Monthly Archives: November 2011
2012 candidates asked to sign religious freedom pledge
By Tracy Gordon — November 30, 2011
(RNS) An advocacy organization for persecuted Christians has asked the 2012 presidential candidates to sign a pledge stating they would make religious freedom a priority in the United States and overseas if they win the White House. Open Doors USA joined with religious freedom activist Tom Farr of Georgetown University to draft the pledge, which […]
One-third of shelter residents are newly homeless
By Tracy Gordon — November 30, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) Nearly one in five clients of Christian rescue missions said they were victims of physical violence within the past year, a 6 percent jump from the previous year, according to a new survey. “It’s quite possible that the uptick in physical violence … is due to a friend or family member’s feeling of […]
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup: Holiday tree; mini Stonehenge; Christmas weapons
By Daniel Burke — November 30, 2011
As bitter winter advances, religious communities from Portland to New York are opening their doors to Occupy protesters. How many “Christmas among the Occupiers” stories do you think we’ll see this year? Christmas, by the way, is on a Sunday this year. The vast majority of churches (91 percent) plan to hold some sort of […]
Gingrich and the Evangelicals
By Mark Silk — November 30, 2011
With the Gingrich Bubble frothing away and the Iowa caucuses just around the corner, TPM asks if the all-important evangelical voting bloc (like, half of all GOP caucus-goers) will move into Newt’s camp. The Des Moines Register‘s Jennifer Jacobs has done her interviews and thinks it’s split. A mysterious group called Iowans for Christian Leaders […]
Accused janitor says priest blackmailed, abused him
By Tracy Gordon — November 30, 2011
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (RNS) For four years, Jose Feliciano told a jury on Monday (Nov. 28), his rage grew. The former church janitor said his employer, the Rev. Edward Hinds, had been extorting him, forcing him into unwanted sexual contact under the threat of exposing Feliciano’s criminal past. The janitor grudgingly allowed the priest to continue […]
Charitable giving up slightly but still ailing
By Tracy Gordon — November 30, 2011
(RNS) Charitable giving is trickling back up as the economy heals, but it could take years to return to pre-recession levels, nonprofit leaders say. Giving totaled $291 billion in 2010, according to the 2011 annual report by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. That's up 3.8 percent from 2009 and follows two consecutive years […]
Episcopal bishop cleared of `abandonment’ charge
By Tracy Gordon — November 30, 2011
(RNS) The Episcopal bishop of South Carolina, who has distanced his diocese from the national denomination since its sanction of openly gay bishops, has not “abandoned” the Episcopal Church, a church committee announced Monday (Nov. 28). Bishop Mark Lawrence, an outspoken conservative, has said that he wants to remain part of the Episcopal Church, even […]
Tuesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 30, 2011
Good Magazine asks: why are so many lifestyle bloggers Mormon? NY Magazine is curious whether or not Jewish food can “go upscale.” Matzo balls with gold flakes, anyone? CNet reports that Sam’s Club pulled “The Brick Testament” – a picture book of Lego characters reenacting Biblical scenes – from its shelves. I guess you could […]
Prayer Beats Worship
By Mark Silk — November 29, 2011
Beginning in the mid-seventies. When “spiritual but not religious” comes into its own.
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup: The Last Testament; Episcopal abandonment; Western Wall
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2011
Just in time for the holidays, God has a new book out called the “The Last Testament,” as “revealed” to a Daily Show writer. The NYT calls it “pseudoquaint.” Speaking of writers, the late David Foster Wallace reportedly flirted with joining the Catholic Church near the end of his life. David Brooks has been reading […]
Churches help Occupy movement survive crackdowns, winter
By Tracy Gordon — November 29, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) As Occupy camps nationwide deal with police crackdowns and the inevitable onset of winter temperatures, religious communities of all stripes are stepping in with offers of shelter and solidarity. Soon after police forcibly evicted the original Occupy Wall Street camp in New York’s Zuccotti Park on Nov. 15, many of the protesters began […]
COMMENTARY: All I want for Christmas
By Tracy Gordon — November 29, 2011
(RNS) After noticing that Lexus wants me to give a $50,000 sedan to my wife this Christmas, I joined my family in the annual “Ehrich Christmas Wish List,” an online spreadsheet maintained by my youngest son. I knew I had to list something, so I thought hard. Had to be affordable — no Apple MacBook […]
Religious Freedom Pledge-a-thon
By Mark Silk — November 29, 2011
Over at Religion Dispatches, Sarah Posner smacks the creators of a new “Pledge for Religion Freedom”–or is it the “International Religious Freedom Pledge”?–for declining to talk about Islamophobia. What I’ve got are some problems with the pledge itself. Presidential candidates are being asked to pledge to “protect religious freedom in full for all Americans” and […]
Anti-Mormon bias persistent in presidential politics
By Tiffany McCallen — November 29, 2011
(RNS) On June 27, 1844, vigilantes cornered a man who claimed to receive messages from God and gunned him down in an Illinois jail after his arrest. At the time of his death, Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was an announced candidate for president of the United […]
Pope: Others should be held to same abuse ‘standards’
By Tiffany McCallen — November 29, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI told bishops from New York state that “all other institutions” in society should be held to the same “exacting standards” as the Roman Catholic Church in preventing and reporting sex abuse. Benedict spoke on Saturday (Nov. 26), one day before New York’s Syracuse University announced that it had fired […]
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