Monthly Archives: February 2011
If Obama won’t fight gay marriage, conservatives will
By Tracy Gordon — February 25, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) If President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice no longer want to defend the Defense of Marriage Act from challenges by gay rights activists, who will? Leading conservative law firms say they’re eager to defend the 1996 law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but that may not […]
U.S. rabbis blast Israel over new conversion rules
By Tracy Gordon — February 25, 2011
JERUSALEM (RNS) Nearly 100 American Orthodox rabbis have signed a letter demanding that the conversions they perform outside Israel be recognized — at least for immigration purposes — by Israel’s Interior Ministry. The rabbis — including members of the Rabbinical Council of America, the Orthodox Union, Yeshiva University and the International Rabbinic Fellowship — were […]
Catholic bishops back Wis. union protesters
By Tracy Gordon — February 25, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops on Thursday (Feb. 24) threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin, saying the rights of workers do not abate in difficult economic times. “The debates over worker representation and collective bargaining are not simply matters of ideology or power,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., […]
Forgiveness scholar opens up on role of faith
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
COMMENTARY: When Israel was in Egypt’s land …
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
(RNS) Egypt and Israel aren’t your typical neighbors with an occasional across-the-fence feud. The complex relationship between these two nations and peoples that began more than 3,200 years ago is one of the world’s oldest sagas. The Bible alone contains more than 600 references to Egypt. With the recent overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 24, 2011
So the big news is the Justice Department‘s decision to stop defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage (for federal purposes) as between a man and a woman. Attorney General Eric Holder lays out the reasoning here in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner. Jeffrey Toobin explains the legal rationale over […]
GOP Crusaders
By Mark Silk — February 24, 2011
Visiting a private Christian school in South Carolina two days ago, former PA senator and would-be GOP presidential nominee Rick Santorum opined, “The idea that the Crusades and the fight of Christendom against Islam is somehow an aggression on our part is absolutely anti-historical. And that is what the perception is by the American left […]
The Tea Party God Gap
By Mark Silk — February 24, 2011
Surprise, surprise! Not. Pew’s latest report on religion and the Tea Party shows Tea Party support to be centrally located in the community of white evangelicals, who are five times more likely to agree than disagree with the T.P. agenda. By contrast, the Nones (those Pew insists on calling “Unaffiliated”) are three times more likely […]
Sex abuse charges put Catholic prosecutor front and center
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
PHILADELPHIA (RNS) For Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, leading the sex abuse prosecution that has roiled this city’s Catholic community is not an attack on the church in which he was raised, and to which he remains deeply committed. But the Philadelphia native says he is determined to bring to justice the “evil” clergy his […]
Muslims and ACLU sue FBI over mosque surveillance
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
(RNS) Is sending a secret informant into a mosque in search of terrorists proactive policing, or a violation of worshippers’ civil rights? That’s the question a federal judge will have to answer after the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council of American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit Tuesday (Feb. 22) in Los Angeles against the […]
Obama drops defense of anti-gay-marriage law
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Obama administration announced on Wednesday (Feb. 23) it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a nearly 15-year-old law that defines marriage as heterosexual unions. In a letter to Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder said President Obama has determined the law, widely known as DOMA, is unconstitutional when applied to […]
Supreme Court rejects 10 Commandments case
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
WASHINGTON(RNS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday (Feb. 22) chose not to reexamine its decision to strike down displays of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses. The high court ruled in 2005 that the Ten Commandments displays outside two county courthouses violated the Constitution’s Fist Amendment. After that ruling, the counties attempted to revise and […]
Judge rejects Christians’ health care suit
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
(RNS) A federal judge on Tuesday (Feb. 22) dismissed a lawsuit filed by Christians who argue that President Obama’s health care overhaul violates their religious freedom. The Christians said they believe that God will heal them from disease and that the requirement to purchase health insurance in the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
Christian movie draws a (political) crowd
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.(RNS) Mixing science and religion seems a good recipe for on-screen fireworks. Add politics and things will erupt off the screen, too. “The Genesis Code,” a film about college students trying to reconcile creationism and evolution, has been drawing local and national politicians to the movie theater. The film, which was shot here, […]
Zondervan CEO leaving Christian publisher
By Tracy Gordon — February 24, 2011
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (RNS) Zondervan CEO Maureen “Moe” Girkins will step down March 11, the Grand Rapids-area publisher has announced. A search for a new CEO will begin immediately, according to a statement released by the company. The company declined to comment on the reason for Girkins’ departure, which was announced last Thursday (Feb. 17). […]
