(RNS) When people make grandiose claims about "God's will" and "American values" and demonize others who hold different views, we haven't just channeled a tragic yesterday and its wars and pogroms. We have poisoned the well of community on which our nation depends today and made a mockery of God and faith. By Tom Ehrich. About 700.

WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama's re-election campaign will appoint a young former White House staffer to run its outreach to religious voters. By Mark Silk.

(RNS) The pulpits of the nation's black churches took measure Sunday of President Obama's decision to support gay marriage, and the result was conflicted. By Dennis Cauchon.

(RNS) President Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex marriage opened a torrent of speculation on what his newly enunciated position will mean politically, but the latest polls indicate the public largely backs his views and that his stance won’t hurt him at the ballot box. By David Gibson. About 250. 

(RNS) It's a measure of Maurice Sendak's imagination that his stories -- so infused with a very particular Jewishness -- are absent evidence of Judaism or anything else besides a good read to his most important readers. By Tim Townsend.

DAMASCUS, Syria (RNS) Many of Syria's Christians continue to stand by Bashar Assad's regime not out of support but out of fear of civil war if rebels gain strength, or worse, if they win and install an Islamist government hostile to religious minorities. By Stephen Starr and S. Akminas.

(RNS) The nation's Catholic bishops are reviewing the church's ties to the Girl Scouts of America after complaints that some of the venerable organization's programs and policies might run afoul of church teachings on contraception and abortion. By David Gibson.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) She is revered both by radical feminists and by Pope Benedict XVI, who has often turned to her in the most difficult moments of his pontificate: Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century German prophetess who was officially declared a saint by Benedict on Thursday. By Alessandro Speciale.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) In his new book, evangelical scholar and seminary president Richard Mouw argues that understanding Mormonism isn’t just about being nice, it’s a Christian mandate. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) Mitt Romney, who struggled to gain the support of evangelicals during the primaries, will deliver a commencement address Saturday at Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the country. By Jackie Kucinich.

Catholic bishops probe whether Thin Mints or Somoas are the more righteous Girl Scout cookie. Or something like that.

(RNS) A stuttering priest can sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but clergy who stutter are increasingly willing to talk about their stuttering, and how a profession that rewards particularly inspiring speech can be open to those with speech impediments. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) As pundits and politicians gauge the political fallout from President Obama’s sudden endorsement of gay marriage, one thing has become clear: the Golden Rule invoked by Obama to support his change of heart is the closest thing Americans have to a common religious law, and that has implications beyond the battle for gay rights. By David Gibson.