Connecticut became the third state to allow same-sex marriage after its Supreme Court ruled Oct. 10 that it is unconstitutional to deny the legal benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples. The 4-3 decision outraged conservative groups, who are…
Pittsburgh diocese votes to leave Episcopal Church
The Diocese of Pittsburgh voted Oct. 4 to split from the Episcopal Church, becoming the second diocese to leave the national church over differences on homosexuality and the Bible. A wide majority of clergy and lay people — 240 voted…
Young evangelicals less enthusiastic than their parents about McCain
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Father may know best, but when it comes to this year's election, fewer young evangelical voters are taking Dad's advice into the voting booth, according to a new survey. While Sen. John McCain maintains a winning margin…
State Department blasts China for religious freedom violations
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In its annual report on international religious freedom, the U.S. State Department admonished several Asian nations, including China, for severely repressing religion. Listing “countries of particular concern” that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious…
INTERVIEW: Security is not the ‘highest good’ for Christians
In the final weeks of Campaign 2008, presidential candidates are lavishing promises to keep America safe from terrorist attacks and from economic meltdown. But some Christian thinkers are wondering aloud whether America might be truer to Christian ideals — and…
Some conservatives say: ‘A woman VP? Sure. A woman pastor? No way’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — There may never be a female pastor leading Tony Perkins' Southern Baptist congregation in Louisiana, but there could be a woman taking over the vice president's mansion in Washington. And as Perkins sees it, there's no contradiction…
Americans believe heaven’s gates open wider
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Many Americans no longer see heaven as an exclusive destination, according to a new survey from Baylor University. When researchers polled U.S. adults about who — and how many — will get into heaven, 54 percent of…
Four in 10 think clergy should endorse candidates
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Four in 10 Americans believe religious leaders should be permitted to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their organization's tax-exempt status, a new survey by the First Amendment Center shows. Twenty-two percent of respondents “strongly”…
Disputed Iran dinner fails to deliver on dialogue
NEW YORK (RNS) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dined with 300 religious and political leaders Sept. 26, but the event that drew condemnation and protest offered far less dialogue than advertised. What was promised as a discussion of how religion…
Megachurches are growing, but in different ways
Megachurches — known for their big buildings, big schools and big crowds — continue to grow, but a new study detects shifts in the way they are expanding. “The general growth pattern is that about 90 percent of megachurches report…
Former head of abuse panel blasts two Catholic cardinals
An Illinois Supreme Court justice who chaired a lay review board investigating the Catholic sex abuse scandal blasts the church and prominent cardinals in a new book, accusing them of dishonesty. Justice Anne M. Burke, who headed the National Review…
Diet-discipleship believers are convinced, ‘We are what we eat’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Marilyn Lorenz of Alma, Mich., talks about living out her faith in daily life, she starts by describing what's inside her refrigerator. The produce is grown on nearby farms, and the milk is organic and hormone-free….