WASHINGTON (RNS) — The poorest counties in the United States are among the hardest hit by the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a study released by the Christian anti-hunger advocacy group Bread for the World. The report, titled “Home Ownership,…
Catholics paid $615 million on abuse claims
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The U.S. Catholic Church paid out $615 million in costs related to sexual abuse claims in 2007, even as the number of victims coming forward fell for the third straight year, according to an annual report issued…
Muslim leader decries American ‘bigotry’
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) — American culture's view of American Muslims and Islam steadily is deteriorating under an onslaught of “bigotry” on cable news shows, newspaper op-ed pages and in the blogosphere, an Arab-American activist said. Commentators and politicians have devoted…
Does God protect some disaster victims but not others?
JACKSON, Tenn. (RNS) — As Kristen Fabrizio felt the vibrations preceding the tornado that ripped across the campus of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., last month, she clung to her friends, who in turn clung to their faith. “You can…
Americans fluid in their religious affiliation, Pew study reveals
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A new study of more than 35,000 adult Americans by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life captures the depth and breadth of religious America — 78.4 percent Christian, 4.7 percent members of other faiths and…
Jehovah’s Witnesses fastest growing of U.S. faiths
Jehovah's Witnesses are the fastest-growing church body in the U.S. and Canada, now with more than 1 million members, according to new figures that track church membership in the U.S. and Canada. Although Jehovah's Witnesses ranked 24th on the list…
Questions linger on ‘born again’ support for Dems
WASHINGTON — A new poll that shows Sen. Hillary Clinton drawing a large percentage of “born-again” voters is giving her campaign something to trumpet, but is also prompting questions: Did the pollster define born-again too broadly? And if so, are…
SECOND OPINION: Politics through Lenten eyes
The so-called “Christian vote” is making its quadrennial appearance in election coverage, as if “Christians” were a voting bloc that debated candidates' religious credentials and cast a unified vote for the candidate deemed most compatible with the gospel. Reality, of…
Shared meals at church take on a different flavor to meet changing needs
AKRON, Ohio (RNS) — Andrew Hamilton still can taste the homemade apple, cherry and peach pies that capped off the covered-dish church meals of his youth in Lakeville, Mass. In those days, children played on their own for hours while…