care for all will not change,” reads a slide in the […]
Facebook revelations lead to polygamy charges
By Tracy Gordon — March 25, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) A Grand Rapids man who took a bride while still married to his estranged first wife — and who is now charged with polygamy — says he “made a mistake.” Richard Barton Jr., 34, who remains free from jail on personal recognizance after being arrested March 16, said, “I let love […]
Vatican mourns Taylor as `last diva of cinema’
By Tracy Gordon — March 25, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican’s official newspaper eulogized actress Elizabeth Taylor as the “last remaining star in the firmament of old Hollywood,” and praised her contributions on AIDS and other charitable causes. “The curtain falls on the violet eyes of Hollywood” read the headline over Taylor’s obituary in the Friday (March 25) edition of L’Osservatore […]
Study suggests young adults can get fat at church
By Tracy Gordon — March 25, 2011
(RNS) Thou shalt not serve pizza? Young adults who regularly attend religious activities are 50 percent more likely to become obese when they reach middle age than their nonreligious peers, a new study shows. Based on their findings, researchers at Northwestern University’s medical school think congregations should be a focus in the fight to prevent […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — March 24, 2011
If your pastor is pushing cheese pizza for those meatless Friday Lenten gatherings, be careful. From Cathy Grossman over at USAT: “All those pizzas luring young adults to church activities may have unintended consequences. Folks who stay faithful to church life get fat.” It’s kosher, though, if you want to indulge in a cheeseburger tomorrow […]
Poll: Most Americans don’t blame God for natural disasters
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) We may never know why bad things happen to good people, but most Americans — except evangelicals — reject the idea that natural disasters are divine punishment, a test of faith or some other sign from God, according to a new poll. The poll released Thursday (March 24), by Public Religion Research Institute in […]
TSA, airlines tread carefully on religious expression
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) Air travelers want to feel safe, and federal security officials want to make sure they actually are safe. If only it were that simple. Misunderstandings over religious expression have led to recent incidents that prompted apologies from airlines. On March 13, agents with the Transportation Security Administration removed a Muslim woman in a headscarf […]
U.S. embassy condemns Quran burning at Fla. church
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan called the burning of a Quran at a small Florida church “abhorrent” as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the act as a “serious setback” to world harmony. U.S. Ambassador Cameron P. Munter tried to distance the United States from the Sunday (March 20) event overseen by Pastor Terry […]
Vatican says gay opponents are victims, too
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Vatican official told a United Nations body on Tuesday (March 22) that people who openly object to homosexual behavior are at risk of losing their human rights when they are prosecuted or stigmatized for their beliefs. “People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behavior between people […]
U.S. Catholics lead other Christians on gay rights
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) While the Vatican and U.S. bishops maintain a hard-line stand against most gay rights causes, American Catholics are more supportive of gay rights than other U.S. Christians, according to new research released Tuesday (March 22). A report by Washington-based Public Religion Research Institute found that 74 percent of Catholics favor legal recognition for same-sex […]
Democrat announces alternate hearings on U.S. Muslims
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) Barely two weeks after House Republicans held hearings on the threat posed by radicalized American Muslims, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat announced his own hearings on threats to American Muslims’ civil rights. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., made no mention of the March 10 hearings by the House Homeland Security Committee that reduced the […]
Charitable giving stabilizes as recession ebbs
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) Charities are seeing improvements in fundraising, with fewer charities reporting declines in 2010 compared with 2009, according to a report released Tuesday (March 22). But a larger percentage of organizations reported bringing in about the same amount of revenue both years, says the report by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, a coalition of six organizations […]
