legislation
Leaving God out of Pledge tees off Ohio congressman
By Tracy Gordon — June 22, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) NBC’s decision to edit the word “God” from the Pledge of Allegiance during last weekend’s coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament has teed off an Ohio congressman, who wants the U.S. Golf Association to reconsider its relationship with the television network. “When we silence the name of God, we dim the light […]
Miss. woman named world’s longest-serving church organist
By Tracy Gordon — June 7, 2011
MOSS POINT, Miss. (RNS) For the past 69 years, Ida Mae Cumbest has been the pianist and organist at Caswell Springs United Methodist Church — a tenure that qualifies her as the world’s longest-serving church organist. Cumbest has played at Caswell since 1942, which prompted her son, Mark, to contact the London-based Guinness World Records […]
Vatican closes monastery that attracted aristocrats, dancing nun
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has closed the monastery of a fourth-century Roman basilica on account of “liturgical and financial irregularities” that included performances by a nun who had once been a lap dancer. The Vatican cited “behavior not consonant with the monastic life” at the monastery attached to the Basilica of Santa Croce in […]
Couple faces trial as Ore. cracks down on faith-healing church
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A couple whose reliance on faith healing threatened their daughter’s eyesight will go on trial this week, one day after state lawmakers moved to strip legal protection for parents who rely on faith healing. The case returns the spotlight on Followers of Christ church, an Oregon City congregation that rejects medical […]
New books herald world’s most famous Good Book
By Tiffany McCallen — May 24, 2011
(RNS) Anyone who watched the recent royal wedding in Westminster Abbey heard words and phrases found in the King James Version of the Bible: “vouchsafed” and “thee” and “asunder.” It was a fitting setting as the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bible commissioned by King James I, the successor to Queen Elizabeth I. […]
Could another Bible unite Christians like the KJV?
By Tiffany McCallen — May 23, 2011
(RNS) 1604. England. Rebellious Puritans, establishment Anglicans and Roman Catholics are at each other’s throats. A new king fears his reign will combust in a powder keg of religious strife and anti-monarchical fervor. So King James I does what any sensible monarch would do: He orders up a new translation of the Bible. King James’ […]
Jewish newspaper erases Clinton from photo
By Tracy Gordon — May 10, 2011
(RNS) An ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspaper in Brooklyn deleted Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton from aWhite House photograph of top officials monitoring the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The Yiddish-language Der Zeitung removed Clinton and Audrey Tomason, a top counter-terrorism adviser, from the photo, which is quickly becoming an iconic image. The photo shows […]
BBC says Muslims selling tainted holy water from Mecca
By Tracy Gordon — May 5, 2011
LONDON (RNS) A BBC investigation is claiming that holy drinking water from Mecca is contaminated with arsenic and is being sold illegally to Muslims at shops in Britain. The BBC report on Thursday (May 5) said its investigation uncovered that “Zamzam” water has been found bottled in large quantities at Islamic bookshops in London and […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — April 22, 2011
Best wishes for a Good Friday to our Christian friends and a happy Earth Day to our eco-conscious friends, including our eco-conscious Christian friends. CNN attends a blasphemy trial for Jesus in Richmond, Va., which was intended to call attention to the state’s death penalty system. At least 24 Filipino men were nailed to crosses […]
Love lost and found on opposite sides of border
By Tracy Gordon — April 20, 2011
BARTA’A, Israel (RNS) Fatmeh Kabaha spent most of her life surrounded by her brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews in a small Palestinian village just minutes from the border that separates the Palestinian territories from Israel. Six years ago, she married a fellow Palestinian widower who lived on the Israeli side of the “green line” […]
French ban on full-face veils takes effect
By Tracy Gordon — April 11, 2011
PARIS (RNS) Police arrested several veiled Muslim women Monday (April 11) and protests continued to spread as France’s controversial ban against the full-face veil came into force. At least two women wearing the face-covering veil, or niqab, were reportedly arrested at a small protest in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in downtown Paris, along with […]
U.S. embassy condemns Quran burning at Fla. church
By Tracy Gordon — March 24, 2011
(RNS) The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan called the burning of a Quran at a small Florida church “abhorrent” as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the act as a “serious setback” to world harmony. U.S. Ambassador Cameron P. Munter tried to distance the United States from the Sunday (March 20) event overseen by Pastor Terry […]
Methodists shun the bottle that no one wants to talk about
By Tracy Gordon — March 21, 2011
(RNS) The Rev. James Howell knew he had a problem on his hands when several teenagers arrived at a church dance drunk and had to be taken from the church by ambulance for treatment for alcohol poisoning. Starting in 2009, he urged his flock at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., to give […]
Churches press Obama to reengage on Middle East
By Tracy Gordon — March 11, 2011
(RNS/ENInews) Nearly two dozen Christian leaders are calling on the Obama administration to renew diplomatic efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “With rapid change underway in the Arab world we believe that the time to act is now — before events make the task of reaching an agreement more difficult,” said 20 leaders of Protestant, […]
Alumni defend paddling at Catholic school
By Tracy Gordon — February 26, 2011
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) One by one, alumni of St. Augustine High School took the microphone on Thursday (Feb. 24), recalling one paddling at the hands of a St. Augustine teacher that turned them around and taught them a lesson. The 60-year-old tradition of corporal punishment at St. Augustine — believed to be one of the […]
