Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
February 15, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Gay marriage support has risks for GOP lawmakers
As more state legislatures around the country consider whether to legalize same-sex weddings, an analysis of gay marriage votes in eight states shows that Republican lawmakers who backed it often faced consequences — including loss of their seats.
February 14, 2013
- The New York Times
NYT: A laboratory for revitalizing Catholicism
At one new megachurch in São Paulo, a Roman Catholic priest who was a personal trainer before joining the clergy energetically belts out songs, rock-star style, before 25,000 worshipers.
February 13, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Ohio school board votes to keep Jesus portrait up
An Ohio school district decided Tuesday night to keep a portrait of Jesus hanging in the school where it's been 65 years, denying a federal lawsuit's claim the portrait's display unconstitutionally promotes religion in a public school.
February 13, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: House passes Sandy aid for houses of worship
The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to allow houses of worship damaged by Superstorm Sandy to receive federal disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
February 13, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Ohio town latest focus of religion legal debate
Since just after World War II, a portrait of Jesus has hung in a Jackson City Schools building, attracting little discussion and no controversy that anyone seems to recall.
February 12, 2013
- The Wall Street Journal
WSJ: Europe remains challenge for church
As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to relinquish his office, church leaders planning for a new pontiff are sure to deliberate over one of his longtime goals: replenishing Europe's deserted pews.
February 11, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Pope's bombshell sends troubled church scrambling
With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope has done in more than half a millennium, stunning the world by announcing his resignation Monday and leaving the already troubled Catholic Church to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter.
February 11, 2013
- The Washington Times
Wash. Times: A Saudi-inspired all-faiths hub
The underappreciated power of prayer is a prime motivating force behind a new Saudi-inspired interfaith center in Austria that seeks to become the place for world religious leaders to meet, solve problems and melt the “mountain of fears” that exists between religious people, says the Saudi official who is championing the ambitious project.
February 10, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Filipino extremists face new foe: fellow rebels
After years of fighting the government from hidden jungle bases in the southern Philippines, an Al-Qaida-linked militant group is facing a new adversary: fellow Muslim insurgents who can match their guerrilla battle tactics and are eager to regain their lost stature by fighting the widely condemned terrorist group.
February 09, 2013
- The Economist
Economist: A meaty question
Keeping the government’s nose out of anything with a religious whiff is one of America’s founding principles.
February 08, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: Assisted suicide on legal agenda in several states
A push for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide is under way in a half-dozen states where proponents say they see strong support for allowing doctors to prescribe mentally competent, dying individuals with the medications needed to end their own lives.