At St. Francis Shrine in the city of St. Francis, pride in a new Pope Francis
(RNS) In San Francisco, the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi is attracting attention after the new pope’s decision to take the 13th-century saint as his namesake.
Author Archives: Kimberly Winston
About Kimberly Winston
Kimberly Winston is a freelance religion reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, USA Today, The Washington Post, The San Jose Mercury News and Newsweek. She is also a frequent contributor to Beliefnet.com and ReligionLink.org. In 2005, she was the recipient of the American Academy of Religion’s award for best in-depth religion reporting. She is the author of three books, including Bead One, Pray Too: A Guide to Making and Using Prayer Beads (Morehouse, 2008) and blogs at kimberlywinston.wordpress.com. She is a 1994 graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Stories
SIDEBAR: Muslims embracing atheism often face a lonely journey
(RNS) Muslims who abandon their faith often face challenges not faced by those who leave other religions. Divorce and disowning are common, as is the threat of physical violence.
One woman’s journey out of faith, family and fear
(RNS) A young woman stood outside a Greyhound bus with a ticket in her hand and a backpack over her shoulder. She was guilty of two offenses: rejecting her father’s choice of husband and renouncing her family’s Islamic faith. Deciding whether to boarding that bus, she said later, would be the hardest thing she had done in her 18 years.
Scholars seek to reclaim a dirty word: secularism
(RNS) A conference at Georgetown University this week focused on cleaning up what many Americans consider a dirty word: secularism. The goal of the “Secularism on the Edge” conference was, in part, to define what secularism is and what it is not.
Sidebar: Selections from the new ‘Jefferson Bible’
(RNS) Selections from the American Humanist Association’s new version of the “Jefferson Bible.” By Kimberly Winston.
Humanists slice and dice the world’s sacred texts
(RNS) “A Jefferson Bible For the 21st Century” takes Thomas Jefferson’s slice-and-dice Bible one step further. By Kimberly Winston.
Secularists see ‘HumanLight’ as new December holiday
(RNS) In addition to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, secular humanists have added a new celebration to the crowded calendar. HumanLight, observed on Dec. 23, is a secular celebration of human potential that is growing in acceptance. By Kimberly Winston.
The `nones’ now form the world’s third-largest ‘religion’ *
(RNS) A new report on global religious identity shows that while Christians and Muslims make up the two largest groups, those with no religious affiliation — including atheists and agnostics — are now the third-largest “religious” group in the world. The study, released Tuesday (Dec. 18) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, [...]
Newest front in the Christmas wars: billboards
(RNS) A billboard bearing a positive message about atheism has been vandalized — again. A billboard posted in Chico, Calif., that originally read “Don’t believe in God? Join the club” was defaced on Dec. 12, less than a week after it appeared, with vandals removing the word “don’t.” The billboard was one of 12 purchased [...]
Fred Phelps’ son condemns Westboro’s plan to picket Newtown funerals
(RNS) The estranged son of a pastor famous for protesting the funerals of soldiers and AIDS victims has condemned his family’s plans to picket funerals of shooting victims in Newtown, Conn., but says local leaders should “let them show up” instead of trying to ban them. By Kimberly Winston.
