Latest Articles
Hanging out: Congregations are life-saving communities
References to Robert Putnam have turned up in many sermons in recent years, including my own, because of a timely observation he made, one that immediately resonated with pastors as both true and i...
The morning after: Distinct benefits of Plan B
In December advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that a “morning-after pill,” previously available only by prescription, be made available to U.S. consumers over the counter....
Century Marks
Crisis on ice: A team of amateur Israeli and Palestinian explorers climbed a previously unscaled moutain in the Antarctic, and at the summit the six men and two women unfurled their national...
Expert advice: Covering religion
Religiously ignorant journalists.” That was the headline that accurately captured the flat-out judgment of an unhappy essayist in Books & Culture (January-February)....
Full house: Breaking a reproductive taboo
Though no cinematic masterpiece, Cheaper by the Dozen is not predictable Hollywood schlock. It is unpredictable Hollywood schlock....
A network for 'orthodox' Episcopalians: A church within a church
Dissidents in the Episcopal Church, angered by last year’s consecration of an openly gay bishop, have formally launched a new “network” to act as a church-within-a-church for traditionalists....
Griswold wore flak jacket at concecration: "Beware of an 'unblemished' church built upon judgment rather than love"
When Frank Griswold, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, suited up for the consecration service in November for the bishop of New Hampshire, he added something extra to his flowing gold v...
New ecumenical body aims for 2005 start: Christian Churches Together
Organizers of a daringly broad coalition of evangelical, Catholic, mainline Protestant and Orthodox Christians say they expect the organization will finalize its formation in May 2005—the first tim...
Lesbian pastor to stand trial: Violated United Methodist ban
Though she previously escaped church court proceedings after outing herself to her bishop, a lesbian Methodist minister will stand trial for violating the church’s ban on “self-avowed practicing” g...
Data bite: Gallup's take on the influence of religion
A Gallup Poll says the number of Americans who think religion is increasing its influence on public life has dropped to its lowest percentage since 1995....
Bush defends war on Iraq, edges toward gay wedding ban: In State of the Union address
President Bush, speaking confidently and forcefully in his State of the Union address on January 20, defended the U.S.-led war on terrorism and efforts to establish democratic governments in Afghan...
SBC women's group backs Baptist Alliance: Woman's Missionary Union breaks ranks with SBC leaders
The leadership of the Woman’s Missionary Union, the 1-million-member women’s auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, has voiced support of the Baptist World Alliance, breaking ranks with SBC ...
Salvation Army gets $1.5 billion bequest: From estate of philanthropist Joan Kroc
The Salvation Army, an evangelical denomination best known for its charitable work with the poor, says it will receive about $1.5 billion from the estate of philanthropist Joan Kroc to build 25 to ...
NCC joins in brief on prison detainees: Legal rights for Guantánamo prisoners
The National Council of Churches has joined a “friend of the court” brief at the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the legal rights of suspected terrorist detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba....
Young adults missing from pews: Young singles may not contribute much money, but they often can give volunteer time
It’s not that they don’t care. In a recent study, 80 percent of people in their 20s said their faith is very important in their lives....
Tutu's daughter becomes a priest: Mpho Tutu ordained in Episcopal Church
As the daughter of a clergyman who was the public face of the antiapartheid movement, Mpho Tutu was accustomed to living in the shadow of her father, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town, South Afr...
Briefly noted
President Bush used a special presidential prerogative January 16 to get one of his most controversial judicial nominees installed, temporarily, on a federal appeals panel....
Betting on the truth: Pete Rose's staged confession
What gives a human being the capacity to attend to the truth, and to grow in that capacity?” My friend’s question hung in the air, dangling over the center of the table as those of us in the room f...