Author: Adelle Banks

Source: Religion News Service

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

Does an offended observer who drives by a cross-shaped war memorial in the middle of the desert have a right to call for its removal?

And can that 7-foot cross stand without violating the constitution’s prohibition of government establishment of...

Author: Oralandar Brand-Williams

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090928/LIFESTYLE04/909280383/1041/LIFESTYLE04/Area-religious-leaders-question-billboards

A series of controversial billboards recently erected throughout Metro Detroit is drawing curious stares and criticism from the faith community.

The seven billboards read "Imagine No Religion" or...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: ctvcalgary.ca

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090925/CGY_ganesh_statue_090925/20090925/?hub=CalgaryHome

The Calgary Zoo is defending its decision to erect a statue in front of the elephant enclosure.

The statue is a depiction of the elephant headed Hindu god Ganesha.

Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles and is often...

Author: Angela Abbamonte

Source: Religion News Service/Pew Forum Religion News

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=18769

The number of American adults who do not identify with a particular religion is growing and may comprise more than 20 percent of the population in two decades, according to a new study.

Conducted by researchers at Trinity College, the study, entitled "American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population,"...

Author: Maurice Malanes

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3388

A northern Philippines Roman Catholic university has again set aside a week to teach all of its students about other faiths. 

Religion studies professor Reynaldo Dumpayan said the project aims to provide, "building blocks for world peace and understanding". 

"Many hostilities and conflicts in our...

Author: Francis Wong

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3384

A religious freedom advocacy group has called on the international community to put pressure on China to respect the rule of law after the destruction of an unofficial Protestant church in the country's Shanxi province. 

Hundreds of people in uniforms and civilians clothes raided the church in Fushan County in...

Author: Tim Townsend

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/keepthefaith/story/D1D7563922B11F898625763600033810?OpenDocument

In the history of their struggle to lead organizations, women have met many of the same challenges in churches as they have in business or government: lower pay than men, mistrust in their capabilities and the need...

Author: Carrie Johnson

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091702530.html?wprss=rss_politics/fedpage

Nearly 60 groups concerned with civil rights, labor, health and education urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday to renounce a Bush-era memo allowing religious charities that receive federal grant money to...

Author: Gary Scharrer

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6624521.html

Christmas will stay in Texas textbooks, State Board of Education members said Thursday while reviewing early recommendations for new social studies standards.

The board will not approve the new curriculum standards for public schools until next year, but wanted to assure constituents they will not accept a...

Author: Stuart Laidlaw

Source: The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/living/religion/article/696581

With Ramadan ending in the coming days, Imam Habeeb Alli is making a special point of what he calls the greatest act of charity a Muslim can make during this holy month – signing an organ donor card.

"We cannot ignore this duty to donate our organs," says Alli, secretary of the Canadian Council of Imams.

Throughout the year,...

Author: Waqar Gillani and Sabrina Tavernise

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/world/asia/17pstan.html

A Christian man detained on blasphemy charges was found dead in his jail cell on Tuesday in eastern Pakistan. Human rights groups here said he appeared to have been killed, perhaps in collusion with the authorities.

The death of the Christian, Robert Fanish, 20, is part of a rising trend of violence against...

Author: Andrea Rodriguez

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOxdvyM77ucRjd7ZjWLtgEjN8j3gD9AO1HLO0

Cuba will allow inmates to attend Roman Catholic Mass and Protestant services inside prisons, a top religious leader said Tuesday, in a significant easing of the communist government's policy toward organized religion.

...

Author: Mandy Stoltzfus

Source: Lancaster Online

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/242200

Witches and pagans who traveled to Adamstown on Saturday for a festival "Celebrating Earth Spirituality" were greeted by a steady rain and praying Christians in a silent protest.

The gathering held at Stoudtburg Village and hosted by Reading Pagans & Witches proved to far less controversial than the debate that brewed in the days...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Islam Online

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1252187975629&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

Joining the chorus of voices opposing a minaret ban, Switzerland’s Roman Catholic bishops have urged voters to reject a far-right campaign to ban minaret construction in the country.

"A general ban on minaret construction...

Author: Ron Todt

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j4n1LLmQm_9M6UcVQdozlNOd0JAAD9ALB34O0

In the rolling hills of deeply religious rural Pennsylvania sits Stoudtburg Village, a tiny hamlet modeled on a German town. On weekends, tourists come here to visit shops on the ground floors of closely set three-story houses painted bright...