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c. 2012 Religion News Service BETHESDA, MD (RNS) As coming out parties go, this was a big one....

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"The U.S has created a vast legal system for racial and social control, unprecedented in world history. Yet we claim to be colorblind."

A new White House report that offers guidance on public-private partnerships between the government and faith-based groups leaves critical questions unanswered and does not resolve the issue of rel...

In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, I have always been struck by the pronouncements of Philip’s boldness. As a young Christian, I was often called to this kind of boldness: to go out to the stranger and the foreigner and declare the good works of God. But revisiting this passage I am struck by how weak Philip is--and how necessary this is to his ministry.

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church convened in Tampa last week. I’m not one of the 988 delegates who have descended on Florida to do the work of our church, nor of the 4,000 hosts, bishops, pages, translators and myriad lobbyists there to help. My participation is limited to following the proceedings from 1,000 miles away. Still, my emotions have been all over the place. And judging from Twitter and Facebook, this roller coaster of highs and lows is almost universal among those who are there. The stakes feel high this year, higher than usual.

New today from the Century: Incarceration and racism, structure and power in the UMC, more.

Readers of a certain age may remember “women’s pictures,” those four-hankie weepies from the 1940s and ’50s. Celebrated British director Terence Davies has lovingly embraced the once-popular genre via an adaptation of the 1952 play The Deep Blue Sea.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Give Congressman Paul Ryan credit for persistence....

(ENInews)--A young Tibetan appointed by China's Communist government as the second-highest Tibetan spiritual leader has made his first public appearance outside mainland China in a religious confer...

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Opposition to gay marriage is significantly lower in 2012 compared to the previous two presidential campaigns, a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows....

What is one belief, practice or element of Christianity that must die so that Christianity can move forward and truly impact the world in the next 100 years?

There is salvation in no one else. And he has other sheep that do not belong to this fold.

New today (and yesterday) from the Century: Investment vs. divestment, Guy Clark tribute, are Democrats anti-Mormon?

"Between now and Election Day," writes Peter Beinart, "anti-Mormonism is going to be the Democratic Party’s constant temptation for one simple reason: there are votes in it." I'm not sure I'd call it the party's "constant temptation," but Beinart is certainly right that bigotry against Mormons remains a politically potent force in the U.S., and that the Democrats aren't above exploiting it. But is Beinart right that the Democrats have a bigger religious bigotry problem here than the Republicans do?

Pinning down this Chicago-based group’s sound is difficult. But it’s easy to name resemblances: the progressive song structure and guitar work of Yes; the spoken-word interludes of Frank Zappa and Ken Nordine; the slithery funk of 1970s David Bowie.

Finally, Guy Clark has received a thorough tribute that lives up to his mastery and honors the way he does things: live, spontaneous, without studio trickery to supplant the energy that players create in the moment.

Boycott and divestment aim to punish Israel. A more constructive strategy is needed.