religion

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Obama Attends Nat'l Prayer Service

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama attended the traditional prayer service at the National Cathedral this morning, the AP reports, a custom dating back to the nation's first president. The newly-minted president sat in the front pew along with Joe and Jill Biden and Bill and Hillary Clinton for a rousing service,...

No Time For Faith? Try a Podcast

Practitioners of all stripes distill religious teaching for on-the-go Americans

(Newser) - Overscheduled Americans are fueling a boom in devotional books and media that mete out bite-sized doses of faith, the Los Angeles Times reports. An editor at a Christian book house calls its One Minute Bible “a ready-made, quick little devotion they can do every day.” But it’s...

Iraq Women Banned at Shrine to Thwart Female Bombers

Security forces can't search women

(Newser) - In a bid to ward off female bombers, officials have banned women from a Shia shrine during one of the holiest times of the year, reports the BBC. Because Iraq security forces lack female members, women cannot be searched for bombs. Women are now banned at the Imam Mousa al-Kazim...

Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship
OPINION
Jan 5, 2009 4:27 PM CST

Fatwa Against Rushdie Set Off Self-Censorship

Edict brought Muslim culture war to the West: Hitchens

(Newser) - When Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, Christopher Hitchens knew what it meant: "This was not just a warning of what was to come,” he writes in Vanity Fair, “it was the warning.” A global culture war, between Muslim fundamentalists and everyone else, had...

The Case for and Against Rick Warren

WaPost does the dueling op-ed thing

(Newser) - Liberals should be neither shocked nor appalled by Barack Obama’s inaugural invitation to anti-gay pastor Rick Warren, EJ Dionne writes in the Washington Post. His colleague Richard Cohen begs to differ, however, so the two duke it out in their columns today. Cohen says Obama has decided to “...

Spiritually Sound, But Many Churches Literally Bankrupt

Donation lifeline dries up as recession bites, forcing many into Chapter 11

(Newser) - In trying times, many turn to the church to ease anxieties, but even houses of God haven’t been spared the wrath of recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. A church building boom begun in the 1990s has left many congregations overextended, and with the economic slowdown taking a sizable...

Pope: Save Rainforest —and Heterosexuality, Too

Benedict's Christmas message decries erosion of 'traditional' gender roles

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used a Christmas address today to call for a defense of heterosexuality, which he suggested was as endangered as the rainforest.  He called homosexuality and deviance from gender norms "a destruction of God's work." The pontiff said "the tropical forests do deserve our...

Website Seethes Over Newly PC Christmas Carols

(Newser) - A British website is accusing churches of political correctness after they made changes to age-old Christmas carol lyrics, the Telegraph reports. Vicars say the edits aim to remove gender-specific or racially charged words, but the editor of a Christian site calls it "a festive car crash. Half the congregation...

Obama: I Never Discussed My Seat With Blago

Prez-elect talks policy priorities, scandal in wide-ranging interview

(Newser) - The president-elect opined on a variety of issues with the Los Angeles Times yesterday, including how his name will be announced at inauguration (Barack Hussein Obama, as per tradition):
  • Priorities: He'll start with "a serious investment" in infrastructure for "a green-energy economy."
  • Centrist Cabinet: He's not
...

Newsweek in Hot Water Over Gay-Bible Story

Social conservatives denounce 'attack' article as 'full of holes'

(Newser) - Social conservatives are lashing out against Newsweek’s current cover story, “The Religious Case for Gay Marriage,” for what they say is a flawed take on both the Bible and the root of their argument against such unions. The story was “yet another attack on orthodox Christianity”...

The Bible's Case for Gay Marriage
 The Bible's Case 
 for Gay Marriage 
GLOSSIES
Dec 8, 2008 1:12 PM CST

The Bible's Case for Gay Marriage

Tome isn't exactly as full of endorsements for 'traditional' marriage as conservatives would have us believe

(Newser) - Listen to opponents of gay marriage cite scripture, and you might believe it is not what Jesus would do. But, Lisa Miller writes in Newsweek, no sensible modern person wants to use the Bible as a “how-to script.” (Polygamy, anyone?) “Why,” Miller asks, “would we...

Iran's Former Prez Mulls Run Against Ahmadinejad

Moderate Khatami, battered by conservatives, still has large following

(Newser) - Mohammad Khatami is considering a run to reclaim the Iranian presidency, the Economist reports. Frustrated with successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s financial mismanagement and controversial rhetoric, moderate Iranians have swamped Khatami with entreaties to run. Although Khatami ultimately failed to deliver reform, his 1997-2005 tenure is remembered fondly for relaxed restrictions...

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead
OBITUARY
Dec 5, 2008 12:24 PM CST

Head of Russian Orthodox Church Dead

Patriarch Alexiy unified denomination, was suspected of KGB ties

(Newser) - The iconic leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who healed an 80-year rift in the church and restored its prominence in Russian society, died today, the Times of London reports. No official cause of death was given for Patriarch Alexiy, but the Kremlin’s first post-Soviet Orthodox leader had been...

Ky. Atheists Fight 'Foolish' Security Law

Amendment says state relies on 'almighty God' for protection

(Newser) - Atheists are kicking up an almighty fuss about legislation that states Kentucky's safety and security can only be achieved through reliance on God, the Chicago Tribune reports. Bluegrass State unbelievers have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the offending law repealed, saying they fear their security may be in the...

Killers Aim for Mumbai Dream
 Killers Aim for  
 Mumbai Dream 
opinion
Nov 29, 2008 12:58 PM CST

Killers Aim for Mumbai Dream

City's a golden songbird they want dead: Mehta

(Newser) - A Mumbai native and 9/11-era New Yorker asks a familiar question in the wake of India's attacks: Why do they hate us? The beloved city he still calls Bombay "stands for lucre, profane dreams, and an indiscriminate openness." It's a sensual, vibrant place that understands money and...

Prop 8 Reveals Churches' Fear of Strong Women
Prop 8 Reveals Churches' Fear of Strong Women
opinion
Nov 26, 2008 5:23 PM CST

Prop 8 Reveals Churches' Fear of Strong Women

Religions fear the crumbling of 'male authority:' Rodriguez

(Newser) - Churches led the charge against Proposition 8 and gay marriage because of their insecurities over the breakdown of heterosexual families and the consequent rise of independent women, says gay author and devout Catholic Richard Rodriguez. Gays are scapegoats because they—like feminists—threaten "an alternative to the traditional male-structured...

South Park Duo to Skewer Mormons—on Broadway

Trey Parker and Matt Stone set their comedic sights on Utah religion

(Newser) - Canadians can rest easy. The creators of South Park are ready to offend an entirely new population—Mormons, reports the New York Post. This time, though, they will do so not on the big screen or the small screen but on Broadway. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are bringing the...

Atheists Offer 'Reason's Greetings' in Marketing Blitz

With fewer Americans claiming organized religion, nonbelievers step up campaign

(Newser) - It just isn’t the holiday season in America until nonbelievers and the devout begin sparring. This year, the godless are on the offensive, launching a marketing campaign to capitalize on the loosening grip of organized religion, telling neighbors, “We’re just like you,” the Wall Street Journal...

Prince Moves 'life 4ce' to LA
 Prince Moves 'life 4ce' to LA 
GLOSSIES
Nov 17, 2008 11:54 AM CST

Prince Moves 'life 4ce' to LA

Artist moves to LA to find meaning inside music industry

(Newser) - Prince has found religion, and, after decades in Minneapolis, the artist has moved to LA to search for what makes its music moguls tick. “It’s all about religion. That’s what unites people here,” the Jehovah's Witness told the New Yorker during a tour of his new...

Amish Blast ID Cow Chips as 'Mark of the Beast'

Farmers sue USDA over Michigan's mandatory tag program

(Newser) - A group of Amish farmers has launched a federal lawsuit against the USDA claiming that electronic ID tags on cattle are the mark of Satan himself, not merely of the Michigan Animal Identification System, Wired reports. The farmers say the mandatory program, aimed at tracking livestock diseases, violates the "...

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