(RNS) The Anti-Defamation League reported a 13 percent decline in anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. in 2011, the lowest number recorded by the ADL in two decades. By Lauren Markoe

(RNS) A professor who was fired in July by the Interdenominational Theological Center says the Atlanta consortium of black seminaries discriminated against his conservative Christian views. By Adelle M. Banks.

OAK CREEK, Wis. (RNS) Few can know what goes through the twisted mind of a mass killer, but accused Sikh temple shooter Wade Michael Page left behind plenty of signs that he was consumed by one thing: hate. By William M. Welch and Judy Keen.

(RNS) Compared to Hispanic Americans, black Americans are far more likely to believe abortion should be legal in most circumstances, even when they personally reject the procedure as immoral. By Lauren Markoe.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (RNS) Officials at Syracuse University and the son of author Alex Haley are tussling over ownership of a 1964 letter written by Malcolm X in which the black nationalist said the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca had caused him to "rearrange" his thoughts on race. By Glenn Coin.

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) The New Orleans pastor who's poised to become the Southern Baptist Convention's first black president says the denomination shouldn't be defined by its racial history, even as he has concerns about how President Obama has been treated, and the ongoing Trayvon Martin case. By Kim Lawton.

LOS ANGELES (RNS) Muslim leaders have worked with the Los Angeles Police Department to modify its new surveillance program on suspicious activities, following recent disclosure that the New York Police Department had been spying on local Muslims. By David Finnigan.

(RNS) Southern Baptist leader Richard Land has issued a longer public apology for his racially charged comments about the Trayvon Martin case and said he has sent a personal letter to President Obama asking for forgiveness. By Adelle M. Banks.

NEW YORK (RNS) In Topeka, Kan., I saw the future of America, and it worried me. I don't want to overstate. I also see much that is good, encouraging, and fresh. I just sense a balance shifting, like a herd that is getting restless and might signal a storm coming. By Tom Ehrich.

(RNS) Southern Baptist leaders say they will investigate whether their top ethicist and public policy director plagiarized racially charged remarks about the Trayvon Martin case that many have said set back the denomination's efforts on racial reconciliation. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention's top public policy official has apologized for controversial comments he made about the Trayvon Martin case, and the black New Orleans pastor who's widely expected to be named the Southern Baptists' first black president has accepted his apology. By Adelle M. Banks.

(RNS) Richard Land, the Southern Baptist Convention's top public policy ethicist, has been accused of plagiarism after he criticized Democrats and civil rights leaders for exploiting the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. By Greg Horton.

(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention's top public policy official called activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton "racial ambulance chasers" who are fomenting a "mob mentality" over the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. By David Gibson.

Concern over the killing of unarmed Trayvon Martin was echoed in religious centers from Atlanta to New York and California, with many preachers and their congregations wearing hooded sweatshirts in Martin's memory.

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Amid concern over the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslims beyond New York City, state and federal law enforcement officials plan to hold a summit Saturday to assure religious leaders that they are addressing the NYPD incursions into New Jersey. By James Queally and Christopher Baxter.