Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=17181

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren and civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery will deliver the invocation and benediction, respectively, at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration next month (Jan 20).

The roles of Warren, a best-selling author and leader of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and Lowery, who co-founded the Southern...

Author: Mahmud Lalo

Source: All Africa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200812170410.html

Abbas Jimoh & Ahmed Mohammed — Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar and Most Reverend John Onaiyekan, both co-chairmen of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), yesterday kicked off peace and reconci-liatory process between Mus-lim and Christian communi-ties in Plateau State following the recent crisis in Jos over local government council elections...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Independent Catholic News

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/muscthl321.html

Yesterday, the XI talks between the Pontifical Council for Interfaith Dialogue and the World Islamic Call Society, based in Tripoli, Libya began at the Vatican.

A spokesman said these are the latest in a long series of meetings that have taken place in various venues and regular intervals since 1989 to now.

Author: Tom Pfeiffer

Source: The Washington Post

Wire Service: Reuters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121500008.html

A new breed of undercover Christian missionary is turning to Muslim north Africa in the search for new converts, alarming Islamic leaders who say they prey on the weak and threaten public order.

Missionary groups say the...

Author: Ethan Cole

Source: The Christian Post

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081215/anglicans-add-hindu-snowmen-chinese-dragon-to-christmas-displays.htm

Some Anglican clergy have added a multicultural twist to Christmas decorations, adding Hindu snowmen, a Chinese dragon and a Jewish temple to the lawn where the traditional scene of a baby Jesus, angels, and the three wise men used...

Author: Jim Fitzgerald

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jk0K5Yvz2_qJ9MBhvzqe0VPyq5qwD95208E00

When they light the town Christmas tree in Armonk on Sunday, there will be a Jewish menorah right alongside, as usual. There will also be something new this year — an Islamic crescent and star.

And if there are any Buddhists or Hindus in town who want to see...

Author: Laurie Goodstein and Elisabetta Povoledo

Source: The Detroit News/The New York Times

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081213/LIFESTYLE04/812130344/1041

The Vatican issued its most authoritative and sweeping document on bioethical issues in more than 20 years on Friday, taking into account recent developments in biomedical technology and reinforcing the church's opposition to in vitro...

Author: Rachel D'Oro

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6163551.html

Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her failed campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at $1 million, authorities said Saturday. No...

Author: Todd Richmond

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j5w4SzHSj_zHes5UQYnwJgVmP84wD951NEGG0

Daniel Borntreger's home looks like hundreds of other Wisconsin farmhouses: two-story A-frame, porch, clothes on the line.

But his home could cost him thousands of dollars in fines. Borntreger, an Amish farmer, built the house himself according to Amish tradition...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Middle East Times

http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/12/12/religious_tolerance_in_iraq_waning/bcd1/

Iraq is turning into a hostile region for religious minorities as the country moves closer to becoming a Muslim nation, Christian leaders said.

Attacks in northern Iraq attributed to various agents hit the Christian minority community in early October, forcing nearly half of its...

Author: Jonathan Adams

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1212/p06s02-woap.html

On a muddy, shaded track between fertile farmlands, 30 men lounge in flip-flops and tattered camoflauge, displaying their beaten-up M-16 and AK-47 assault rifles.

They call themselves ilaga or "rats" in a local Philippines dialect. They're vigilantes: Christian farmers who have taken up arms to protect their land and families...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7777157.stm

Around 250 Christian activists have protested outside the Welsh assembly building about a poetry reading.

Patrick Jones was invited by two assembly members to read from his collection Darkness Is Where The Stars Are, which has already led to claims it is "obscene and blasphemous".

Stephen Green, director of Christian Voice, said: "This...

Author: Roddie Burns

Source: The Ledger-Enquirer

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/158/story/541966.html

A federal judge Thursday ordered South Carolina to freeze plans to produce a special "I Believe" license plate, refund motorists who have prepaid for the plates and direct them to make a different selection.

The plates, designed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, bearing a gold cross and a stained-glass window with the words "I Believe"...

Author: Tim Paradis

Source: Daily Breeze

Wire Service: AP

http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/ci_11187067

Sam Saladino's mutual fund wasn't even a year old when the stock market began slipping. But even through the punishing run in stocks this year, he's managed to attract investor dollars and beat his benchmark.

His Epiphany Fund, which invests according to Catholic principles, is among those that use religion...

Author: Henrik Hansson

Source: World Council of Churches News

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/pakistani-christians-ser.html

Pakistani Christian communities confronted with the presence of the Taliban and Al-Qaida serve their Muslim neighbours in an unfriendly environment.

Christians in the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan find themselves in the...