Author: Ian Urbina

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/us/04louisville.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Tom Riner looks for God everywhere, and in places he does not find him, he tries to put him there.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Riner’s singular devotion has been to inject God into the public arena. It has guided him as he preached the Bible in the countryside of Nicaragua and Jamaica. And it...

Author: Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook

Source: Congregations

http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=7006

One Friday during Lent, Greg Foraker, director of adult formation ministries at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona, entered the Islamic Center, the city’s largest mosque, to participate in worship with its 500 members. To the left of the entrance was a group of women in traditional attire and to the right was a room...

Author: Nikita Stewart

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/30/AR2008123002858.html?hpid=sec=religion

A group of atheists, led by a California man known for challenging the use of the words "under God" in recitals of the Pledge of Allegiance at public schools, filed a lawsuit yesterday to bar prayer and references to God at the swearing-in of...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.ohio.com/news/ohiocentric/36749889.html

A religious holiday message on a city hall bulletin board in northeast Ohio has drawn protests from a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

The Cleveland office of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State group has asked Avon Lake officials to remove the message that says: "Remember Christ is in Christmas."

In a...

Author: Jim Heintz

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.ohio.com/news/world/36738279.html

Iraq's Christians, a scant minority in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.

But security worries overshadowed the day for many, particularly in the north where thousands of Christians have fled to escape religious attacks....

Author: Sam Dagher

Source: The New York Times

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

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

In South Carolina, a district court has temporarily halted the production of state-sponsored license plates that declare "I Believe" and feature an illustration of a cross superimposed on a stained-glass window.

In Vermont, meanwhile, an appeals court is...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: AP

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Asia News

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=31230

The authorities in Orissa's communally sensitive Kandhamal district have sought more security forces from the state government, following threats of strikes and demonstrations by radical Hindu groups. “We may have violence.” For this reason we “have sought three companies of the Rapid Action Forces (RAF)...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: IANS

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Orissas_Kandhamal_seeks_more_forces_ahead_of_Christmas/articleshow/3873237.cms

Fearing communal violence during Christmas celebrations, authorities in Orissa's communally sensitive Kandhamal district have sought more security forces from the state government.

"We may have violence. We have sought...

Author: Tom Yerace

Source: The Buddhist Channel/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=62,7552,0,0,1,0

The Christmas tree with multicolored lights in one corner seemed out of place with the large white Buddha statue positioned along opposite wall.

But according to Bhante Pemaratana, a monk at the Buddhist temple along Route 908 in Natrona, the values and philosophies each represent have much in common....

Author: Kim Mulford

Source: The Courier Post

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20081221/NEWS01/812210328/1006

Claudia and David Tung are an interfaith couple who are raising their two children in the Jewish faith. The Atco family observes all the Jewish holidays and are active in the synagogue.

But in December, their holiday celebration has evolved into a blend of family traditions and decorations. The kids each...

Author: Kimi Yoshino

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/12/iraq-draft-from.html

Trying to prove just how much safer Baghdad is these days, Iraqi officials threw a party for Christians on Saturday, complete with huge event posters featuring pictures of Jesus Christ.

A skinny Santa Claus draped in an Iraqi flag also made an appearance, waving and posing for photos.
...

Author: Elizabeth Gibson

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

https://dispatch.newsbank.com/doc/news/1252F75E16E01C10?search_terms=Whitehall%2BDefending%2BManger%2BOnce%2BAgain&text=Whitehall%20Defending%20Manger%20Once%20Again&content_added=&date_from=&date_to=&pub%255B0%255D=CLDB&pdate=2008-12-19

It's becoming a holiday tradition -- secular activists...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.examiner.com/a-1751428~Non_religious_group_sues_over_nativity.html

Manitowoc County and its nativity scene on the courthouse lawn is the latest target of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

The group has filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court of Eastern Wisconsin to stop the county from displaying the religious symbols on government property....