Stories related to: religion

There is no heaven—or at least not the way most Christians think of it, according to Episcopal Bishop N.T. “Tom” Wright, who lashes out at the common angels-and-clouds view of the afterlife. “That’s a very damaging distortion,” the prominent theologian tells Time magazine. “Never at any point do the Gospels say Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven.” More »

For many Christians, Lent is a time to forgo chocolate or ice cream, but two senior British bishops have a better idea: “fasting” away your carbon footprint. “The poor are already suffering the effects of climate change,” says Liverpool’s bishop. “To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching.” More »

Most people can't stomach loneliness, and they're more prone to believing in the supernatural or creating strong bonds with pets and household objects to compensate, a new study finds. It's a throwback to our ancestors, who relied on group living to survive, LiveScience reports. "Being socially isolated is just not good for you," said the lead scientist. More »

Barack Obama is putting religion over race in the Palmetto State, where almost half of Democratic voters are black—a strategy that has worked for President Bush twice, Politico reports. As in Iowa, Obama has held faith forums throughout the state and even stumped in conservative, white churches. Some sneered that the strategy proves he isn't “black enough,” but recent voting stats are in his favor. More »

Mike Huckabee is banking on his deep Christian faith drawing voters to him in the presidential primaries, but that same passion has proven a liability in the past. As Arkansas governor, Huckabee made several religious molehills into mountains big enough for Moses, the LA Times reports in an examination of his tenure. Detractors called the religiosity of the man they dubbed the "Rev.-Gov." high-handed. More »

A holiday cleanup at the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born turned ugly Thursday, as Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows, the Times of London reports. Robed priests pummeled each other with brooms and stones in the Church of the Nativity for an hour before police broke up the melee. More »

An impending ban on a hallucinogenic plant used in religious ceremonies by Mazatec Indians in Mexico has defenders of the herb objecting to the fact that it's about to be illegal in Illinois. Possessing salvia divinorum will be a felony beginning Tuesday. Defenders of the herb insist it offers beneficial effects, such as stress relief and spiritual awakening. More »

For the first time in 400 years, Catholicism has more adherents than the Church of England in Great Britain, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa have filled the pews of Catholic churches, while attendance at Anglican Sunday services has dipped 20% since 2000, according to a survey of English churches. More »

In a shift from 2004, Republican presidential and congressional hopefuls are losing clergy support as measured by campaign donations, Politico reports. According to FEC data, clergy and religious groups have given Dem candidates $367,000 but the GOP just $288,000. Of the Dem haul, Barack Obama leads with $107,350 to Hillary Clinton's $89,910. More »

Surging GOP candidate Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney yesterday for having asked a reporter if Mormons believed that Jesus and the Devil are brothers. Huckabee said he apologized after the Republican debate in Iowa, and Romney "graciously" accepted. Earlier this week Romney had slammed Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, for his statement, saying it went too far and "It's not the American way." More »

German ministers accused Scientology of being unconstitutional today and took steps to ban it from the country, Der Spiegel reports. They ordered spies to assemble a dossier on the group, based on 10 years of surveillance, to support the ban. Scientologists were outraged, and called themselves victims of "on-going and never-ending discrimination," the BBC reports. More »

In a much-hyped address on religion, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney asserted today, “Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone." The former Massachusetts governor focused on religious liberty during the speech in College Station, Texas, but did allow that if Mormonism hurts his candidacy, “so be it.” Romney avoided addressing specifics of a faith many evangelicals consider a cult. More »

A month before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee reacted with frustration when asked if creationism should be taught in public schools, the AP reports. Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who has said he does not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, said his personal views on religion were irrelevant—though they remain a hot topic. More »

Sen. Charles Grassley thinks big-spending pastors of so-called “megachurches” might be abusing their tax-exempt status, NPR reports. Ministers in these stadium-sized churches preach a gospel of wealth, and practice what they preach—driving Rolls Royces, flying in private jets, living in mansions. “Maybe that's not illegal,” the Iowa Republican says, “but it may raise questions about whether it's the right expenditure of money.” More »

Mormon presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will address voters' discomfort about his faith in a speech Thursday, hoping to repeat JFK's 1960 success in allaying fears about his Catholicism, the Boston Globe reports. The former Mass. governor wants to convince Christian voters that his faith shouldn't be a reason to turn to other candidates—something they may already be doing, given Mike Huckabee's gains in the polls. More »

A 14-year-old Seattle boy who was given a 70% chance of recovering from childhood leukemia has died, weeks after refusing blood transfusions his biological parents—both recovering drug addicts—wanted him to have, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. He died just hours after a judge ruled in his favor after determining that the teen understood the consequences of his decision. More »

Soon-to-be-Catholic Tony Blair has confessed that faith was "hugely important"  in decisions he made as Britain's prime minister, and he wished he could, like President Bush, have been open about it at the time. But Britons are suspicious of religion, Blair said in a TV interview reported in the Telegraph . "You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter."   More »

Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov today asked the doomsday cult he started to release four children from their underground cave, the AP reports. Confined to a psychiatric ward and charged with setting up a violent religion, Kuznetsov was brought to the site and spoke through a ventilation hole, telling adults and children they could leave. More »

Mitt Romney’s attempts to massage his Mormon faith are causing grumbles in Utah, the New Republic reports. Many criticize Romney for downplaying key beliefs to win over mainstream Christians who traditionally loathe them. “I understand he has to appeal to them,” said one Mormon, “but it makes me, as a Mormon, feel very, very queasy to see him doing it.” More »

Following a frenzy of controversy, the Los Angeles police department is scrapping its much-criticized plan to "map" Muslim communities. The department had hoped to pinpoint isolated Muslim communities in an attempt to identify problem hot spots. Critics said the plan was a form of religious profiling, and that it would be virtually impossible because the census does not collect religious information. More »