Religion News Service staff
Bono: 'More than a rock star' The unshaven diplomat
Elvis Presley shook hands with Richard Nixon in 1970, but it wasn’t much more than a fleeting photo op....
Post-hurricane donors show record generosity: Near $3 billion given
The outpouring of private charity to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and two sister storms now ranks as the most generous in American history, surpassing donations after September 11, accord...
Deaths, slow or massive, were the news in 2005: The year in review
It is said that death waits for no one and makes no appointments....
Churches worry about spiking energy costs: Energy Department predicts higher heating bills
The soaring cost of keeping the sanctuary warm this winter has congregations fretting.
...Gifts lift Islam study at Harvard, Georgetown: $20 million gifts from a Saudi prince
Harvard University plans to use a recently announced $20 million donation from a Saudi prince to increase its focus on contemporary Islamic thought and Islam in South and Southeast Asia.
...Egypt eases restrictions on repairing churches: Mubarak reforms 19th-century law
Christian churches in Egypt, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, will be able to carry out long-delayed repairs thanks to a decree by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
...Methodists may accept pope's offer to join statement on salvation: Salvation through grace, reflected in works
Methodist leaders said they plan to accept an invitation from Pope Benedict XVI to join a 1999 statement between Catholics and Lutherans that overcame centuries of division on the nature of salvati...
Activist's boycott ends after Macy's relents: Zamorano calls off Christmas boycott
About this time last year, Manuel Zamorano was making his list, checking it twice, and Macy’s department stores came up naughty, not nice....
Will new rules on gays mean any change at Catholic seminaries? Screening out gays a long-standing routine: Screening out gays a long-standing routine
When Joe Yokum considered a call to the Catholic priesthood five years ago, the first thing a seminary official asked him was not his understanding of the Trinity or of salvation, or even why he wa...
Anglican leaders rebuke archbishop: Rowan Williams challenged on homosexuality stance
Nearly half of the 38 primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion have rebuked the archbishop of Canterbury for not condemning the liberal attitude toward homosexuality shown by Anglican churches ...
Pope lauds Lutherans, warns of difficulties: Lutheran-Catholic dialogue
In a Vatican visit by a top U.S....
Sikhs fight discrimination: More than 600 incidents of discrimination and violence reported
Facing mounting discrimination since the September 11 terrorist attacks, a number of Sikh-American groups have begun a campaign to explain their religion to the American public and to differentiate...
Faith leaders press DeLay on tobacco: Legislator opposes FDA oversight of cigarette sales
Republican congressman Tom DeLay of Texas, indicted by a grand jury in his home state and bounced from his leadership position in Congress, has another distraction: interfaith groups are pressuring...
Mainline discovers allies among evangelicals: Collaboration without compromise
When evangelicals took center stage at an interfaith “Make Poverty History” rally, Chloe Breyer was uneasy....
Study finds no ill effects of peyote use among Navajos: Religious ritual found to be safe
Native Americans who use peyote as part of a religious ritual show no long-term negative health effects and actually fare better than recovering alcoholics, according to Harvard researchers.
...Gay bishop causes stir by criticizing pope: Robinson says frustrated Catholics can find home in Episcopal Church
An openly gay Episcopal bishop has caused a stir among Catholics for criticizing Pope Benedict XVI and suggesting that frustrated Catholics could find a new home in the badly divided Episcopal Chur...
Catholic majority on the high court? Alito would make five: Alito would make five
If Judge Samuel Alito is confirmed as the next member of the U.S. Supreme Court, he will usher in the Court’s first-ever Catholic majority.
...Mixed ballot results on 'values' issues: November 2005 elections
Religious conservatives lost electoral fights to pass an abortion law in California, overturn gay-rights legislation in Maine and defeat a bond issue in Ohio that critics said could fund embryoni...
Carter draws contrasts with Bush on faith: Presidents differ on peace and poverty
Former president Jimmy Carter says he doesn’t doubt that President Bush has a sincere faith, but says he and Bush practice their Christianity differently.
...Gay megachurch votes to join UCC: Cathedral of Hope in Dallas
One of the nation’s largest gay churches has voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the United Church of Christ, in part because of the UCC’s vote last July to support civil marriage rights for gay...