legislation
Pope seeks Protestant allies to combat secularism
By Tracy Gordon — September 24, 2011
BERLIN (RNS) All faiths have to work together to stanch the tide of secularism sweeping the world, warned Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (Sept. 23) during the second day of a tour through his native Germany. Benedict focused Friday on ecumenical meetings, including a service with Lutheran ministers in the city of Erfurt, where Protestant […]
Clock is ticking for religious freedom panel
By Tracy Gordon — September 21, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The independent and bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom could be forced to shut its doors if the Senate does not vote by week’s end to reauthorize the panel. The commission appears to be in legislative limbo after the House voted Sept. 15 to extend the panel for an additional two years. […]
Southern Baptist president floats name change
By Tracy Gordon — September 21, 2011
(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention could be renamed after President Bryant Wright set up a task force to consider a new identity for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. “The name `Southern’ really no longer reflects who we are as convention in reaching all of North America,” Wright said in a video posted on the Pray4SBC.com […]
Presbyterians target Caterpillar for divestment
By Tracy Gordon — September 14, 2011
(RNS) A Presbyterian Church (USA) committee will recommend that the church add heavy equipment giant Caterpillar to its divestment list because the company profits from the “non-peaceful” use of its products by Israel against Palestinians. According to the PCUSA, Caterpillar equipment has been used to demolish Palestinian homes and construct settlements and Israeli-only roads in […]
COMMENTARY: The barbarians among us
By Tracy Gordon — August 18, 2011
(RNS) I love the cartoon that shows a hapless customer in a bookstore facing three shelves. One is labeled FICTION. The next is NONFICTION. The third: NOT SURE. Everything these days is relative, even fiction. Consider the recent case of the lobsterless lobster salad at New York’s famed Zabar’s food emporium. It turns out that […]
Intrepid young activists push condoms at World Youth Day
By Tracy Gordon — August 16, 2011
(RNS) Sending a small band of young people to talk about condoms at World Youth Day, the triennial Catholic jamboree that opens in Madrid on Tuesday (Aug. 16), sounds like penance, if not a kind of martyrdom. The six-day event is expected to draw close to 1 million young pilgrims, as well as thousands of […]
Thursday’s Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — August 4, 2011
Lots of folks are blogging and tweeting away about Middle Eastern politics, as different religious and political groups grapple for power after the Arab Spring. Reza Aslan writes on the Washington Post’s On Faith blog that although Islamists in Egypt are less influential than one might think, their voice is necessary to the country’s nascent […]
Hill hearing again targets radicalized Muslims
By Tracy Gordon — July 27, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The third in a controversial series of congressional hearings on the “radicalization” of American Muslims showcased on Wednesday (July 27) a militant Somali group that some experts say poses a serious risk to the United States. Al-Shabab has recruited more than 40 Americans and 20 Canadians, said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of […]
Poll: God has better approval ratings than Congress
By Jack Jenkins — July 26, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) More than half of U.S. voters approve of God’s job performance, according to a new poll, making God more popular than all members of Congress. The poll — which was conducted by the Democratic research firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) — surveyed 928 people and found that 52 percent of Americans approved of […]
Imams trained to adapt Islamic finance to U.S. economy
By Tracy Gordon — July 22, 2011
(RNS) Abdullah Nana, an imam at the Islamic Center of Mill Valley, Calif., just north of San Francisco, has a distinct advantage over many of his fellow imams in the United States. It’s not fluency in Arabic or training in Islamic jurisprudence. It’s his bachelor’s degree in business. American imams get asked about financial ethics […]
Pennsylvania debates whether thou shalt not hunt on the Sabbath
By Tracy Gordon — July 19, 2011
HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Two of the most influential forces in conservative lobbying are poised to go head-to-head this fall over an issue that some Pennsylvania lawmakers dread might be one of the most difficult of the session. It’s the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau vs. the National Rifle Association in a title bout over the legalization of […]
tweet roundup
By Jack Jenkins — July 12, 2011
Welcome to the first Religion News Service Twitter roundup! This is where we share with our readers some tweets we found interesting from around twitterverse – or where the most profound, enduring questions of the universe are boiled down to 140 characters or less. Let’s jump right in, shall we? Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback […]
Catholics return check from lawmaker over marriage vote
By Tracy Gordon — July 11, 2011
(RNS) A New York lawmaker has found himself at odds with the Roman Catholic Church after a parish school refused a $50 donation because of his vote in favor of same-sex marriage. Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Democrat, sent a $50 check to honor a student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg […]
Author says Amish thrift makes sense by saving cents
By Tracy Gordon — July 8, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The old Lorilee Craker would have picked up a couple of $16 children’s shirts without a second thought, ordered a $20 pizza without checking what’s in the fridge, and sent out her bills a few days late. The Amish-makeover Lorilee peruses garage sales and finds a lovely $5 oil painting of […]
SIDEBAR: Unitarian Universalist Principles
By Tracy Gordon — June 30, 2011
(RNS) The Unitarian Universalist Association, while eschewing religious tenets, espouses seven shared principles: — The inherent worth and dignity of every person; — Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; — Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; — A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; — The […]
