BATON ROUGE, La. (RNS) — People qualified to carry concealed weapons should be able to keep them strapped on in a church or temple as a way to enhance security, a state House committee decided April 28. The House Committee…
As controversy lingers, Shroud of Turin still draws a crowd
TURIN, Italy (RNS) — As hoteliers and souvenir vendors from Lourdes to Mexico City can readily attest, a sacred pilgrimage can quickly morph from a spiritual event into a commercial bonanza. And although religious tourism has recently become a booming…
Faith leaders pan Arizona ‘anti-immigrant’ bill
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Religious leaders are outraged over a bill passed by Arizona legislators that criminalizes illegal immigration, calling the bill “anti-immigrant” and a “social sin.” Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony compared aspects of the legislation, approved April 19 by…
For shy worshippers, church can be overwhelming
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — If Jesus were to take a Myers-Briggs personality test, would he rank as an introvert or an extrovert? He was, after all, popular with crowds, but often retreated to pray in solitude. As an undergrad, Daniel…
Muslims see double standard in ‘terrorist’ label
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When 19 Muslim men crashed two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, it was widely labeled “Islamic terrorism,” even as many Muslims cringed at the term. So when nine members of a Michigan-based…
Obama shifts tactics on outreach to Muslim world
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Nearly a year after President Obama told an audience in Cairo that America wanted a “new beginning” with the Muslim world, evidence of that policy shift has, in recent weeks, become hard to ignore. The Obama administration…
Conservatives decry Pentagon for pulling Graham from event
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Conservative Christian leaders blasted the Army’s decision to disinvite evangelist Franklin Graham from a Pentagon event on the National Day of Prayer because he has been critical of Islam. Graham was scheduled to speak at a May…
African-American churches see a revival of cooperation
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In Chicago, black Baptists announced they would raise $50 million for health clinics, schools and reconstructed churches in earthquake-devastated Haiti. In South Carolina, three black Methodist denominations launched a plan to host Saturday academies nationwide to mentor…
Let ’em ring: Federal court says church bells are legal religious expression
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A federal court on April 19 ruled an ordinance in Phoenix, Ariz., trying to limit the sound of church bells is an unconstitutional impingement on religious expression. In 2007, one day after Christ the King Cathedral moved…