Author: Andrew Higgins

Source: The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638477632658147.html

Christians have lived in these parts since the dawn of their faith. But they have had a rough couple of millennia, preyed on by Persian, Arab, Mongol, Kurdish and Turkish armies. Each group tramped through the rocky highlands that now comprise Turkey's southeastern border with Iraq and Syria.

The current menace is less...

Author: Michelle Bearden

Source: Tampa Bay Online

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/06/na-bahai-faith-is-a-unifying-force/

When Hardy Roberts met the woman who would become his wife, he got a bonus: A new religion; something completely unexpected.

"When I met Leah, that was the first time I had even heard about the Baha'i faith," says Hardy.

Raised an Episcopalian, he was naturally somewhat wary....

Author: Steve Doughty

Source: The Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1159863/Appeal-Court-set-rule-British-Airways-workers-crucifix.html

A British Airways check-in worker's fight to wear a crucifix is being taken to the Appeal Court in a test case for religious freedom.

Judges are to decide whether Nadia Eweida, 57, was treated unfairly when BA suspended her in 2006 for...

Author: Taye Obateru

Source: All Africa

http://allafrica.com/stories/200903050017.html

The co-chairman of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), who is also the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Rev. John Onaiyekan has advocated sanctions for religious leaders who preach inciting messages as a way of curtailing incessant religious crisis in the country.

Similarly, the Sultan of Sokoto and co-Chairman of the same council...

Author: Jesse J. Holland

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.law.com/jsp/scm/PubArticleSCM.jsp?id=1202428733739

Coach Marcus Borden used to bow his head and drop to one knee when his football team prayed. But the Supreme Court ended that tradition on Monday when it refused to hear the high school coach's appeal of a school district ban on employees joining a student-led prayer.

The decision on the case from New Jersey could...

Author: Eileen Ng

Source: The Associated Press

Author: Michael Paulson

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/01/episcopal_church_marks_a_milestone/

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, who is l eading the denomination through a threatened schism over its approval of an openly gay bishop,...

Author: Steve Fidel

Source: Mormon Times

http://www.mormontimes.com/people_news/people_church/?id=6515

The viral nature of a popular online video was not on Harvard undergraduate Rachel Esplin's mind when she participated in a campus panel discussion in September about faith.

A high school background in speech and debate, a service trip to Mexico last spring with Jewish campus organization Harvard Hillel and experience on Harvard'...

Author: Eric Lichtblau

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/washington/01church.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Terry Bradshaw stared intently into the camera, his eyes moist, as the interviewer asked him if his faith in God had helped him through his bouts with depression.

“Oh, yeah,” answered Mr. Bradshaw, the Hall of Fame quarterback. “Well, I’m a Christian for one thing...

Author: Jessica Nunez

Source: Columbia Missourian

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/media/multimedia/2009/02/26/media/Archive/index.html

When Katie Hurst moved to Columbia 10 years ago to study religion at MU, her intention was to work at a nonprofit or teach Christian education. She didn’t expect to have adopted an entirely new lifestyle and belief system by the time she graduated.

But that’s...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Zenit

http://www.zenit.org/article-25186?l=english

The slaying of another Christian in the Eastern Indian state of Orissa has rekindled fears among a population driven from their homes by a wave of persecution at the hands of Hindu extremists.

Hrudyananda Nayak, 45, was found dead last Thursday, showing signs of a violent end to his life, Aid to the Church in Need reported.

Ongoing Hindu-Christian tensions...

Author: Sarah Page

Source: Compass Direct News

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11599939/

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released in January details serious and ongoing abuses against the Chin people, a minority group in Burma’s northwest who claim to be 90 percent Christian.

HRW’s research echoes a 2004 report by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) that described targeted abuse of Christians in Chin state...

Author: David G. Savage

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-na-supreme-court-cross24-2009feb24,0,6413397.story

In a case that could reshape the doctrine of separation of church and state, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether a cross to honor fallen soldiers can stand in a national preserve in California.

The case will give the Roberts court...

Author: Julie Kippenbrock and Genna Yedlicka

Source: IndyStar.com

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090223/NEWS12/902230340

Misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, have abounded since the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830. Since then, Mormons have suffered ridicule and persecution as they have defended their faith -- which was founded when Joseph Smith...

Author: Christine Spolar

Source: The Chicago Tribune

http://www.kansas.com/living/religion/story/707000.html

For a country steeped in Catholic tradition, these are alarming times.

Public schools are being told by judicial order to pull crucifixes from their walls. City buses with billboards espousing atheism are rumbling through the streets here, prompting yowls of blasphemy from Catholic leaders.

"Probably God Doesn't Exist...