Thursday Religion News Roundup: Valentine’s Day sex * 11 U.S. Cardinals * Lutheran elections

The religiously unaffiliated have higher expectations of sex today. Eleven U.S. Cardinals will help pick the next pope. The Newtown interfaith debacle may affect upcoming elections in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Valentine's Day candy
photo of heart-shaped Valentine's Day candy

Valentine’s Day candy

The confectionery company that sells 4 million pounds of traditional heart-shaped candies stamped with popular sayings has some new ones this year. They include: UR HOT, TEXT ME, and LOML (or Love of My Life). For the discontinued sayings, click here.

The religiously unaffiliated have high expectations they will have sex today, Valentine’s Day. Older, mainline Protestants, less so.


Onto more serious news: Eleven Roman Catholic cardinals from the United States will convene in the Sistine Chapel in mid-March to elect the next pope. We have their bios.

Tim Townsend reports that Matthew Harrison’s mishandling of the Newtown interfaith service is almost certain to be a factor as he seeks re-election  as leader of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The mayor of a French farming village conducts civil marriage ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples, though he is a retired Catholic priest. A bill that would legalize gay marriage in France appears likely to pass. Seems like a letter from the Vatican is forthcoming.

Pretty predictable: Mississippi is the most religious U.S. state; Vermont the least, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll is based on the percentage of people who say they are “very religious.”

An Ohio school district decided Tuesday night to keep a portrait of Jesus hanging in the school where it’s been 65 years, denying a federal lawsuit’s claim the portrait’s display unconstitutionally promotes religion in a public school.

A Tibetan man set himself on fire in front of a famous Buddhist shrine in Nepal on Wednesday, becoming the latest Tibetan to adopt this harrowing form of protest over Chinese rule.

Pope Benedict may have shocked the world by announcing his resignation on Monday, but some cardinals apparently started maneuvering for the succession as long as two years ago when the pope told a German interviewer that he would consider resigning if he felt physically unable to continue, reports Tom Heneghan of Reuters


Is the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel — known as BDS —anti-Semitic hate speech? The Forward deliberates.

Fla. Sen. Marco Rubio talks to David Brody about the breakdown of the American family.

Jewish cantorial music will die unless it accommodates to the digital era, which is why one Baltimore cantor is creating apps for the iPhone and iPad.

NPR interviews Yale Professor John J. Collins, author of the new book, “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography.”

And finally, not celebrating Valentine’s Day? USA Today has you covered with 14 other options. Whether you are, or aren’t, our short survey will give you a chance to win an iPad mini, make new friends, and influence people. Click on the box to the right.

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