Monday’s Religion News Roundup: Protests rumble on. Inside Ralph Reed’s evangelical operation. The “Bombshell by the Bay.”

Violent protests continue as world leaders prepare to meet a the UN. Inside Ralph Reed's operation. No taxes, no sacraments, German bishops say.

As protests rumble through Muslim-majority countries, world leaders are preparing for the UN's General Assembly this week. 

President Obama is expected to address the unrest in his UN speech, Reuters reports.  

“The president will make it clear that we reject the views in this video, while also underscoring that violence is never acceptable,” said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.


Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is expected to be among the Muslim leaders calling for strict anti-blasphemy laws, according to Reuters. 

Muslim leaders are weighing in on the protests worldwide, and Muslim Americans offered advice on what Obama and Morsi should discuss if they should meet this week.

A Pakistani minister offered $100,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the anti-Islamic film.

American Muslims demonstrated peacefully against the film outside Michigan's largest mosque in Dearborn

Pakistani police say there is no evidence that a girl accused of blasphemy had burned pages of a Quran. Turns out she was framed by a local imam. 

Religious freedom restrictions are rising worldwide, according to a new Pew study. 

A suicide bomber killed two people and injured 45 others during Mass at a Catholic church in Nigeria on Sunday.

The NYT explores Ralph Reed's microtargeted get-out-the-evangelical-vote operation

Several prominent black pastors are backing same-sex marriage in Maryland, which will hold a referendum on the issue this fall. 


A Mormon blogger was threatened with excommunication for disclosing temple secrets, not for criticizing Mitt Romney, the SLT reports. 

No shoes, no taxes, no sacraments, say Germany's Catholic bishops

An Ohio federal district court rejected a mother's claim that requiring her children to be vaccinated violates her religious beliefs.

A for-profit, Christian university in Arizona has won one of the education world’s most sought-after prizes. 

Forbes profiles the benefactor of that gift, Hobby Lobby's David Green. Money quote: “I believe once someone knows Christ as their personal savior, I’ve affected eternity. I matter 10 billion years from now.”

Chick fil-A made no concessions regarding its support of groups that oppose gay marriage, company CEO Dan Cathy said in a statement that was posted online by Mike Huckabee.

The LA Times takes a look at Archbishop-designate Salvatore Cordileone's appointment as archbishop of San Franciscao, AKA “The Bombshell by the Bay.” 


The great Gay Talese profiles the Yankees' manager Joe Girardi and describes him as a mix between monk and Moneyball.

Yr hmbl aggrgtr,

Daniel Burke

Image courtesy of the UN.

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