WASHINGTON (RNS) A former staffer of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has filed suit against the watchdog agency, saying it reneged on giving her a job as an analyst because she was Muslim and had worked for a Muslim advocacy group. By Adelle M. Banks.

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney. The matchup is both thrilling and complicated for one particular group - black Latter-day Saints. "I've been black my whole life and a Mormon for 30 years and never thought either of these (candidacies) would happen in my lifetime," says Utah attorney Keith Hamilton. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

(RNS) The relative ambivalence among prominent evangelicals about this new "Mormon moment" -- and the fact that Mitt Romney's campaign could mainstream Mormonism right into the Oval Office – could radically shift the dynamics on America's political and religious landscape. By Jonathan Merritt.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) As Catholic theology has branched out, bishops have struggled to curb theological thinking they consider beyond acceptable boundaries. At the Catholic Theological Society of America meeting, the theologians were girding for a fight. By Tim Townsend.

Mormon church seeks balance on Mitt. Catholics gear up for "Fortnight of Freedom." Creflo Dollar denies attack on daughter. Vampire theocracy. 

WASHINGTON (RNS) Conservative religious and political groups held rallies across the U.S. on Friday to protest the Obama administration's assault on "religious freedom" in a new plan to mandate that employers provide contraception coverage for employees. By Chris Lisee.

(RNS) In a down-the-street building swap, the Crystal Cathedral has announced it will move its congregation to a smaller Catholic church after the Protestant megachurch was sold to the Catholic Diocese of Orange, Calif. By Adelle M. Banks.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) The board of the nation's largest association of theologians issued a statement Thursday (June 7) in support of Sister Margaret Farley, a Yale theologian whose work in sexual ethics was publicly criticized by the Vatican earlier this week. By Tim Townsend.

(RNS) Ten years ago, the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal dominated the headlines with horrific stories of priests preying on vulnerable youths and a church hierarchy more concerned with protecting clergy instead of kids. Now, it's back. A Philadelphia jury is deliberating whether, for the first time, a high-ranking church official will be held criminally accountable. By Cathy Lynn Grossman.

(RNS) On HBO's "True Blood," politics is literally a bloody business. The show's fifth season -- which coincides with a U.S. presidential campaign -- returns Sunday. "We wanted to play with the politics/religion angle, since that seems to be something that never stops," creator Alan Ball said. By Bill Keveney/USA Today.

(RNS) Rabbi Rick Jacobs on Saturday (June 9) will be installed as president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the first change in leadership of the largest organization of American and Canadian Jews in 16 years. By Lauren Markoe.

WASHINGTON (RNS) Episcopal bishops are asking the president to intervene after a UN agency allegedly cut support for a church-run hospital in the Gaza Strip. By Chris Lisee.

WASHINGTON (RNS) A proposed House bill would spell out families' rights to religious expression at military funerals while curtailing the government’s role. By Chris Lisee.

(RNS) Franciscan friars are throwing their support behind a group of American nuns, saying Vatican criticism of the women was "excessive" and is "polarizing" the Catholic Church. By Daniel Burke.