Monthly Archives: July 2011
Hindus sue restaurant over meat mistake
By Tracy Gordon — July 19, 2011
EDISON, N.J. (RNS) A group of Hindus can sue an Edison restaurant for money to travel to India, where they say they must purify their souls after eating meat, a state appellate court panel ruled Monday (July 18). The decision reinstates a lawsuit filed against Moghul Express, the restaurant that admitted it accidentally served meat-filled […]
Off to Britain!
By Mark Silk — July 19, 2011
I’m off to Britain for a few days hiking around Pembrokeshire (left) and a workshop at Lady Margaret Hall (right) on “Tradition and Its Discontents: Ruptures in the Abrahamic Religions.” Speaking of such ruptures, we can now look for great things out of Philadelphia, thanks to the appointment of Charles Chaput, foremost of the fighting […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Neither we, nor Michele Bachmann, are anti-Catholic
By Tracy Gordon — July 19, 2011
(The Rev. Mark G. Schroeder is president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) MILWAUKEE (RNS) Recent news reports have thrust the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) into the middle of a presidential campaign. What has catapulted this relatively small Lutheran church body into the media spotlight is the fact that, until recently, presidential candidate Michele […]
Pennsylvania debates whether thou shalt not hunt on the Sabbath
By Tracy Gordon — July 19, 2011
HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Two of the most influential forces in conservative lobbying are poised to go head-to-head this fall over an issue that some Pennsylvania lawmakers dread might be one of the most difficult of the session. It’s the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau vs. the National Rifle Association in a title bout over the legalization of […]
Churches divided on Hungary’s new religion law
By Tracy Gordon — July 19, 2011
(RNS/ENInews) Christian leaders in Hungary are divided over a restrictive new law on religion, with larger denominations welcoming its curbs on church activities and smaller groups voicing fears for their future. “We wanted a new law to make it more difficult to establish churches here — and we’re happy the present government has now done […]
Monday’s Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — July 18, 2011
Welcome back to Godbytes, the Monday edition: Harry Potter Fervor continues as Ryan Hamm at Relevant calls everyone’s favorite angsty wizard “one of the most Christian symbols in pop culture”: So what is it about Harry that’s made everyone go crazy for so long? Well, obviously there’s the story. And the writing. And the humor, […]
Churches take lead in fight against Ala. immigration law
By Tracy Gordon — July 18, 2011
Monday’s Religion News Roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — July 18, 2011
Not that we like to trade in gossip, but the word on the street is that Philly Cardinal Justin Rigali (widely blamed for dropping the ball on the abuse scandal) will retire tomorrow and will be replaced by a certain high-profile conservative from the Rocky Mountains. Poor Rocco can hardly contain his anticipation. There were […]
Michele Bachmann’s new church
By Mark Silk — July 17, 2011
In her piece on Michele Bachmann in Sunday’s NYT, Sheryl Gay Stolberg managed to get some information on where the Minnesota congresswoman and her husband now go to church; to wit: “Friends say they now attend services at another evangelical church, Eagle Brook, closer to their new home in another Stillwater neighborhood.” If so, then […]
Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — July 16, 2011
Welcome back! Our twitter roundup has now become Godbytes, ideally encompassing all the religious bits (or bytes) that were picked up in the social media/blogsphere this week. As this is a work in progress, please let us know if you have any good ideas for features we might include. So it turns out everyone is […]
Ireland pushes priests to report confessed sex abuse
By Tracy Gordon — July 15, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Ireland’s prime minister said Catholic priests could be jailed for failing to report child sex abuse crimes they hear during the sacrament of confession, regardless of the confidentiality imposed by church law. “The law of the land should not be stopped by a crozier or by a collar,” said Prime Minister Enda […]
Court says store discriminated against Muslim
By Tracy Gordon — July 15, 2011
(RNS) Abercrombie & Fitch violated civil rights law when the clothier refused to hire a Muslim woman because she wears a headscarf, a federal district court has ruled. “We were very excited to hear that the judge made the right decision in finding that Abercrombie & Fitch was wrong when they chose to discriminate against […]
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — July 15, 2011
My my, the GOP presidential field certainly stirs the religious cauldron, don’t it? To wit: After a piece in The Atlantic raised questions about Rep. Michele Bachmann’s former membership in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Milwaukee-based denomination issued a statement explaining when Bachmann quit (six days before she officially launched her campaign) and why […]
More questions, fewer answers, on the afterlife
By Tracy Gordon — July 15, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) For millennia, people have been trying to imagine what happens after death. Is there an afterlife, a heaven? Who gets in? And what happens to those who don’t? Books trying to provide answers to these age-old questions continue to be best-sellers, and some, like “Love Wins” by Michigan megachurch pastor Rob […]
The Cloyne Report
By Mark Silk — July 15, 2011
The latest report on sexual abuse by clergy in Ireland lays the problem firmly on the pope’s doorstep: “The reaction of the Vatican to the Framework Document was entirely unhelpful to any bishop who wanted to implement the agreed procedures.” The Framework Document was drafted in 1996 to establish procedures for handling abuse cases. But […]
