Today marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, when Confederates fired upon Fort Sumter outside Charleston, S.C.
As the scholar Mark Noll has written, the Civil War was not only a military conflict but also a theological contest, one that still smolders, this USA Today op-ed argues.
Just in time for the Civil War remembrances, a long-lost letter has surfaced that describes Abraham Lincoln’s religious beliefs. Virginians may carry weapons for self-defense into places of worship, according to a new legal opinion by the state attorney general.
A suspect in the explosion outside a Santa Monica synagogue has been arrested near Cleveland.
The just-captured Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo had some prominent U.S. backers, including the Rev. Pat Robertson, Glenn Beck, Sen. James Inhofe and possibly other members of the secretive Fellowship, according to the NYT.
The congressional budget deal reached Saturday night reportedly includes a rider for House Speaker Boehner’s pet project: vouchers for D.C. students to attend religious (i.e., Catholic) schools on the public dime.
A woman has been ticketed in France for wearing a face veil, in the first reported sanction under a new ban on the garments, according to the AP. The AP also has a helpful roundup of Muslim veil laws around the world.
Orthodox Jewish rabbis are sounding an alarm about a wave of anorexia and other eating disorders among teenage girls. The Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism met in Las Vegas and saw the demographic cards stacked against them. “We are in deep trouble,” Rabbi Edward Feinstein told the assembly.
The Vatican has sanctioned a Belgian bishop who resigned last year after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew, by saying he can no longer act as a priest in public. On April 25, which is World Child Abuse Awareness Day, Pope Benedict XVI will honor the victims of pedophilia, according to reports.
The feast day of former Pope John Paul II will be observed on October 22. A ring and cross that once belonged to Pope Paul VI and Evil Knievel (not at the same time, probably) will be auctioned off on eBay.
A British atheist has written a “secular bible.” Benedictine monks are challenging the “casket cartel” in Louisiana. The WSJ looks at the market for religion apps.