Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
February 22, 2013
- The Australian
Australian: Religion to lose protected status
RELIGIOUS organisations running schools, health and aged-care services face losing key exemptions to Labor's new anti-discrimination laws under recommendations that could see them sued by people who disagree with church ethos.
February 21, 2013
- NPR
NPR: Who gets religious exemptions and why
Under revised rules of the Affordable Care Act, religious groups can be exempt from paying their employees' insurance coverage for birth control.
February 20, 2013
- The Associated Press
AP: California school district sued over yoga program
An attorney representing a family bent out of shape over a public school yoga program in the beach city of Encinitas filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop the district-wide classes.
February 18, 2013
- The New York Times
NYT: House approves storm aid for religious institutions
The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would allow the use of federal money to rebuild churches and synagogues damaged by Hurricane Sandy, despite concern that such aid could violate the doctrine of separation of church and state.
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 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 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.