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December 2008
- The Bible's Case for Gay Marriage
  
  Newsweek | Dec 8, 08 1:12 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Listen to opponents of gay marriage cite scripture, and you might believe it is not what Jesus would do. But, Lisa Miller writes in Newsweek , no sensible modern person wants to use the Bible as a “how-to script.” (Polygamy, anyone?) “Why,” Miller asks, “would we regard its condemnation of homosexuality with more seriousness than we regard its advice, which is far lengthier, on the best price to pay for a slave?” More »
- Ky. Atheists Fight 'Foolish' Security Law
  
  Chicago Tribune | Dec 5, 08 12:03 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Atheists are kicking up an almighty fuss about legislation that states Kentucky's safety and security can only be achieved through reliance on God, the Chicago Tribune reports. Bluegrass State unbelievers have filed a lawsuit seeking to have the offending law repealed, saying they fear their security may be in the hands of "fanatics, traitors, or fools." More »
- Snarky Stars Wage Protest in Prop 8 Musical
  
  Associated Press | Dec 4, 08 11:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hollywood found a new way to protest California’s passage of anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8: song and dance, the AP reports. Prop 8: The Musical, posted on FunnyOrDie, features Jack Black as Jesus reminding the religious right that shrimp cocktail is also a Biblical “abomination.” The hero of the day is gay-in-real-life Neil Patrick Harris, convincing everyone that “gay marriages will save the economy.” More »
- Conservative Episcopalians Form Rival Branch
  
  Associated Press | Dec 3, 08 6:38 PM CST
  
  (AP) - Theological conservatives upset by liberal views of US Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans formed a rival North American province today. The development is the culmination of a five-year rift that erupted when Episcopalians in New Hampshire consecrated the first openly gay bishop. The split represents a new challenge to the already splintering, 77-million-member Anglican fellowship—the world's third largest Christian body—and its spiritual leader, the archbishop of Canterbury. More »
November 2008
- Prop 8 Reveals Churches' Fear of Strong Women
  
  Salon | Nov 26, 08 5:23 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Churches led the charge against Proposition 8 and gay marriage because of their insecurities over the breakdown of heterosexual families and the consequent rise of independent women, says gay author and devout Catholic Richard Rodriguez. Gays are scapegoats because they—like feminists—threaten "an alternative to the traditional male-structured society." More »
- DC Churches Woo Obamas
  
  Washington Post | Nov 22, 08 8:12 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The new first family will be looking for a place of worship in Washington, DC, and area congregations are feverishly offering up their advantages: presidential tradition; diversity; proximity to the White House; community activism; connections to Trinity, the Obamas' former Chicago church; a pastor who hails from Hawaii. A historian of presidential faith tells the Washington Post the level of interest is unprecedented. "This is unique in American political history." More »
- Atheists Offer 'Reason's Greetings' in Marketing Blitz
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 18, 08 2:25 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - It just isn’t the holiday season in America until nonbelievers and the devout begin sparring. This year, the godless are on the offensive, launching a marketing campaign to capitalize on the loosening grip of organized religion, telling neighbors, “We’re just like you,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Next month’s HumanLight celebration is intended as another milestone in their fight to enter America’s mainstream. More »
- Muhammad Probably Never Existed: Theologian
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 15, 08 8:45 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An Islamic professor's belief that Muhammad probably never existed has Muslim groups seething, the Wall Street Journal reports. The German convert to Islam says he cast a critical eye over historical records and found little to indicate the prophet was a real person. Muhammad’s name didn't appear on coins until 60 years after Islam emerged, he notes. More »
- Amish Blast ID Cow Chips as 'Mark of the Beast'
  
  Wired | Nov 14, 08 3:44 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A group of Amish farmers has launched a federal lawsuit against the USDA claiming that electronic ID tags on cattle are the mark of Satan himself, not merely of the Michigan Animal Identification System, Wired reports. The farmers say the mandatory program, aimed at tracking livestock diseases, violates the "dominion over cattle and all living things" they believe God has granted them. More »
- Clooney Slams Gay Marriage Ban
  
  E! Online | Nov 13, 08 10:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - George Clooney is none too happy with residents of California for passing Proposition 8, reports E! Online. The actor says he looks forward to the day when opponents of gay marriage “will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black.” More »
- Catholics, Muslims Seek Common Ground at Vatican
  
  Reuters | Nov 4, 08 2:04 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Clerics of the world’s two largest faiths are meeting at the Vatican this week to improve relations between the long-divided communities. Muslim clerics invited Christians to dialogue after comments Pope Benedict made in 2006 that implied Islam was violent and irrational. The mostly male Vatican members and imams will have an audience with the pope Thursday as the meeting culminates, Reuters reports. More »
- Is She the Last Culture Warrior?
  
  Washington Post | Nov 3, 08 12:28 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Although Sarah Palin says she would be a fresh face in Washington, she really represents the end of a long line of Republican culture warriors, writes Peter Beinart in the Washington Post . "She's depicting the campaign as a struggle between the culturally familiar and the culturally threatening, the culturally traditional and the culturally exotic," but her argument falls flat, and history can explain why. More »
October 2008
- UK Group Raises $80K for Atheist Bus Ads
  
  Guardian (UK) | Oct 22, 08 2:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A campaign to plaster London buses with agnostic advertising has far exceeded its fundraising goal, the Guardian reports. The ads, aimed to counter what one writer sees as overbearing Christian messages, will say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Organizers have raised 10 times more money than their target, and are contemplating an expanded blitz. More »
- Top Evangelical Weighs Candidates
  
  Boston Globe | Oct 15, 08 4:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The presidential race is a contest between different sets of philosophy, writes Richard Cizik, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. In an NAE newsletter, Cizik says Barack Obama is “a thinker who sees the grays in ethical choices” while McCain opts for the “clarity of moral opposites”—and that Obama “has given faith more thought and reflection” than McCain. More »
- Pentecostal Questions Haunt Palin
  
  Time | Oct 11, 08 6:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - John McCain has so far avoided attacking Barack Obama's controversial pastor in what may be a strategy to keep Sarah Palin's preachers out of the spotlight, Time reports. Palin officially left her Pentecostal church before campaigning for lieutenant governor but has made many return visits—including one in 2005 when a bishop prayed to protect her from witchcraft. More »
- Christianity in China Grows Quickly, Quietly
  
  Economist | Oct 3, 08 3:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Despite government restrictions, Christianity in China is widespread and growing. Authorities typically look the other way, occasionally applying pressure that only seems to spread religion's influence, reports the Economist. Most of the Protestant "house churches" consist of 25 people—the largest legal gathering—where new Christians lead newer converts in bible study. "In China, the 2-year-old Christian teaches the 1-year-old," says a pastor. More »
September 2008
- Clerics to Defy IRS, Endorse Candidates From Pulpit
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 25, 08 12:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pastors from 22 states plan to purposely defy the IRS this Sunday by endorsing presidential candidates in their sermons, the LA Times reports. The so-called “pulpit initiative” aims to trigger a legal showdown, testing the constitutionality of the law forbidding such endorsements by tax-exempt groups. “There is nobody who will ever tell me what I can and cannot say from behind my pulpit,” said one reverend, “except the spirit of God.” More »
- Dems Again Losing Catholics Over Abortion
  
  New York Times | Sep 17, 08 10:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though progressive Catholics have worked hard to convince churchgoers that the Democrats share the church's views on the Iraq war, immigration, and health care, abortion is again turning Catholic voters away from the party, the New York Times reports. As conservative bishops have scolded Catholics like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden for contradicting the church's teachings, liberals are facing a setback. More »
- Bible Underpins Palin's Politics
  
  New York Times | Sep 6, 08 8:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sarah Palin's pastors say an abiding faith in the Bible is at the core of her personal and political life, the N ew York Times reports. She attends the nondenominational Wasilla Bible Church. Its links to groups which seek to convert Jews and "cure" gays have caused concern—but townspeople say the unassuming, conservative church is a true reflection of Alaska. More »
- Dems Better Organized, Top Righties Say
  
  Politico | Sep 3, 08 1:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Top Republicans are convinced Democrats have out-organized them, and hold a significant tactical advantage heading into the fall, Politico reports. “The left has been incredible,” Rep. Eric Cantor said today. “When you’re talking about tactics … we’re at a disadvantage.” Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says Democrats won in 2006 because they built “one of the most powerful political coalitions” ever. More »