Francis in Assisi * Hobby Hanukkah * Communion burger: Friday’s Religion News Roundup

(RNS) Hobby Lobby changes course (sort of), a Chicago restaurant serves up a Communion burger and don't dance naked on a car in Saudi Arabia.

Hobby Lobby store in Ohio.

Hobby Lobby CEO Steve Green has apologized to Jews after an employee reportedly told a Jewish customer that “we don’t cater to you people,” but didn’t exactly say his stores would start carrying Hanukkah or Passover goods.

Hobby Lobby store in Ohio.

Hobby Lobby store in Ohio.

Megachurch pioneer Chuck Smith has died at 86; he founded the Calvary Chapel movement that helped give birth to the modern megachurch, praise-and-worship music and seeker-friendlyism.


Two-thirds of American Catholics agree with the pope that the church has become “obsessed” with sexual morality, and Francis has an approval rating of something like 96 percent.

Speaking of, the Catholic Herald has a pictorial tour of the pope’s pilgrimage today to the hometown of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.

ABC chronicles the opening prayers of the House and Senate chaplains during the ongoing shutdown. Lord knows this town could use a divine assist right about now.

So this sounds like a good idea: a Chicago restaurant is serving up a “Ghost Burger” that features the “Blood of Christ” (a red wine reduction) and, of course, a Communion wafer.

(As an aside, there’s something called the Catholic Foodie blog. Who knew?)

The Supremes kick off their 2013 term on Monday, and look for them to take a rightward tack on a number of social issues.

There’s a new Catholic-run dorm at a public university in Alabama, and a few church-state watchdogs think it’s not such a good idea.

Some students at Azusa Pacific are rallying behind a theology professor who came out as transgender and was subsequently asked to leave the Christian school.


You may have seen the viral video featuring the disgruntled videographer who danced her way out the door. Those crazy kids over at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency have responded, offering her a job.

Media consultant Phil Cooke has a message for disgruntled donors to the Crystal Cathedral who are upset that memorial bricks are being torn up at the now-Catholic campus: “Get a life.”

Is your church hitting the financial rocks? There’s a growing industry of church consultants who can help.

Our own Brian Pellot chronicles 12 “blasphemous” pieces of art that have been censored for inflaming religious tensions.

Speaking of inflaming religious tensions, four Saudi men were sentenced to thousands of lashes after being convicted of dancing naked on a car.

It’s only getting worse off the coast of Sicily, where officials fear that 300 African migrants died when their rickety boat caught fire and sank as they traveled to Europe seeking a new life. Worth remembering that Pope Francis’ first trip was to the nearby island of Lampedusa, where many of the migrants arrive.


Dissident Catholic theologian Hans Kung is considering one last act of defiance: assisted suicide to relieve him of Parkinson’s Disease.

How to unite Egypt’s Muslim majority and Christian minority? Behind the country’s red-black-and-white flag, writes our own Monique El-Faizy.

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