(RNS) A new documentary follows a tiny Torah -- smuggled into a concentration camp and entrusted to a young boy, then taken to space by Israel's first astronaut -- from hell on earth to space. By Lauren Markoe.

A Christian textbook says the Loch Ness Monster is proof of Creationism; 44 percent of Americans don't know Obama's religion; American mosques in search of American imams.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The National Philanthropic Trust's annual report on philanthropy shows that while charitable giving is increasing, donations to religious organizations decreased for the second year in a row. By Lauren Markoe.

Devilish journalists, nuns digging in and Fred Luter's big day.

Christian Candy Canes, Hebrew Graffiti, Super Saints and with History of the American Nuns vs. the Vatican

(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.

(RNS) A high-ranking Sikh security officer at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport has won $30,000 after the Transportation Security Administration said he could not wear a kara, a metal wristband that reminds Sikhs to be devoted to God. By Lauren Markoe.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Conservative Jewish movement has come out with rites for same-sex marriages, and the most remarkable part is how they were accepted without much protest. By Lauren Markoe.

Home of ex-Vatican bank searched, Queen Elizabeth gets a special prayer, a "City of God" in New Zealand.

WASHINGTON (RNS) While many black pastors do not like President Obama's recent embrace of gay marriage, they still plan to vote for him and expect other African-Americans to follow their lead. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) Sikh and Muslim transit workers settled a federal lawsuit over a post 9-11 policy that made them work out of public view unless they wore a Metropolitan Transit Authority logo on their religious headdress. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill preventing judges from considering foreign law in their deliberations, a move that Muslim groups say is a direct and unnecessary assault on Shariah, or Islamic law. By Lauren Markoe.

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Anti-Defamation League is taking issue with new guidelines on bullying and religious speech in public schools that was spear-headed by other Jewish groups. By Lauren Markoe.

WASHINGTON (RNS) From Southern Baptist leader Richard Land to Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, the consensus at a high-profile conservative summit on "religious liberty" is that the Obama administration has it out for religious people. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) U.S. Catholic leaders say a new film about a Catholic civil war in 1920s Mexico has important lessons for U.S. Catholics in 2012, and they're hoping "For Greater Glory" will help rally the faithful around their bid to defend "religious freedom." By Lauren Markoe.