JERSEY CITY, N.J. (RNS)—The lights in a Jersey City mosque flickered at dawn, and more than a dozen West Point cadets stirred in sleeping bags scattered across the prayer room. As Imam Hussein Wahdan began the melodious call to prayer…
When it comes to counting church members, the devil’s in the details
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention, with about 16.2 million members on the books, claims to be the nation's largest Protestant denomination. But Tom Ascol believes the active membership really is a fraction of that. Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church…
Southern Baptists may consider another public school resolution
HOUSTON (RNS)—A resolution calling on Southern Baptist churches to “create more Christian alternatives to the public schools” has been drafted and submitted for the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting June 12-13 in San Antonio. Bruce Shortt, a Houston attorney, and…
No easy answers
Sometimes, answers to the tough questions just don't come, campus ministers at Virginia Tech insist. When they do, they don't come easily. And they often come up short. As ministers and counselors descended on Virginia Tech to offer comfort and…
Giuliani leads among evangelicals, Clinton leads among Catholics
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Presidential hopefuls Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Hillary Clinton hold early leads among key religious voting blocs in the race to win their party nominations, a national survey revealed. The survey by the Pew Research Center shows religious voters leaning…
Are some people born to be religious?
NEW ORLEANS (RNS)—A recent debate at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary was titled “The Future of Atheism,” but the heart of the dialogue explored a related question: Can mankind's age-old belief in God be explained purely as a stubbornly recurring…
Dobson, others seek ouster of NAE officer for support of efforts to end global warming
More than two dozen evangelical leaders are seeking the ouster of Richard Cizik from the National Association of Evangelicals because of his “relentless campaign” against global warming. In a March 1 letter to L. Roy Taylor, chairman of the NAE…
Muslim congressman uses Jefferson’s Quran to take oath of office
When incoming lawmaker Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, took the oath of office Jan. 4, he placed his hand on a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson. The Minnesota Democrat has drawn fire from conservatives, including a…
Ellison won’t be first politician to forgo Bible in taking oath of office
When Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat who last month was elected the first Muslim in Congress, announced he would take his oath of office on Islam's holy book, the Quran, he provoked sharp criticism. The ensuing discussion has revived the…
Rick who?
If Britney Spears, Denzel Washington and James Dobson were in a lineup, most Americans would know the first two but draw a blank on the evangelical leader. A new study by the Barna Group found that a majority of Americans,…
Author probes Thanksgiving’s ‘deep religious impulses’
With its celebration of bounty and goodwill, not to mention its endearing lack of commercialization, Thanksgiving may be the most beloved of American holidays. But is the Thanksgiving Americans celebrate today mere myth-making, resting on ahistorical stereotypes? Take the fabled…
ANOTHER VIEW: Big faith on the big screen
Hollywood has been abuzz lately with the big news that more faith-based movies like The Passion of the Christ and Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe are on the way, but the reaction so far has…