c. 2006 Religion News Service

SCHEDULED FOR RNS NEXT WEEK:

RNS-JEWISH-GAYISSUES: Gay Issues Don’t Threaten Conservative Jews

(UNDATED) When it comes to the questions of whether to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis and perform same-sex commitment ceremonies, Reform and Orthodox Jews know where their movements stand. Simply put, Reform Jews do both, Orthodox Jews do neither. The Conservative movement is not as easy to categorize. On paper, the movement forbids both the ordination of homosexual rabbis and the blessing of homosexual unions. But a yearslong debate among Conservative legal scholars is coming to a head, making stark the movement’s ideological struggle between preserving traditional Jewish legal precedent and embracing modern morality _ and raising questions about what the future of this movement might look like. It is a controversial moment, but not one that threatens the movement’s ultimate survival. Photos. By Holly Lebowitz Rossi. About 1,300.

FURTHER AHEAD:

RNS-MUSIC-TECH: New Technology Gives Christian Music a Broader Audience

(UNDATED) Technology, once decried as the music business’s executioner, is now seen by many as its salvation. Not long ago, illegal downloads flattened CD sales and sent the industry into a panic. But that seems forgotten now, or nearly so, as Christian labels and artists and their mainstream counterparts are looking to technology to revolutionize how they reach listeners. This new wave of technology, dubbed “new media,” including Apple’s iTunes Music Store and the Web site MySpace, enables artists to find fans and connect with them immediately. It’s also creating opportunities for Christian record companies, particularly battered by the downturn in the music industry, to target consumers. And it’s allowing artists who are Christians but make music for the masses to find a broader audience, freeing their music from what some call the Christian music ghetto. By Beau Black. Photos. About 1,300. Trims.

RNS-WEST-CHRISTIANS: West Coast Christians Find Their Own Unique Way

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. _ When Michelle Ridenour lived in New Jersey, she felt that the way to be spiritual was to go to church. Still, she never went. “You felt you weren’t wanted there,” she said. Now that she lives on the West Coast, things have changed. Ridenour, a 20-year-old junior at California Lutheran University, goes to church sometimes. Other times, she attends Bible study. She might even worship at a campus service led by “a crazy surfer dude” who says things like “Hey, what’s up? God’s awesome!” She finds this approach more welcoming and accepting, allowing individuals like herself to “experience spirituality in your own way.” Christianity has a different flavor on the West Coast, and in mid-March (March 10), Ridenour and other Christians got together to describe it. For one day, about 30 professors, pastors, former bishops, community members and college students talked about the nature and future of Christian faith and practice in the American West, particularly in California. By Sarah Price Brown. Photos. About 1,200.

RNS-STLOUIS-JESUITS: Group That Changed Music at Catholic Mass Reunites

(UNDATED) The St. Louis Jesuits are back. Although they’ve been called a religious version of the Beatles, most people haven’t heard of this liturgical musical ensemble. Yet anyone attending a Roman Catholic Mass since the mid-1970s has probably sung more than a few of their masterpieces, including “Earthen Vessels” and “Lift Up Your Hearts.” Susan Sarandon sang their memorable song “Be Not Afraid” just before Sean Penn’s character was to be executed in the movie “Dead Man Walking.” Their music was performed both at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration and President Ronald Reagan’s funeral. Now, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the once-young seminarians, who in the mid-1970s transformed the liturgical music universe with a new milieu of religious music, are back on stage for a limited national tour. They also have produced their first recording since that era, a 12-song collaboration titled “Morning Light.” By Dennis P. O’Connor. Photos. About 850.

RNS-ETHICS-CLASSES: In Germany, Religion Classes Will Have Competition

BERLIN _ Ethics courses will begin competing with religion courses for space in Berlin students’ schedules this autumn. Already, many faith-based organizations are concerned religion will lose the contest. Religion courses have been a mainstay of the curriculum in German schools for generations. The German constitution singles them out as a standard part of the school day. Atheist or agnostic students can opt for philosophy or humanism classes. Only in Berlin are students allowed to opt out of the system entirely, thus gaining two free hours a week. Even with that temptation, nearly half take some kind of philosophy or religion class. But Berlin officials have long worried that these courses aren’t doing an adequate job of laying a moral foundation for Berlin’s youths. Thus, the introduction of ethics classes. By Niels Sorrells. Photos. About 1,000.

RNS-BLACKS-ISLAM: Muslims Drawing From Black Experience on Civil Rights

(UNDATED) African-American Muslims trace their Islamic heritage to slaves brought to North America in the 17th century, 10 percent to 30 percent of whom were estimated to be Muslim, and many call themselves indigenous Muslims. Despite this special role, many African-American Muslims complain that Muslims who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s and later have never taken them seriously as faith partners, marginalizing their role in American Islamic institutions and showing little interest in cooperation. But that may be changing as mainly South Asian and Arab Muslims, who together account for about half of the 5 million to 8 million Muslims estimated living in America and dominate leadership positions in mosques and advocacy groups, feel their civil rights at risk after Sept. 11. They are increasingly turning to African-American Muslims _ who account for between 25 percent and 30 percent of American Muslims _ for lessons learned from their civil rights experience. By Omar Sacirbey. Photos. About 1,200.

RNS-MEN-TECHNOLOGY: Men Finding Faith Through Flat-Panel Monitors

(UNDATED) For more than a century, women have outnumbered men in the pews of America’s churches. For almost as long, concerned Christians have been wondering where all the men went _ and how to get them back. Now some are seeing glimmers of hope coming from a most unlikely place: flickering computer screens. Religious software has become an $80 million industry in the United States, thanks to a clientele that’s predominantly male. According to a survey taken one year ago, 77 percent of all Bible software users are men. For niche-leading Logos Bible Software, which sells about 12 percent of all religious software, nine out of every 10 customers are men. As devout men demonstrate a holy zeal for study at the “feet” of electronic platforms, evangelists are pondering the broader implications and possibilities. Perhaps, the thinking goes, men turned off by such hallmarks of congregational life as preaching, small talk and pressure to share feelings in tight-knit groups will be receptive to the gospel when it’s delivered instead via technology. By G. Jeffrey MacDonald. Photo. About 1,000.

RNS-SEYRAN-ATES: German Muslim Woman Describes `Journey Into Fire’

BERLIN _ Dusk is falling across an icy cityscape as Seyran Ates juggles signing last-minute paperwork prepared by her secretary with answering a reporter’s questions. Outside, an S-Bahn train rumbles past her law offices, located in Berlin’s trendy Hackescher Markt neighborhood. She keeps a worried eye on her watch: Tomorrow, Ates travels to yet another conference, and she wants some time with her 19-month-old daughter. Lawyer, author and single mother, 42-year-old Ates appears in many ways the prototype of a successful female professional. But her work and her background attest to a more traditional and unequal culture existing within Germany’s Muslim community _ one in which forced marriage, domestic violence and even the occasional honor killing are chilling realities. It is a culture that Ates, a soft-spoken, ethnic Turk, knows intimately. She deals with it on a daily basis as a prominent women’s rights activist and lawyer in Berlin _ and she wrote about it in a troubling 2003 autobiography, “A Journey Into Fire.” By Elizabeth Bryant. Photo.

RNS-FULTON-SHEEN: Drive Continues to Make TV’s Favorite Bishop a Saint

(UNDATED) If Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen were alive today, he would probably watch the “Dr. Phil” show, says a Peoria, Ill., priest researching the late Catholic leader. And he’d be reading M. Scott Peck’s “The Road Less Traveled” and Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life,” said Monsignor Richard Soseman. “He would keep his pulse on those things. Although the names are different today, they reflect what man is searching for,” said Soseman, who since 2002 has served as delegate for the Diocese of Peoria’s cause for the canonization of Sheen. For about 22 years, beginning in 1930, Sheen hosted the national radio show “The Catholic Hour,” and from 1951 to 1957 he hosted the television series “Life Is Worth Living.” The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints officially opened Sheen’s cause in 2002. Sheen can now be referred to as “Servant of God,” and investigations of his heroic virtues and a report of a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession are under way, led by his home diocese in Peoria. By Renee K. Gadoua. Photo. About 500.

STILL GOOD: RECENT NEWS AND FEATURES

RNS-SILAS-AGBIM: He’s Not an Albino, and He Doesn’t Murder Nuns

NEW YORK _ Anyone who has read “The Da Vinci Code” knows Silas, the hulking albino monk who murders nuns and limps through the streets of Paris, a spiked cilice gouging the flesh on his upper leg. Before the film version of the book opens May 19, Opus Dei would like you to meet the “real” Silas. Silas Agbim is a Nigerian native who works as a stockbroker out of a two-story home on a tree-lined street in Brooklyn that he shares with his wife. The father of three begins his day with morning prayer, pauses at noon to recite the midday Angelus prayer, works until the market closes at 4 p.m. and attends late-afternoon Mass in Manhattan. The real-life Silas, 5 feet tall and in his 60s, is being presented as a more realistic face of Opus Dei, the conservative Catholic organization that is portrayed as conspiratorial, secretive and downright dangerous in the runaway hit novel by Dan Brown. By Nathan Herpich. Photos of Silas Agbim. 1,325 with optional trims to 1,000 and 700. Moved April 27.

RNS-OPUSDEI-FILM: Opus Dei Releases DVD Depicting `Ordinary’ Members

NEW YORK _ Continuing a public relations blitz in anticipation of a negative portrayal in “The Da Vinci Code,” Opus Dei has released its own film depicting the Catholic group in flattering terms. The 28-minute DVD documentary, “Passionately Loving the World: Ordinary Americans Living the Spirituality of St. Josemaria,” features Americans living as Opus Dei members. They include an Illinois farmer, a New Jersey businessman and a Los Angeles firefighter. The vignettes focus on how they serve God through their life’s work. By Nathan Herpich. 325. Photo of DVD. Accompanies RNS-SILAS-AGBIM. Moved April 27.

RNS-INDIA-CONVERSIONS: Pro-Hindu Party May Restrict Christian Conversions

CHENNAI, India _ Religious conversion has emerged as a volatile social and political issue in India, where a pro-Hindu ruling party in several states is pushing legislation to restrict what it characterizes as forced Christian conversions that disrupt national harmony. The moves have prompted an outcry from Christian leaders, who deny forcing any conversions and say such legislation would be an egregious violation of religious freedom protected by the Indian constitution and recognized internationally as a fundamental human right. Christians comprise less than 3 percent of the Indian population, which is predominantly Hindu. “We have not converted anyone by force, fraud or by allurement,” said Roman Catholic Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi in a recent interaction with the media. By Achal Narayanan. 775. Moved April 26.

RNS-ONLINE-CRITICS: Religious Blogs Give Outlet to Dissenters, Critics

(UNDATED) For as long as preachers have been engaging listeners, critics have been muttering nearby about the need for more enlightened leadership. Even Moses couldn’t catch a break from his band of desert-wandering Israelites, who feared he was trying to kill them. Now, thanks to blogs and other Internet postings, critics in every faith tradition are getting a hearing far beyond the synagogue, church or mosque parking lot. That means religious leaders are listening, too _ and responding in ways that show how religious authority is shifting in the 21st century. Bloggers well versed in Scriptures, church rules and even poignant personal testimonies are challenging official policies and winning followers of their own. By G. Jeffrey MacDonald. With photo. 1,350, optional trim to 850. File photo. Moved April 26.

RNS-AZUSA-STREET: Tens of Thousands Celebrate Pentecostalism’s Birthday

LOS ANGELES _ More than 20,000 people from more than 100 countries have converged here to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Pentecostal movement. A five-day celebration began Tuesday (April 25), with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians commemorating a series of meetings at a converted stable on Azusa Street that launched the movement that is now the fastest growing segment of Christianity. “We are hoping that as people reflect on the Azusa Street revival, they will be inspired to experience revival in this day,” said the Rev. William M. Wilson, the centennial’s executive officer. About 3,000 Christians arrived early, on Saturday, to kick off the festivities with a procession in which they waved flags, clapped, danced and shouted “Hallelujah!” as they walked through Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. By Sarah Price Brown. With photos. 950 with optional trim to 725. Moved April 25.

RNS-GAY-MARRIAGE: Church Leaders Coalesce Behind Gay Marriage Amendment

WASHINGTON _ A prominent group of religious leaders that includes Roman Catholic cardinals has launched a campaign urging congressional approval of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The Religious Coalition for Marriage is focused on the U.S. Senate, which is expected to take up the same-sex marriage ban on June 6. The Senate is not expected to have the 67 votes required for a change to the Constitution. But the issue could be politically potent, as it was in some states during the 2004 presidential elections. By Piet Levy. 550. Moved April 25.

RNS-IRAQ-NEWLEADER: Ending Shiite-Sunni Violence Tall Task of New Leader

BAGHDAD, Iraq _ Although Iraqis know little about Jawad al-Maliki, the new head of the national assembly, many in Baghdad view their parliamentarians’ agreement on a new leader as a step toward creating a strong government that will restore order to their country by stemming sectarian violence, terrorist attacks and rampant crime. But the new prime minister immediately faces the enormous challenge of halting sectarian tensions between the country’s dominant Shiite population and the disenfranchised Sunni minority that threatens to drag Iraq into a civil war. “We’re all struggling to survive this violence,” says one Sunni man whose mother and daughter-in-law are Shiites. “The new prime minister and his government must be strong and not tolerate any sectarian attacks. They must severely punish anyone attempting to divide the Iraqi people.” By James Palmer. 800. Moved April 25.

RNS-MUSLIM-VIOLENCE: Extremists Target Moderate Muslims With Violence

(UNDATED) Muslim-on-Muslim violence has existed since Islam’s Prophet Muhammad died in 632. But now, some observers say, Islamic extremists are expanding their campaign of violence from non-Muslim targets to include moderate Muslims whom they view as obstacles to the establishment of Islamic rule. At the same time, extremists are also expanding the criteria by which one can be considered an apostate, blasphemer or heretic, and thus fair game for punishment or death. The violence has sparked debate across the Muslim world over who has the authority to judge someone an apostate, and pushed extremist groups to come up with new justifications to spill the blood of fellow Muslims. By Omar Sacirbey. 1,000 with optional trim to 725. Moved April 24.

RNS-FAMILY-SUICIDE: Mormon Senator Pours Out Dire Lessons of Son’s Suicide

(UNDATED) Garrett Lee Smith, the son of Sen. Gordon and Sharon Smith, R-Ore., killed himself in his college apartment in Utah on Sept. 8, 2003. It was the day before his 22nd birthday. In “Remembering Garrett: One Family’s Battle With a Child’s Depression,” Gordon Smith, a Mormon church leader, describes how he responded when he heard the news. Smith blamed himself for what he calls “a perdition of my own making.” He staggered upstairs to his son’s room, fell on the bed, “clutched his old teddy bears to me and spent a night in hell, crying out to him, screaming at myself, pleading with God for understanding, for forgiveness, for mercy, for the strength to go on.” Smith sees the book as a road map for families _ no matter what their faith background _ who have lost someone to suicide. It includes a list of places where families dealing with depression or suicide can find help. By Don Colburn. With photos. 1,450. Optional trim to 1,000. Moved April 24.

The Sky’s the Limit: Churches Strike Gold in Urban Real Estate Market

RNS transmitted a special report on Wednesday, April 19, on a trend that is changing the way urban churches look at real estate. A strong real estate market has increased demand for available land in many cities, which has caused developers to partner with churches for condos, offices and retail projects. In most cases, churches are seeing more money than they ever thought possible.

RNS also chronicles a related real estate issue _ how fights over church property could eventually land in civil courts, where one expert says the answers are “messy and uncertain.”

The package by RNS Associate Editor Kevin Eckstrom included:

_ RNS-SKY-LIMIT: A 2,200-word mainbar that lays out the trend in big markets such as New York, Washington, Chicago, Seattle and smaller markets, including Sarasota, Fla. This version is geared for religious publications and newspapers that have adequate space.

_ RNS-SKY-LIMIT2: A 1,200-word version of the mainbar, geared for business, real estate and A1 newspaper pages, as well as religious publications that would like a shorter version. Includes optional trim to 900 words.

_ RNS-SKY-HEADACHES and RNS-SKY-DIVIDE: Two 500-word “snapshot” sidebars on how these deals can go sour.

_ An original graphic illustrating how an “air rights” transaction is put together.

_ More than two dozen original photos, including development projects in New York, Washington and Chicago.

_ RNS-CHURCH-PROPERTY: A 1,300-word story on the legal issues surrounding church property disputes. With optional trims to 900 words.

_ Original photos from a Michigan church that decided not to fight for its property, and photos from Portland, Ore., related to a bankruptcy case that landed the Catholic Church in civil court.

RNS-IRAQ-BODYWASHERS: For Bodywashers of Iraq, an Endless Job

BAGHDAD, Iraq _ Fatalities among Iraqi civilians have skyrocketed in recent months with rising sectarian strife. Nearly 900 people died in violent attacks in March, after 700 in February. Many were victims of so-called Shiite death squads, while others died in explosions detonated by the Sunni-led insurgency. The toll is evident in the physical and emotional burden on workers in the country’s funerary industry. “It gets very depressing with the large number of people coming in every day,” says Mohammed Rozki, 35, who washes the dead in preparation for burial. “You must have a strong heart to do this job.” By James Palmer. With photos. 1,100. Optional trim to 1,000. Moved April 18.

RNS-HOLYLAND-EXHIBIT: Museum Displays Biblical Archeology

BEACHWOOD, Ohio _ “Cradle of Christianity: Treasures From the Holy Land,” on exhibit here at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage through mid-October, has the power to excite art lovers, historians and scholars. The exhibition of major discoveries in biblical archaeology will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Atlanta during its U.S. tour. At the Maltz museum, Scripture is taken seriously as a literary and historical source. The exhibit featuring artifacts from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem provides concrete evidence supporting the existence of biblical characters and offers a new window into understanding scriptural stories and the early development of Christianity and Judaism. By David Briggs. 1,050 with optional trims to 850 and 550. Photos. Moved April 18.

RNS-JESUS-NAME: Should `Jesus’ Name’ Be Scratched From Public Prayers?

(UNDATED) When retired Army Chaplain David Peterson steps to a podium, he models for today’s chaplains how he thinks they should pray in public. “I pray in Jesus’ name but I always give a little introduction, just two or three seconds: `I’m going to pray according to my tradition and I encourage you to pray according to your tradition,”’ said Peterson, who coordinates chaplain ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America. “I think it’s important to show that not everybody is Christian and we want to show respect.” Peterson’s personal decision at the podium reflects a growing clash among principles of sensitivity, faith and free speech. The issue has figured most prominently in recent debates over guidelines for the U.S. military, as the Air Force and the Navy have drafted new rules concerning religion. But it also is playing out in civic and other settings that traditionally have featured opening and closing prayers.

By Adelle M. Banks. Photos. 1,350 with optional trims to 950. With sidebar, RNS-NAVY-CHAPLAINS. Moved April 13.

RNS-NAVY-CHAPLAINS: Navy Wants `Nonsectarian’ Religion in Public

WASHINGTON _ A new U.S. Navy policy has become another point of contention in an ongoing battle over the appropriate role of religion in military ranks. A Feb. 21 “instruction” from the secretary of the Navy has prompted protests at recent Washington events hosted by evangelical Christians and in a letter from a Virginia-based legal firm known for defending religious rights. Outside of chapel services, “religious elements for a command function, absent extraordinary circumstances, should be nonsectarian in nature,” reads the instruction. It adds that “religious elements” included in such cases will occur under “the commander’s guidance.” Lt. William Marks, a Navy spokesman, said of the new regulation: “There’s nothing in that new instruction anywhere that forbids anyone from praying to Jesus or praying in Jesus’ name.” But Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead says the new rules interfere with the free exercise of religion.

By ADELLE M. Banks. 575. Can run alone or with mainbar, RNS-JESUS-NAME. Moved April 13.

HONGKONG-BUDDHA: Buddha Sites Loom Large and Blissful for Visitors

HONG KONG _ Places of worship sometimes turn out to be among the sights that travelers remember most. That was my experience in visiting two prominent Buddhist sites while in Hong Kong: the world’s largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha, on Lantau Island in Hong Kong harbor; and the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the town of Sha Tin, in Hong Kong’s New Territories region. Photos. By James M. Lewis. 500. Moved April 12.

RNS-INTERNET-SAINT: John Paul II, The Making of an Internet Saint

VATICAN CITY _ The messages arriving in Monsignor Slawomir Oder’s inbox are multiplying. A mother writes from Bloomington, Ill., appealing to Pope John Paul II from beyond the grave to heal her daughter from a sudden brain injury. Another click away, a child has been conceived in Mexico thanks to the late pope’s alleged intercession. Gone are the days when the centuries-old practice of saint making took place behind closed doors, and beyond public scrutiny. Oder, the leading advocate for John Paul’s sainthood, must hustle to meet the demands of the Internet, where potential miracles are being reported in real time and campaigns for and against John Paul’s sainthood are already in full swing. Just as John Paul brought the papacy onto the world stage through his media savvy, the campaign for his sainthood is updating the way faithful push for canonization. By Kristine M. Crane and Stacy Meichtry. 975. With a sidebar, RNS-INTERNET-SITES. Moved April 5.

RNS-INTERNET-SITES: Examples of Online Campaigns for Sainthood

(UNDATED) Web sites devoted to advancing the candidacies of “saint hopefuls” have begun to proliferate on the Internet. Here are just a few examples. 200. Moved April 5.

COLUMNISTS

Also look for these columnists:

_ Tuesday: Tom Ehrich

_ Every other Wednesday: Eugene Kennedy

_ Thursday: A. James Rudin

BEST-SELLERS LIST: “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why” tops the list of hardcover RELIGION BEST-SELLERS, according to Publishers Weekly. “Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World,” by John Hagee, is No. 1 on the paperback list. The list moved with a graphic on April 20.

RELIGION CALENDAR

The entire 2006 RNS Religion Calendar moved Tuesday, Jan. 2. The May/June calendar moved April 28.

If you have questions about upcoming stories or need repeats of stories already moved, call the RNS News Desk at 202-463-8777. Editor Mark O’Keefe is always eager to receive feedback and to hear suggestions on how we can serve you better. Call the news desk or send him an e-mail at mark.okeefe(at)religionnews.com.

MO/JL END RNS