Following Sarah Palin into the fray, erstwhile House Speaker Newt Gingrich came out against the mosque planned blocks from ground zero in NYC, calling it “a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites.”

Add another name to the list of young Muslims reportedly radicalized by Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. A National Weather Service employee and his British-born wife pleaded guilty to terrorism charges of lying to the FBI. Paul and Nadia Rockwood had compiled a list of potential targets whom they suspected were “enemies of Islam,” according to the AP. Paul Rockwood became a “strict adherent” of al-Awlaki while living in Virginia, the AP reports.

Continuing the Old Dominion theme, authorities arrested a 20-year-old Virginian linked to the “South Park” Internet warnings on charges of providing material support to al-Shabab, the militant Somali Muslim group with ties to al-Qaida.

A new poll finds an uptick in support for gay marriage in California. Among the more interesting findings is the divide between Latinos: 57 percent of Catholics said they would vote to legalize gay marriage; only 22 percent of Protestants said the same. Gay marriage supporters and opponents held dueling protests in front of New Jersey’s Supreme Court building on Tuesday. The court has not yet decided to take up the issue. Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage.

German prosecutors say they have found no evidence that would justify holding the country’s top Roman Catholic archbishop responsible for hiring a priest known to have sexually abused children. A former Catholic priest who was part of a sex abuse settlement 20 years ago was suspended from a volunteer position with the Special Olympics in Missouri. A Connecticut priest pleaded not guilty to stealing $1.3 million from his parish and spending it on male escorts, fancy clothes, and luxury hotels.

The AP tackles the “house church” phenomenon, reporting that they are “part of what experts say is a fundamental shift in the way U.S. Christians think about church.” That is, skip the sermons, big buildings, and faceless crowds. A Washington state couple that was blocked from starting a wedding chapel in their backyard is suing, claiming religious discrimination.

A human rights group says Chinese security forces fired indiscriminately on Tibetan protesters in 2008 and beat others senseless. China is also keeping a possible successor to the Dalai Lama under virtual house arrest, The Nation reports. NPR continued its five-part series on religion in China with a look at path-blazing female imams.

Nobel Peace laureate and beloved Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that he is retiring from public life later this year when he turns 79. A church in Tutu’s native South Africa has been banned from showing crutches or canes in its advertisements after complaints that the ads mislead people into thinking the church has healing powers.

New York City held its first Sufi Music Festival. A Mormon artist has embarked on a yearslong project to depict each of Islam’s 99 names for God in glass scupltures. A Christian publisher will release a childrens’ bio of Sarah Palin. Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren tweeted that his eyes have been severely burned by a toxic poison.

The Archdiocese of Boston has launched a campaign to draw prodigal Catholics back to the church. An Anglican priest in Canada gave Communion to a dog. “I think the reverend was overcome by what I consider a misguided gesture of welcoming,” said the local bishop.

That is not the Communion dog pictured at top left. That is a different dog.