(RNS) A growing tide of young people are drifting away from the religions of their childhoods -- most of them into no other religion, according to a new study that shows one in four young adults are religiously unaffiliated. By Lauren Markoe.

(RNS) Belief in God is slowly declining in most countries, but those who most believe can be found in developing countries and Catholic societies, according to a new survey. By Annalisa Musarra.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) The name Jesus Christ doesn't appear in "The Voice," a new translation of the Bible. Instead, Jesus Christ is Jesus the Anointed One or the liberating king -- a more accurate translation for modern American readers, says David Capes, lead scholar for The Voice Bible. By Bob Smietana. 500.

(RNS) New York Times columnist Ross Douthat doesn't mince words in his new book "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics."  In an interview with Religion News Service, Douthat explains his definition of heresy, why he thinks Mitt Romney and President Obama are both heretics, and why more Americans should argue about religion. By Daniel Burke.

(RNS) Rep. Tim Ryan is on a mission to bring mindfulness to the masses. In a Q&A, the Ohio Democrat explains how meditation helped him avoid burnout, how it resembles praying the rosary, and why you don't have to be a Buddhist to meditate. By Daniel Burke.

LUMBERTON, N.C. (RNS) Andrew Bowen isn't Muslim, or Hindu, or Baha'i, or Mormon. In fact, he's none of the 12 faiths he practiced for a month at a time during 2011. Finding faith in God again was not Bowen's aim; he was looking for faith in humanity. By Amanda Greene.

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) The image of a bearded man that appeared on a stone pillar at the Ursuline Academy seems to be a naturally occurring shadow cast by an ornate chandelier above the sanctuary. But some say its appearance during Holy Week has deeper meaning: "It's got me believing," said pilgrim Kim Thompson. By Bruce Nolan.

Five hundred years after the Protestant reformation, Catholics and Protestants are coming closer together, theologically and practically, over the Eucharist, or Communion. Katherine Brewer speaks to Monsignor Kevin Irwin, professor of liturgical studies at Catholic University, and the Rev. Dean Snyder of Washington's Foundry United Methodist Church in this audio report.

(RNS) Travel restrictions on Palestinian Christians for worship are not only in force during Holy Week, but also throughout the year. Certainly, Israel can take care of its own security concerns while accommodating peaceful Palestinian Christian worship. By Richard Stearns.

JERUSALEM (RNS) During Holy Week, Christians remember the familiar story of Jesus's death and resurrection. But exactly where does that story take place? The Bible offers only a few clues, and different groups of Christians have their own answers. By Kim Lawton.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (RNS) As Christians prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, Bart Ehrman, an agnostic, convincingly demonstrates there was a historical Jesus. As for the "mythicists" who argue otherwise -- many of them his biggest fans -- Ehrman has some choice words: "sensationalist," "wrongheaded" and "amateurish." By Yonat Shimron.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has asked a couple who has been married for nearly 50 years to write the text of this year's traditional Via Crucis at the Colosseum on Good Friday. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) Every Christian knows the story: Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. But what did he do on Saturday? That question has spurred centuries of debate, perplexed theologians as learned as St. Augustine and prodded some Christians to advocate for amending an ancient creed.  By Daniel Burke.

JERUSALEM (RNS) While Passover cleaning has been around since the Israelites fled from bondage in Egypt, some say the lengths to which many modern Jewish families go to avoid the smallest piece of leavened material has turned the "festival of freedom" into a season of domestic slavery. By Michele Chabin.