The fight, pitting religious freedom against the right to be comfortable in one’s own home, started in March 2008 — on Palm Sunday. After opening in a new location in Phoenix, Ariz., the Cathedral of Christ the King started playing a recording of church bells every half hour — every day — from morning to... Continue Reading

By Simon Clark and Caroline Binham Barclays Bank Chief Executive Officer John Varley stood at the wooden lectern in St. Martin-in-the-Fields on London’s Trafalgar Square on Nov 3 and told the packed pews of the church that “profit is not satanic.” The 53-year-old head of Britain’s second-biggest bank said banks are the “backbone” of the... Continue Reading

An IllinoisState board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of a long-debated Illinois law requiring notification of a teenage girl’s parents before she has an abortion. But hours later, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold. The order will remain in effect until the judge can hear arguments on... Continue Reading

Note to hotel managers: unless you want it to be altered forever, remove that Bible from Sir Ian McKellen’s bedside drawer before he shows up. In a Q&A with Details magazine, the openly gay ‘Lord of the Rings’ star admits to a habit of tearing out the Bible passage that condemns homosexuality — Leviticus 18:22... Continue Reading

An Ohio village’s Christmas parade has been canceled amid concerns over possible lawsuits, protests, and logistical problems. Amelia Mayor Leroy Ellington says the village solicitor told council members that Amelia could be sued for using public money to sponsor an event linked to celebrating the birth of Jesus. But when the village considered changing the... Continue Reading

At the beginning of an evening worship service at the First Assembly of God Church in Steele, MO, the Rev. Ryan Harris pitted teens against adults in a trivia game called Battle of the Generations. “The gift of the Holy Spirit is placed upon you, it’s placed inside you,” Harris told his congregation, his voice... Continue Reading

Life Decisions International (LDI) has released a revised edition of The Boycott List, which identifies corporations that are boycott targets due to their support of Planned Parenthood, the world’s primary abortion-advocacy group. “As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 231 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood,” said... Continue Reading

BY NIRAJ WARIKOO When Kazi Miah came to the United States 20 years ago from Bangladesh, he didn’t speak a word of English. Now, he’s a successful politician who is to be one of three Bangladeshi-American Muslims on Hamtramck, Michigan’s six-member City Council, a percentage that Muslim advocates said they believe is the highest Muslim... Continue Reading

Mormon Tabernacle revival service is latest sign of openness to evangelicals. Robert Millet would do things differently if he were carefully strategizing how fellow Mormons could best pursue interfaith contacts. “I probably wouldn’t have started with evangelicals,” said the Brigham Young University (BYU) professor, considering the antagonism between the two groups since Mormonism’s beginnings. “If... Continue Reading

Creationism is growing in the Muslim world, from Turkey to Pakistan to Indonesia, international academics said last month as they gathered here to discuss the topic. But, they said, young-Earth creationists, who believe God created the universe, Earth and life just a few thousand years ago, are rare, if not nonexistent. One reason is that... Continue Reading