Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
November 21, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: At public meetings, fights over prayer drag on
It happens every week at meetings in towns, counties and cities nationwide. A lawmaker or religious leader leads a prayer before officials begin the business of zoning changes, contract approvals and trash pickup.
November 14, 2012
- Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
Journal Sentinel: Atheist group likely to get $67,000 in UW student fees
An atheist group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seems on track to receive nearly $70,000 in student fees for staffing and programming next year, in what appears to be a first for the university and student atheist groups nationally.
November 13, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Top bishop: We won't give in on birth control rule
A top American bishop said Tuesday the Roman Catholic church will not comply with the Obama administration requirement that most employers provide health insurance covering birth control.
November 13, 2012
- The Boston Globe
Boston Globe: Group’s faith rule stirs clash at Tufts University
In a collision between religious freedom and nondiscrimination codes, Tufts University is considering whether an evangelical Christian student group should be stripped of its official status for requiring that its leaders adhere to the faith, saying it violates school policies against religious discrimination.
November 12, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Push expands for legalizing same-sex marriage
Elated by their first ballot victories, in four states, advocates of same-sex marriage rights plan to push legislatures in half a dozen more states toward legalization as they also press their cause in federal courts.
November 11, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Tunisia battles over pulpits, and revolt’s legacy
On the Friday after Tunisia’s president fell, Mohamed al-Khelif mounted the pulpit of this city’s historic Grand Mosque to deliver a full-throttle attack on the country’s corrupt culture, to condemn its close ties with the West and to demand that a new constitution implement Shariah, or Islamic law.
November 10, 2012
- The Los Angeles Times
LA Times: Focus on the Family head takes conciliatory tone after election
As the head of Focus on the Family, Jim Daly might be considered one of the nation's leading culture warriors — a title that certainly applied to his predecessor, James Dobson, who founded the organization and built it into a powerhouse of the conservative evangelical movement.
November 09, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Christian right failed to sway voters on issues
Christian conservatives, for more than two decades a pivotal force in American politics, are grappling with Election Day results that repudiated their influence and suggested that the cultural tide — especially on gay issues — has shifted against them.
November 09, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: A vague role for religion in Egyptian draft constitution
After months of fierce debate over the place of Islam in government, the assembly drafting a new constitution for Egypt has settled on a compromise that opens the door to more religion in governance but mainly guarantees that the issue will continue to roil politics, the Parliament and the courts for many years to come.
November 09, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Anglican Church's new leader vows to seek reconciliation
Bishop Justin Welby, the new archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of the world’s estimated 77 million Anglicans, pledged Friday to seek reconciliation in some of the most contentious issues of gender and sexuality that have split the Anglican Communion.
November 08, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Pakistan's minority Hindus feel under attack
They came after dusk and chanted into the night sky "Kill the Hindus, kill the children of the Hindus," as they smashed religious icons, ripped golden bangles off women's arms and flashed pistols.
November 07, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Gay marriage supporters declare victory in Wash.
Supporters of gay marriage in Washington state declared victory Wednesday, saying they don't see a way for their opponents to prevail as votes continue to trickle in on Referendum 74.