As the United Kingdom braces to receive one of the best-known and most controversial figures on the planet, Pope Benedict XVI, a question hangs over the state visit: Why is he coming?

The French parliament begins debate Tuesday on a bill that would ban women from wearing Islamic veils, such as the burqa, that fully cover the face and body.

A new study published on Friday by the Pew Forum contrasts the differences in media coverage of the clerical sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church by secular and religious news outlets.

The French Council of Ministers approved a measure Wednesday to ban the wearing of full-face veils, sending the bill to parliament.

Belgium is heading toward becoming the first European country to ban women from wearing burqas in public after its Parliament voted Thursday to ban the Muslim full-face veil.

With an open collared baby blue shirt and Dolce & Gabbana jacket hugging his slim frame, Tariq Ramadan appears the epitome of Western sophistication.

Tariq Ramadan, the Swiss-born Islamic scholar who was just allowed into the United States after a six-year ban instituted by the Bush administration, told American Muslims on Tuesday to get involved with all sectors of American society, instead of being "obsessed" with whether they're considered terrorists.

The latest round in the battle of the burqa kicks off Thursday in Belgium, which could become the first country in Europe to ban face coverings worn by observant Muslim women.

French lawmakers Tuesday recommended a partial ban on any veils that cover the face -- including the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women.

Good riddance to the aughts, naughts or ohs. By whatever name, the first decade of the 21st century has been devastating for religious liberty in much of the world.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has just released a fascinating study on the state of religious freedom around the world.

 In Indonesia, Muslim groups burn down a mosque belonging to the minority Ahmadiyya.

About one-third of the countries in the world have high restrictions on religion, exposing almost 70 percent of the globe's population to limitations on their faith, new research shows.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the great moral statements of the 20th century, could not be clearer.

Intan Suci Nurhati was on her way to a religious gathering when her sisters called to say they were under attack.