Latest Articles
One of the boys
Jacob Aaron Estes’s debut feature is being marketed as a Columbine-era fable about a bully who gets his comeuppance. But the film works on levels far more precipitous and challenging....
A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry
A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry.
Edited by Ann Hostetler. University of Iowa Press, 199 pp., $19.95 paperback....
Measuring success: How the Century is doing
How are we doing? The editors and staff of this magazine periodically ask themselves that question. Are we succeeding?...
Shared vision: Catholicity across the theological spectrum
Talk about unity amid diversity in the church can seem hollow, especially as people confront deeply controversial issues....
Century Marks
Listen up: Judaism is a noisy religion, according to Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of Great Britain: Jews pray together loudly....
None of the above: Why I won't be voting for president
As has been the case for the past few presidential elections, on Election Day I will almost certainly cast my vote once again for none of the above. Here is why:...
Religious insiders: Mainline Protestants still dominate
Mainline Protestant denominations have steadily declined in membership for four decades in the U.S., so it was not surprising to learn recently that Protestants overall are losing, or have lost, th...
Religious Left makes political push: Sending a message to Republicans
With a full-page ad in the New York Times, a flashlight-illuminated protest on Broadway and a plea from rock star Bono for spiritually motivated, poverty-fighting activism, the Religious Lef...
Episcopal Church said to face sanctions over support for gay bishop: May be placed on "quarantine"
Leaders of the Episcopal Church may be placed on quarantine by the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion because of the U.S. denomination’s approval of an openly gay man, V....
Data bite: Americans in poverty
The percentage of Americans in poverty and without health insurance grew in 2003 for the third straight year—to 35.9 million people (one out of every eight) in poverty and 45 million (15.6 percent)...
Cheney differs with Bush on amendment to ban gay marriage: A decision for the states
Shortly before the start of his party’s national convention, Vice President Dick Cheney surprised many of his and President Bush’s most conservative supporters by publicly differing with the presid...
Court says breakaway church owns property: United Methodist church in Fresno
In what could be a landmark case in church property disputes, a California court has ruled that a breakaway Fresno congregation may keep its property after it decided to sever ties with the United ...
Drug discounts save Methodists $349,000: Innovative church-sponsored program
United Methodists who have signed up for an innovative church-sponsored drug discount program have saved $348,728 in prescription costs since the plan was unveiled in March, church officials say....
Judge upholds charter of Greek Orthodox: Laypeople seek role in selecting archbishops
A New York judge has sided with the Greek Orthodox Church in a fight with lay activists over its constitution, ruling that the court has no authority to interfere in an internal church dispute....
Priest who ministered to Gibson is disciplined: Celebrated Latin mass for conservative splinter group
A Toronto-area Catholic priest who served as spiritual adviser to Mel Gibson during filming of The Passion of the Christ has been suspended by Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, archbishop of Toron...
Reed admits taking casino lobbyist fees: Former head of Christian Coalition
Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition and now a Republican strategist, admitted that he accepted $1.23 million in consulting fees tied to Indian-run gambling casinos, the Washin...
Partial-birth abortion ban again ruled wrong: Judge calls law unconstitutional
A second federal judge has ruled against the government’s ban on so-called partial birth abortions, saying the federal law passed by Congress last year is unconstitutional. ...
Most faiths unfamiliar to Protestant clergy: Catholicism and Judaism most familiar
Most Protestant ministers in a recent survey have expressed little familiarity with the key beliefs of a number of non-Protestant religious groups....
Very religious students have some 'liberal' views: More progressive on gun control and death penalty
Strongly religious college students have conservative views on sex, abortion, gay rights and drugs but more liberal views on gun control and the death penalty, a new study says....
Pope's icon return lifts hope of church détente: Representation of Mary and Child handed over in Moscow
Russian Orthodox church leaders have welcomed Pope John Paul II’s decision to return a precious icon to Russia, a representation of Mary and Child that was handed over in Moscow in late August by a...