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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: religion

religion stories: 237 news summaries

1 - 20 of 237 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 12 Next >>

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RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION?

 UK Man Worships at 
 Church of Climate Change 

And claims his belief deserves protection just like Islam or Judaism

Nov 4, 09 8:01 AM CST
(Newser) - You can't force a Muslim to eat pork, or a Jew to pray to Jesus, and a UK man is claiming in court that his religious belief deserves similar protection. Climate change, that is. Tim Nicholson of Oxford is suing for religious discrimination after an employer, annoyed with his attempts... More »

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climate change • religion • frivolous lawsuits • religious persecution • Tim Nicholson

 Court Bans Crucifixes 
 in Italian Classrooms 

Government plans to appeal European decision

Nov 3, 09 3:32 PM CST
(Newser) - A European court has ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms violates religious freedom. In a decision denounced by Italian politicians, the court said the compulsory display of the crucifix prevents parents from raising kids with the religion of their choice and restricts the "right of children... More »

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European Union • Italy • religion • Catholicism • European Court of Human Rights • crucifiction

UNHOLY CAMPAIGN

 Atheist Ads to 
 Hit NYC Subways 

Coalition to launch godless monthlong campaign

Oct 21, 09 5:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Eight atheist organizations are the creators of a unique month-long ad campaign beginning next week in Manhattan subways that will challenge the belief in God. "A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?" the ads will ask on posters featuring blue sky and clouds. Because the city's... More »

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New York • Manhattan • religion • God • church • advertisements • atheism • NYC Subway • New York City Subway • atheists • ad campaign • god is dead

Atheists Split Over How Mean to Be to Faithful

'New atheists' want to decry religion, not just promote secularism

Oct 19, 09 11:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Can a non-religion schism? Maybe that’s too dramatic a phrase, but there’s a rift growing between so-called “new atheists,” who favor an aggressive, mocking stance toward religion, and the old live-and-let-live kind. On “Blasphemy Day” last month, for example, new atheists were out in force,... More »

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religion • atheism • blasphemy • atheists

Runaway
Muslim Girl Sparks Furor

Girl converted to Christianity, sought protection from parents

Oct 15, 09 5:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Ohio teen has found herself straddling the fault line between the world's two biggest religions after converting to Christianity and running away from her Muslim parents. A judge in Florida, where 17-year-old Rifqa Bary was being sheltered by pastors she met on a Facebook group, has ruled that she... More »

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Muslim Americans • religion • Muslim • Christians • convert • honor killings • custody battle • Rifqa Bary

 Pope Canonizes Father Damien 

Belgian missionary, four others elevated to sainthood

Oct 11, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Father Damien, the Belgian missionary who ministered to leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai before contracting and dying of the disease, was canonized today. The 19th-century priest, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and three others were elevated to sainthood in a ceremony that drew... More »

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Pope Benedict XVI • Catholic Church • religion • saint • Hawaii • missionary • sainthood • Roman Catholic Church • leprosy • Father Damien • canonization • Molokai • Hansen's disease

 A Quarter of World Is Muslim 

Asia, not Middle East, is center of the world of Islam

Oct 8, 09 5:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - A quarter of the world's population is Muslim, and nearly two-thirds of the religion's adherents live in Asia, according to an extensive new study mapping the world of Islam. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation, and India, a majority-Hindu country, has the world's third-largest population of Muslims—more than twice... More »

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Islam • Middle East • Christianity • Muslims • religion • Southeast Asia

 Serena's Tirade: 
 What Would Her 
 Church Think? 

Jehovah's Witnesses no fans of cursing—but she won't face big trouble

Sep 16, 09 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Serena Williams is a Jehovah’s Witness, which causes Slate to wonder: What does her religion think about her foul-mouthed outburst at the US Open? Jehovah’s Witnesses “discourage members from any sort of foul language on the grounds that it's expressly forbidden in the Bible,” writes Juliet... More »

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religion • tennis • Serena Williams • referee • profanity • cursing • Jehovah's Witness

Top-Selling US Bible Due for Translation Update in 2011

Translators promise to revisit TNIV's gender-neutral revisions

Sep 1, 09 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The New International Version of the Bible will get an update in 2011 as scholars adapt translations to contemporary English usage, USA Today reports. The top-selling Bible translation in North America has not been updated for 25 years, with a proposed 1997 edition scuttled after provoking a contentious debate among... More »

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gender • Christianity • study • religion • gender politics • translation • Bible • controversy • New International Version • T-NIV


 Facebook: Defining 
 Religion in 100 Characters 

From agnostics to Jedis, users wonder how to sum up views

Aug 30, 09 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - It could be a quick question: What's your religion? But Facebook’s request for that information has led many to review and revise their beliefs to fit into a 100-character space, the Washington Post reports. Answers range from Christian, Facebook’s most popular belief system, to a professed belief in... More »

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social networking • Islam • Internet • Christianity • religion • Facebook • atheism • agnostic

(Newser) - A debate on freedom of religion featuring ultra-nationalist zealots is playing out in the most unlikely of places: a sleepy hamlet in Switzerland. A group is trying to block the construction of a 30-foot tall minaret on a mosque in Langenthal (pop. 14,000) because it's a symbol of Islam's... More »

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Islam • religion • Switzerland • minarets • Muslim • mosque • referendum

(Newser) - The hallelujahs are strained in US churches these days as donations plunge at the same time demand for aid is skyrocketing, reports the Wall Street Journal. Congregations across the nation are slashing budgets and even laying off staff, including pastors. Churches and synagogues usually weather downturns well, but not... More »

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Catholic Church • Jews • religion • church • fundamentalism • Protestants • worshippers • donation • priest • synagogue • evangelicals • Baptists • pastor • baptism • temple • Catholic priest • women's issues • congregations • collection box • born again

analysis

 Fickle Voters Are 
 Change Obama 
 Can Believe In 

We're ready to change politics, religion, relationships at the drop of a hat

Aug 4, 09 12:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Whether it’s religion, relationships, or politics, Americans are getting more fickle, experts say. Seniors citizens are more open to divorce, college students are more open to changing schools, and more than 40% of Americans will switch religions, notes one pollster. All this could be bad news for President Obama,... More »

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religion • relationship • change • opinion • Obama administration • President Obama • public opinion

analysis

To Dodge Obamacare, Turn Amish (or Mennonite)

Measure based on tax laws aimed at Amish

Aug 3, 09 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Backers of health care reform on Capitol Hill want a plan that mandates insurance for all—but they appear willing to bend the rules for some religious Americans, Maura Reynolds of CQ Politics reports. Current legislation contains a religious exemption based on tax laws meant to give leeway to the... More »

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Congress • religion • legislation • Amish • health care reform • US Congress • Mennonites • Obama administration • religious beliefs • Christian Science

 iPhone App Would Let 
 Users Text God 

Calif. teen, software developer team up for 'A Note to God'

Jul 23, 09 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - The iPhone already handles many aspects of contemporary life—texts, emails, web surfing, phone calls—so why not prayer? That’s the idea behind “A Note to God,” an iPhone app being developed based on a write-in suggestion from a California teen, the Sacramento Bee reports. Allen Wright’... More »

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iPhone • religion • Apple • prayer • iPhone applications • Twitter • App Store • Allen Wright

 Deface the Bible— 
 Don't Worry; It's Art 

Reactions mixed on gallery exhibit

Jul 23, 09 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - An exhibit at Scotland’s Gallery of Modern Art intended to “reclaim the Bible as a sacred text” did not go entirely as planned, the Telegraph reports. Visitors were invited to “write your way back into” the Bible on display, and the resulting additions ranged from the... More »

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art museum • Christianity • art • religion • Bible • gallery • Jay-ZTV

ANALYSIS

Power Meets Prayer at DC 'Family' House

C Street House members believe they 'transcend morality'

Jul 21, 09 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The C Street House, the Capitol Hill religious enclave that Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and Chip Pickering have in common, is more than a residence that happened to shelter three lawmakers involved in recent sex scandals, writes Jeff Sharlet in Salon. "If sexual license was all the Family offered... More »

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sex scandal • religion • Charles Grassley • Tom Coburn • Chip Pickering • John Ensign • Washington, DC • Mark Sanford • Jim DeMint • C Street • C Street House

(Newser) - A Malaysian woman will be flogged for drinking a beer in a nightclub, reports the AP. A judge ordered the part-time model, 32, to be struck six times with a rattan cane and fined $1,400. She pleaded guilty in a religious court to consuming alcohol, but now plans to... More »

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prison • religion • beer • Muslim • Malaysia • Muslim women • Shariah • flogging

Atheist Campers Learn Archery, Swimming, Skepticism

Nonbelievers' kids need fresh air, too

Jul 18, 09 12:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Atheist parents have it rough: They can't exactly pack the kids off to Bible camp for the summer. That’s changing, thanks in part to establishments like Camp Quest, a humanist-staffed getaway that promotes skepticism. Counselors teach the scientific method and deliver lectures about famous free thinkers. Kids are... More »

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religion • atheism • atheists • summer camp • bible camp • Camp Quest • Answers in Genesis

OPINION

 Vatican 
 Warms 
 to Wilde 

Paper praises writer's 'lucid' analysis of his world

Jul 17, 09 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Vatican long regarded Oscar Wilde as a “dissolute homosexual,” but things have changed, writes Richard Owen in the Times of London. A review in the Vatican newspaper of a study on the Irish writer celebrates him as “one of the personalities of the 19th century who... More »

MORE ABOUT:
England • religion • Vatican • literature • history • Catholicism • Britain • Roman Catholic Church • playwright • Oscar Wilde • drama • L'Osservatore Romano

1 - 20 of 237 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 12 Next >>


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