Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8318765.stm

Independent faith schools must ensure all resources used to teach about other religions are accurate, inspectors say.

Ofsted surveyed 51 schools in England from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu faiths, at the request of Schools Secretary Ed Balls.

Inspectors said some materials were biased or had incorrect information...

Author: Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Ian Johnston

Source: Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6358886/Row-over-school-closures-for-Muslim-Hindu-and-Sikh-holidays.html

Two councils have instructed all schools under their control to shut for the annual celebrations of Eid-Ul-Fitr, Diwali and Guru Nanak's Birthday, in addition to the Christian festivals of...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Wauneta Breeze

Author: Amy Green

Source: Religion News Service

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

First there was Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy torn between two nations. Then there was Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman torn between two families. Now comes Rifqa Bary, the teenage runaway torn between two faiths.

If you’re...

Author: Tony Castro

Source: Los Angeles Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13536323

The idea of Francis Siciliano learning Hebrew, studying the Torah and observing Jewish services in a synagogue doesn't seem out of the ordinary on the Westside of Los Angeles.

Except that Siciliano is pastor of a Latino evangelical church in North Hollywood whose lively, born-again Christian services bear a sharp contrast to the ages-old traditions of Judaism...

Author: Angela Abbamonte

Source: Religion

Arizona schoolchildren are busy making 5,000 ornaments to decorate the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree, but have been told by federal officials that the ornaments “may not reflect religious or political themes.”

That restriction has resulted in the threat of legal action by a conservative Christian law firm...

Author: Mark Sherman

Source: Syracuse.com

Author: Jenna Lyle

Source: The Christian Post

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091003/world-council-of-churches-sees-honesty-as-basis-for-interfaith-encounters/index.html

Both the incoming and outgoing heads of the World Council of Churches this week stressed honesty as the basis upon which people of different faiths can have meaningful encounters.

Speaking...

Author: David Yonke

Source: The Toledo Blade

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091003/NEWS10/910030376/0/SPORTS12

As the nation continues to debate health-care reform, some local physicians are hoping for changes that will help them better align their religious and professional concerns.

When taking the Hippocratic Oath, physicians vow "to keep the good of the patient as the...

Author: Kelly Sawyers

Source: The Hoya

http://guide.thehoya.com/node/136

It’s hard to imagine Georgetown without religion — but while the university prides itself on its Jesuit identity, the students who populate the Hilltop fall within a broad spectrum of religious affiliations.

Georgetown’s Jesuit identity makes for a very active religious atmosphere on campus and Georgetown’s motto, utraque unum, or “both one,”...

Author: Nguyen Giang

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_8270000/newsid_8278300/8278336.stm

Four years ago the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk who popularised Buddhism in the West, was invited by the Vietnamese government to return home after 39 years in exile.

The move was seen as a sign that the authorities were becoming more tolerant of religion, a very sensitive issue in the...

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,"...