Court says student’s faith may have led to expulsion

Adelle M. Banks

(RNS) A federal appeals court ruled Friday (Jan. 27) that the expulsion of a counseling student from a university after she declined to advise a gay client could be due to "hostility’’ toward her faith. By Adelle M. Banks.
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Friday’s Religion Roundup: Kosher Catholics; Gotham v. Gomorrah; Israeli organs

Kevin Eckstrom | Feb 17, 2012

All birth control, all the time: Catholic bishops say it all boils down to a ham sandwich, experts say critics don't know what they're talking about on birth control and abortion, and a student at BYU gets passed a note that says her outfit is what the Catholics would call a near occassion to sin.
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Book shatters stereotypes on Muslim women, sex and love

Omar Sacirbey | Feb 9, 2012

(RNS) "Love Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women" is a new collection of stories about sex, lust, dating, marriage, and divorce by 25 women of diverse religious interpretations, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. By Omar Sacirbey.
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Appeals court strikes down California ban on same-sex marriage

David Finnigan | Feb 7, 2012

LOS ANGELES (RNS) The appeals court's decision upheld a 2010 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, saying that "although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently." By David Finnigan.
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Wash. moves closer to legalizing gay marriage

Tracy Simmons | Feb 2, 2012

SPOKANE, Wash. (RNS) Opponents of same-sex marriage promised a fight at the ballot box after Washington lawmakers took steps to make the state the seventh to legalize gay weddings. By Tracy Simmons.
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Gay bishop documentary ‘Love Free or Die’ takes center stage at Sundance

Lisa Schencker / Salt Lake Tribune | Jan 24, 2012

"If my story can help a young boy or girl in their teens believe they can have a wonderful and productive life and family," says the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, "then it's worth my putting up with a film crew following me around for two years in order to comfort and inspire them."
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Obama holds firm on contraception coverage

David Gibson | Jan 20, 2012

(RNS) The Obama administration said Friday that it will not broaden the religious exemption in new rules that require employers to provide contraception coverage to employees, a move that angered religious groups and opened a high stakes election-year fight. Instead, the White House will give faith groups a one-year extension to find a way to comply with the mandate without compromising their beliefs. By David Gibson. 800.
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Big-city mayors come out for same-sex marriage

Adelle M. Banks | Jan 20, 2012

A bipartisan coalition of 80 U.S. mayors has launched a "Freedom to Marry" campaign to build public support for giving same-sex couples the right to legal marriage under U.S. and state laws.
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Religious leaders: Same-sex marriage threatens religious freedom

David Gibson | Jan 12, 2012

(RNS) A coalition of nearly 40 religious leaders has published an open letter that seeks to recast the battle against same-sex marriage as a fight on behalf of religious freedom. The religious leaders, predominantly from conservative Christian churches and Orthodox Judaism, say their concern is not...
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As church-based civil unions kick in, Church of England says no

Al Webb | Dec 5, 2011

LONDON (RNS) New laws that allow same-sex civil unions to be performed on religious premises took effect in England and Wales on Monday (Dec. 5), but the Church of England says it won't permit them without approval from its top body. Civil partnerships have been legal since 2005, but until Monday th...
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D.C. tosses complaint against Catholic University dorms

Josef Kuhn | Nov 30, 2011

WASHINGTON (RNS) The District of Columbia has dismissed a complaint against The Catholic University of America that charged the school's return to same-gender student housing discriminates against women. In an order issued Tuesday (Nov. 29), the city's Office of Human Rights said offering only singl...
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