Christianity

Sotomayor Has Mixed Record On Church-State Disputes

July 14, 2009

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=18393

As a federal judge, Sonia Sotomayor sided with Santeria prisoners who wanted to wear religious beads and Muslim inmates who wanted to break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

At the same time, she ruled against Muslims who wanted a Muslim crescent and star added to post office holiday displays that featured Christmas and Hanukkah...

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US Religious Freedom Body ‘Alarmed’ Over Iraq Bombings

July 14, 2009

Author: Paolo Gallini

Source: Religious Intelligence

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4741

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed its alarm at the recent spate of bombings of churches in Baghdad and Mosul and called on the Iraqi government to provide protection to all of the country’s citizens, especially its vulnerable Christian minority.

The bombings occurred late...

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Jerusalem Mayor Navigates Sacred City’s Religious Politics

July 13, 2009

Author: Michele Chabin

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext

When Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat decided in June to open a municipal parking lot that had been closed on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, his office said he was simply being practical.

Extra parking is needed to help ease lines of double-parked cars near the Old City that have become an impenetrable maze for emergency vehicles and “an issue of...

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Iraqi Christians Need Better Protection, UN Envoy Says After Deadly Bombing

July 13, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: UN News Centre

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31450&Cr=iraq&Cr1=attack

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today called for a redoubling of efforts to protect the country’s Christians, as well as its other minority communities, following a series of “orchestrated” bombings over the weekend that hit several churches.

The weekend attacks in the capital, Baghdad,...

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ACLU Seeks End to Censorship Of Religious Material By Virginia Jail

July 9, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20090709/DC4429309072009-1.html

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia today demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees.

In a letter sent today to the jail's superintendent...

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Pharmacists Can't Refuse Plan B Pill, Appeals Court Says

July 9, 2009

Author: Carol J. Williams

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pill-ruling9-2009jul09,0,6469894.story

Pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

In a case that could affect policy across the western U.S., a...

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A Christian's Journey to Judaism

July 9, 2009

Author: Jemimah Noonoo

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6522162.html

At an East Galveston beach, Mari Barkhausen is waist-deep in the cool, brown water. After repeating Hebrew blessings, she is immersed once, twice. When she emerges from the water a third time, she is a Jew.

She hugs her rabbi, looking to the shoreline at her husband and two sons who are waiting for their mikveh, the...

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Wellspring Church Welcomes Rev. Mariah Tollgaard

July 8, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Wicked Local Shrewsbury

http://www.wickedlocal.com/shrewsbury/news/x931223906/Wellspring-Church-welcomes-Rev-Mariah-Tollgaard

Wellspring United Methodist Church is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard by Bishop Peter Weaver of the New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Peter Bjork, lay leader of...

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On All Things Religious, Obama Turns to DuBois

July 8, 2009

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/on_all_things_religious_obama_turns_to_dubois1/

From a sparsely adorned office building a stone’s throw from the White House, Joshua DuBois carefully navigates the delicate line between church and state.

Each morning, he sends a devotional message to President Obama’s BlackBerry. He...

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A War Of Words Between Catholics And Jews

July 7, 2009

Author: Duke Helfand

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conversion7-2009jul07,0,1041784.story

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, looking to clarify their position on interfaith dialogue with Jews, have instead caused an uproar by issuing a recent statement that appears to endorse attempts to convert them.

The bishops' action threatens to further erode Catholic-Jewish ties that...

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