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,"...

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: 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: 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: 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,...