Court: Police officers can’t refuse a job because of their religious beliefsBen Endres, a lay leader at Community Baptist Church in South Bend, Indiana, believes gambling is sinful. But in March 2000, after about nine years as a police officer, his superiors assigned him to work full-time guarding a local casino.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, a Christian does whatever his employer says,” Endres said earlier. “But it’s my conviction to not be involved in any form of gambling.”
When he refused to work at the casino, he was fired. So he sued.
Yesterday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with lower court rulings in rejecting Endes’s discrimination claims.
“Many officers have religious scruples about particular activities,” Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote in the court’s ruling. “Does [the law] require the state police to assign Unitarians to guard the abortion clinic, Catholics to prevent thefts from liquor stores and Baptists to investigate claims that supermarkets mis-weigh bacon and shellfish? Must prostitutes be left exposed to slavery or murder at the hands of pimps because protecting them from crime would encourage them to ply their trade and thus offend almost every religious faith?”
The court ruled that the law does not require such accommodation, which would put an unreasonable burden on the police department. “Law-enforcement agencies need the cooperation of all members,” the court said. “Beyond all of this is the need to hold police officers to their promise to enforce the law without favoritism. … Firefighters must extinguish all fires, even those in places of worship that the firefighter regards as heretical. Just so with police.”
Endres is now a patrolman with the St. Joseph County Police Department, reports the South Bend Tribune.
Bush administration hopes to tap power of youth groups Are church youth groups doing enough to stop drug abuse? The White House apparently believes they can do more, and, as part of President Bush’s faith-based initiative, is launching a program (or perhaps just a pamphlet) to get the groups more involved.
“What we’re recognizing is that religion is an institution that plays an important role in this effort,” drug czar John P. Walters told the Los Angeles Times. “Faith communities are uniquely situated” to help at-risk youth, he said.
So far, the White House Office of National Drug Control has printed about 75,000 “Pathways to Prevention” booklets for the youth groups to use. The usual group of secularists are upset, blah blah blah.
One-point-twenty-one gigawatts! Be careful what you pray for. About ten minutes into the sermon of a guest evangelist, at First Baptist Church in Forest, Ohio, thunder started to roll outside. The preacher, Ronette Cheney told CNN,
said thunder is like God’s voice, so we were kind of like, oh, all right, and we were sitting in the church trying to concentrate. He was talking about repentance, and as the thunder got louder, he said OK, speak to me, God, speak to me, tell me what you want me to say. And boom, lightning struck the church and everything lit up. … The lightning strike was so strong — the lightning [lit] up his cordless microphone, and it was kind of like a blue aura around him. Also the speakers had static come right out of them.
The lightning caused $20,000 in damage to the church.
More articles
Same-sex marriage:
- For gay couples, marriage would unite love, law | Did you know—I didn’t—that the U.S. General Accounting Office has identified 1,049 federal laws and programs in which a person’s marital status confers a special benefit, right, privilege or obligation? (Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune)
- The threat from gay marriage | It is not by coincidence or on a whim that human societies since time immemorial have restricted marriage to opposite-sex unions (Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe)
- Debate on gay unions splits along generations | Recent polls suggest that young adults and older people view gay rights in starkly different terms (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Just say I do to a traditional church wedding | Church weddings are in such decline that the Church of England is launching a campaign to promote their advantages over increasingly popular civil ceremonies in stately homes or hotels (The Daily Telegraph, London)
- Study finds gay unions brief | A recent study on homosexual relationships finds they last 1-1/2 years on average — even as homosexual groups are pushing nationwide to legalize same-sex “/marriages.” (The Washington Times)
- Line in the sand | Profamily voters cannot compromise on homosexual marriage (Joel Belz, World)
- Church coalition pushes for gay marriage | With a renewed national debate about gay marriage as a backdrop, a new coalition of liberal Protestant and Jewish leaders from Colorado announced plans Thursday to press for legalizing gay marriage and to fight a Colorado congresswoman’s bill that would define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman (The Denver Post)
- Also: Clergy back gay marriage | Calling Colorado’s ban on gay marriage “discrimination at its worst,” a newly formed coalition of clergy announced Thursday it will fight for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in religion and law (The Rocky Mountain News)
- Also: Clergy coalition to oppose defense of marriage proposal | More than 40 clergy members rallied Thursday to criticize Colorado’s ban on gay marriages, calling the recognition only of heterosexual couples “state-imposed discrimination at its worst” (Associated Press)
Church divisions over homosexuality:
- Dr John’s opponents should be ashamed | A good holy, intelligent man has been crucified by them (Mary Ann Sieghart, The Times, London)
- You don’t have to be a mad extremist to oppose Jeffrey John | Evangelicals are not the only ones who object to the forcing of a gay liberationist agenda on the Church (Joel Edwards, The Daily Telegraph, London)
- Church fears north-south sex rift | The sight of Third World clerics increasingly defending traditional values against spreading liberal views on sex in the West raises the question whether the world’s leading Christian churches face a case of “the empire strikes back” (Reuters)
- Church warns dioceses on gays | Church Of Uganda bishops yesterday warned that they would sever relations with any Anglican diocese, which condones homosexuality (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
- Church convention avoids gay bishop row (PA)
- 47 days that shook the world of Reading’s quietly spoken bishop elect | A brief overview of the Jeffrey John controversy (Reading Chronicle, England)
- Martyrs and mitres | Rowan Williams’ enthronement was the evangelicals’ 9/11; Jeffrey John our war on doctrinal terror (Jonathan Bartley, The Guardian, London)
- Church meets amid gay priest crisis | The Church of England’s governing body will meet in York on Friday, amid tension over the short-lived appointment of a homosexual priest as Bishop of Reading (BBC, video)
Sexual ethics:
- Boy Scouts lose case | State’s delisting of charity because of its gay ban upheld (The Hartford Courant, Conn.)
- Also: Court: Conn. may bar Boy Scouts from list | Connecticut did not violate the rights of the Boy Scouts when it deleted the group from a list of charities that state employees contribute to through a payroll deduction plan, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. (Associated Press)
- Effort to block sex research fails | The amendment would have stopped funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for four research grants (The Washington Times)
- Earlier: House Republicans balk at sex-research funding (The Washington Times)
Life ethics:
- Slovakia lawmakers okay abortion amendment | Conservatives threatened to destroy the coalition government should the abortion amendment become law (Associated Press)
- Also: Slovakia in turmoil over abortion bill (Reuters)
- Antiabortion activist arrested | Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the Rev. Phillip Lance Benham went too far in his protest Monday. (News14, Charlotte, N.C. | video)
- Federal judge blocks antiabortion plates | U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled that Louisiana’s system for specialty plates violates the First Amendment because it allows the anti-abortion plates but does not offer one for the opposing view (Associated Press)
- Abortion foes spark anxiety | Eight days of rallies planned at mosques and clinics (The Charlotte Observer)
- Justices scrap law on teen abortions | No parental notification is required, court says (The Miami Herald)
- Also: Florida court voids a law on abortion | The Florida Supreme Court struck down a law requiring minors seeking abortions to notify their parents first. The court held that the law violated the minors’ right to privacy. (The New York Times)
- Abortion foes lose challenge to clinic buffer zones | Federal judge upholds Massachusetts law, saying ‘plaintiffs have failed to offer any legal authority to support a ruling that the act is unconstitutional.’ (Associated Press)
- Senate votes to end Bush policy blocking foreign abortions | Presaging a contentious conference with the House, Boxer asks the president to rethink U.S. role in promoting reproductive health (Los Angeles Times)
- Family planning | U.S. should not try to limit healthy information (Editorial, Detroit Free Press)
Bioethics:
- Abortion justified for ‘better babies’ | The man who co-discovered DNA said that parents, especially mothers, should have a right of genetic veto over the makeup of their child (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
- We need strict laws to regulate genetics | Here’s how people can be reassured that scientific advances will not be misused (Natasha Stott Despoja, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
- Realism in biotechnology—or how to stop worrying and learn to love playing God | Science is still a long way from creating a master race (Kenan Malik, The Sydney Morning Herald)
- The New Eugenics | One of the most profound and layered questions raised by recent genetic advances is this: Do we as a species still want babies born with genetic disabilities? (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times, alt site)
- Human fertility scientists under pressure to rein in unethical work of mavericks | Critics say the lack of agreed standards is damaging the reputation of more mainstream researchers (The Guardian, London)
Religious freedom and discrimination:
- Prisoners sue for freedom of worship | In a spate of lawsuits across the United States, prisoners are challenging rules that they say interfere with their right to worship as they see fit. The suits are based on a law passed by Congress three years ago protecting religious freedoms for inmates. (All Things Considered, NPR)
- Sacked worker accuses bosses of persecuting him for his love of Christ | A man who claims he was sacked because of his conservative Christian beliefs is taking his case to the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Treatment of congregations could become key to expected discrimination suit in Hollywood | Marian sect says city is treating it worse than it treats Orthodox Jews (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Persecution:
- Korea grants refugee status to three more African dissidents | One, an Ethiopian, was persecuted in his native country for engaging in Christian evangelical activities (The Korea Times)
- Pastor welcomed home | The pastor’s wife and their four children welcomed him with hugs during a low-key greeting at midday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport before shuttling to their home on St. Paul’s East Side for a private reunion (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
- Also: St. Paul pastor held in Laos is reunited with family | His family has scheduled a news conference Saturday (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
- Archbishop raps attack on church | A Ugandan Roman Catholic archbishop on Thursday charged that church officials and property were being targeted by the warring parties in the East African country’s conflict (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
- Uganda’s lost innocents | In some parts of town the little bodies are so closely huddled together that you tiptoe and balance your way through them, hard pressed to pick a place to put your foot (BBC)
- Bishop’s war with China’s ‘evil system’ | Meet the man leading protests against Hong Kong’s new anti-subversion laws (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Church and state:
- Pledge of Allegiance critic set for Supreme Court | Michael Newdow said he’s sticking to his plan to represent himself, despite unsolicited advice (Associated Press)
- California ban on ‘under God’ in Pledge is unlikely to remain | Despite the national uproar, or perhaps because of it, some lawyers predict the high court won’t bother to hear the case and simply will strike down the decisions in September (The Washington Times)
- How ‘under God’ got in there | With Eisenhower present, D.C. pastor’s sermon sparked quest to change pledge (The Washington Post)
- Chester County takes the cover off plaque | In June, a court ruled it did not violate the Constitution (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Who’s afraid of the Ten Commandments? | Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore is probably about as close as you can get to a Shas-style politician in America (Saul Singer, The Jerusalem Post)
- Two tablets cause a big headache | Lawyers are wondering whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up either one or both of the major Ten Commandments cases, setting the stage for what could be one of the most important Establishment Clause decisions in years (The Legal Intelligencer/Law.com)
- U.S. helping renovate historic churches doesn’t offend First Amendment | Old North Church still has active congregation, but federal money for refurbishment doesn’t endorse any religion — it helps preserve history (Charles Haynes, First Amendment Center)
- Mennonites troubled by loss of right to break draft law | Selective Service registration with driver’s license issuance takes away pacifists’ ability to withhold information (Associated Press)
Politics and law:
- Far from the Promised Land, faith initiatives are starving | Bush “armies of compassion” get just pennies from heaven (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Our Christian in Chief | Bush’s certitude is frightening because it implies that he will do as he pleases, confident that God is steering him, with no possibility for error (Clay Evans, Boulder Daily Camera, Colo.)
- For some, Christianity and civic duties do mix | Dozens of state and national public officials— not just conservative Christian Republicans—talk openly about their faith these days (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
- Temperament wars | We live in a culture that values brazen certainty and loud conviction, no matter how wrongheaded (James Traub, The New York Times Magazine)
- Suit targets Salem’s new ordinance | Restrictions on protests called unconstitutional (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
- Initiative targets child exploitation | The Department of Homeland Security yesterday announced a law enforcement initiative known as Operation Predator, aimed at protecting children from pornographers, child prostitution rings, Internet predators and human traffickers (The Washington Times)
- U.S. religious groups urge action on child tax credit | About two dozen Christian groups told Bush in a letter that denying the increase in the child tax credit to low-income families would be “unjust and morally unacceptable” when checks of up to $400 per child are to go out this month to millions of other families (Reuters)
- Nominee for U.S. appeals court is deeply religious, antiabortion, pro state’s rights | Bill Pryor presents himself as a deeply religious, anti-abortion conservative eager to restrain what he calls the overweening power of the federal government (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
- Blasphemy law strikes again | The internationally abominated blasphemy law in Pakistan has, in one case after another, been exposed by judges who are either too scared to stand up to extremist religious elements or overly keen to prove their “pious credentials” (Editorial, The Daily Times, Pakistan)
- Fighting the US adoption system | A female priest desperate to adopt has told of her battle against discrimination in the US adoption system (BBC)
Church life:
- Emotional devotion | While the majority of immigrants to the United States from Spanish-speaking countries identify themselves as Catholic, an increasing number of Latino Christians are being drawn to Pentecostal and evangelical churches (The Advertiser, Lafayette, La.)
- First Presbyterian Church takes up housing cause | Saddened by the escalating home prices on the Peninsula, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Monterey is preparing to advocate for affordable housing at Fort Ord (The Monterey Herald, Calif.)
- UCC to launch identity campaign | Leaders of the United Church of Christ will meet in Minneapolis beginning today, not to conduct business “for” the denomination but to speak “to” its 1.4 million members (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
- Taking gluten-free Communion? | Vatican doctrine forbids alternative wafers and Spanish bishops have recommended that the faithful take Communion from the cup only (Los Angeles Times)
- God’s own country…is in west Cumbria | According to the office for national statistics, in the 2001 census 91.6% of residents in the Hillcrest district described themselves as Christian – reaching a level 20% higher than the national average (The Guardian, London)
- Preaching to both sides of the aisle on Long Island | There is a bit of the performance artist in the Rev. Allan B. Ramirez as he demonstrates the stress of playing shepherd to two far-flung flocks (The New York Times)
- Women bishops a step closer | The Anglican Church in Australia has moved a significant step closer to having its first woman bishop (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Missions and ministries:
- Economic slowdown cuts into Cornerstone | Overall attendance down about 2,000 from previous turnout. (The Peoria (Il.) Journal Star)
- Evangecube co-inventor is missionary, artist, businessman | Though he is listed as a co-inventor, Nathan Sheets hesitates to take credit for the creation of Evangecube, a puzzle used to teach others about the principles of Christianity (Plano Star Courier, Tex.)
- Aid groups in Iraq also under attack | Although international aid groups are used to working in crisis environments, some worry that the symbols of military occupation in Iraq are mixed with those of humanitarian work to an unprecedented degree. And that may be prompting a backlash (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Excessive evangelism invites a backlash in the Muslim world | Any religious group can seek converts through persuasion. But the American evangelists are likely to undermine U.S. foreign policy, given their close political links with the present administration (Hussain Haqqani, Gulf News, UAE)
- God’s architect on road to sainthood | Antonio Gaudi is called God’s architect, though he is renowned for leaving his most important creation less than half finished (The Guardian, London)
- Carpentersville ministry to aid ex-convicts | Life House Ministries is an extension of a similar program offered in Cook County jail and other detention facilities across the country (Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
- Once upon a time… | Storytellers convey vitality of biblical tales (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- Christian rock with a hard edge | Radial Angel set to ‘vent’ about issues at Visalia concert (Visalia Times-Delta, Calif.)
Books:
- Criticism of Christian Right short on objectivity, documentation | A review of The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America (The Tennessean, Nashville)
- Nazi victim’s words fascinate new audience | Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer faced moral challenge—and died for the choice he made (Chicago Tribune)
- There’s something about Harry | Evangelicals who are all worked up about Harry Potter’s celebration of magic and the occult are on to something. The kid may just be queer, in the broadest sense (Michael Bronski, The Boston Phoenix)
- Local churches stay out of ‘Potter’ fray | While sales have continued to boom with the latest book, the debate over Harry Potter doesn’t seem as hot this time around (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Montana)
- Jonathan Edwards: Soul on fire | It may not stretch the evidence to call Jonathan Edwards the most important religious figure in American history (Garry Wills, The New York Times Book Review)
- Deciding the world does not revolve around Galileo | In the confrontation between Galileo and the Catholic Church, Wade Rowland maintains that the church’s position is more defensible (The New York Times)
- For a clue, look up | A mystery writer confesses to religious conviction (The Wall Street Journal)
TV:
- Praise the Lord—again! | He had six houses, a garish wife, a theme park and loads of lovers. Then he went to jail. Now, Jim Bakker is back on TV, reports David Osborne (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
- As missionaries hit road, reality television follows | Christian networks embrace genre as they target MTV generation (Chicago Tribune)
Film:
- Do today’s films accurately portray religious faith? | Readers respond (The Washington Post)
- Face of an angel | Hollywood is frequently casting African-Americans in spiritual roles. Is this positive or patronizing? (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Zambia churches slams Big Brother Africa | “Immoral, indecent and dishonest – that is how you will end up,” the churches are warning, if you watch the South Africa-based show making headlines from Cape to Cairo (Vanguard, Lagos, Nigeria)
- Human or not? | Sci-fi films are grappling with humanity’s future. Can a non-human can be a person? (Reed Johnson, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
- Narnia may deliver Rings-like riches | New Zealand’s doubling as the fantasy world of Narnia would boost our film industry and tourism in the way that The Lord of the Rings has, its director says (Stuff, New Zealand)
Mel Gibson’s Passion:
- Mel Gibson looks right for movie on Jesus | The filmmaker, whose upcoming movie on the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus has drawn charges of anti-Semitism from Jewish and Catholic scholars, is shopping his film to a more receptive audience: evangelical Christians, conservative Catholics and Orthodox Jews (The Washington Times)
- Capturing the passion | A new film by Mel Gibson, to be released next year, depicts Jesus’ last few hours. Jews and Catholics are raising concerns about its potential for stoking anti-Semitism (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Gibson’s passionate movie critics have cross to bear | There’s nothing like antagonistic opposition, based on dirty tricks and disinformation, and then unmasked, to cast a favorable light on something or somebody (Frank Devine, The Australian)
Bonhoeffer: The movie
- Bonhoeffer educates but fails to fully entertain | German theologian lived a life that Hollywood could scarcely begin to imagine (The Boston Globe)
- Bonhoeffer: Thou shalt kill | The parable of the theologian who decided Hitler had to die (The Washington Post)
- Bonhoeffer: A man who took a stand | The movie is earnest, dutiful and hagiographic but hardly a stirring presentation (The Washington Post)
- Bonhoeffer shows pacifist grappling with Nazi terror, plot against Hitler | Bonhoeffer’s ideas, formed in a crucible of hate and murder, are as relevant as ever today (The Washington Times)
History and artifacts:
- Nazareth construction crew finds cistern | Crusaders might have built it 1,000 years ago, archaeologists said (Associated Press)
- Tomb references John the Baptist’s father | The discovery was a stroke of luck: the light of the setting sun hit an ancient tomb at just the right angle and revealed hints of a worn inscription, unnoticed for centuries, commemorating the father of John the Baptist (Associated Press)
Media:
- Lords overturn ownership ban | The House of Lords has voted to overturn a government ban on religious bodies owning national TV or radio stations, theoretically opening up ITV or Classic FM to bids from Christian, Muslim or Jewish groups (The Guardian, London)
- Too sexy for this store | Wal-Mart’s strange decision to blackball Redbook (Dana Goodyear, Slate.com)
- Media ethics according to Deuteronomy | God gave us the core ethic in the words “You shall not bear false witness” (John McCandlish Phillips, The Washington Post)
- Media vs. Christian worldview | Less than ten percent of America’s teenagers have a biblical worldview, according to a new survey of the California-based Barna Research Institute. Who is to blame? (UPI)
Education:
- Religion Today: A religious school with everything but students | The Halki Theological School — on an island off Istanbul — was closed in 1971 by Turkish authorities in a huge blow to the spiritual heart of Orthodoxy (Associated Press)
- School board approves Bible class | But some school board members have growing concerns about the controversial course (The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.)
Bible:
- Sex, the Bible and the real world | It is time we recognized the Bible for what it is – a thing of three testaments, not two (Brian Sewell, Evening Standard, London)
- A good book | An Orthodox Jewish rabbi believes the Bible should be seen as a great work of fiction—and a racy read (Newsweek)
Crime:
- Bishop pleads innocent in hit and run | O’Brien didn’t comment during or after his arraignment, except to tell the judge “yes” in response to a question about whether he had seen the charge prosecutors had filed against him (Associated Press)
- Former pastor gets five years on exploitation, fraud charges | William Draughon also ordered to pay Trinity Life Center $44,000 restitution (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Clergy sex scandals:
- Brother Stephen accused of soliciting sex from teen boy | Figure is famous at colleges around the country for his unashamedly anti-homosexual, anti-Muslim, hardline evangelical Christian rhetoric (The Daily Pennsylvanian, U. Penn)
- Also: Fiery street preacher accused of solicitation (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Priest confesses in pulpit: I fathered two children | Reports of Father Oscar Ornopia’s sex scandal were carried by the Philippine Daily Inquirer two days after Church leaders issued a public apology for the sexual misconduct and corruption of some clergymen (AFP)
- Also: Priest confesses to fathering two sons (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- Church pays $4 million to 4 for abuse | Archdiocese of Chicago selling land to raise money (Chicago Tribune)
- Anglican Church of Australia issues code on sex and conduct | The code bans any form of sexual exploitation, any sexual contact with a child, or any sexual contact within a pastoral relationship (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Personalities:
- God’s gift to Beyonce | How this devout girl from Texas grew up to become one of the world’s hottest stars. Hallelujah! (The Mirror, U.K.)
- Ex-Bond girl is ordained Anglican minister | Shannon Ledbetter, who had a part in the 1997 movie “Tomorrow Never Dies,” was ordained last Sunday at the cathedral of Liverpool in northern England (AFP)
- Christian worldview | An interview with Ravi Zacharias (The Washington Times)
- Campolo apologizes for ‘intemperate’ comments on ‘those who differ with me’ | Clarifies views on women in ministry, homosexuality, Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and Jesus’ Second Coming (Baptist Press)
- Also: Campolo apologizes to Southern Baptist Convention for tone of remarks | However, he reiterated his strong disagreement with them over their views on women in church leadership and their handling of homosexuality in civic life. (Associated Baptist Press)
Retreats and travel destinations:
- Getting in touch by getting away | Retreats bring quiet sanctuary into busy lives (The Washington Post)
- Testament to the Word | Church of God’s Fields of the Wood Bible Park inspirational spot for many (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
Money and business:
- Blessing or blasphemy? Some businesses wear faith on their sleeves | From Faith Electric Inc. to Alpha-Omega Plumbing Co., hundreds of businesses across the nation wear their faith on their sleeves—literally (Associated Press)
- Pa. man opens music church to bypass laws | Feed maker William “Willy” Pritts wants to make music, but his local government says he can’t because his property isn’t zoned for moneymaking concerts (Associated Press)
- Meijer vows faith-friendly policy for workers | After firing a cake decorator who refused to work on a Sunday, retailer pledged to improve the way it accommodates employees’ religious practices (The Grand Rapids Press, Mich.)
- ‘God wants you to be physically fit’ | Increasingly, many are choosing to pursue a path apart from the American mainstream. From education, to music and entertainment, even to the theme park they’ll visit in Orlando, religious conservatives are flocking to Christian-themed options such as the Lord’s Gym here in South Florida (USA Today)
Science and health:
- ‘Intelligent design’ theory debated at hearing | Board of Education hears from both sides during discussion on adoption of new texts (Houston Chronicle)
- Ugandans say facts, not abstinence, will win AIDS war | Bush likely to hear dissent on policy (The Washington Post)
- Paul Wilson Brand, pioneer in reconstructive surgery for lepers, dies at 88 (The New York Times)
Catholicism:
- Once scorned, Catholics now gaining acceptance in Appalachian region | For years, small congregations suffered ridicule (Associated Press)
- The changing face of Catholicism | Transition pains plague the Denver Archdiocese as the number of Spanish-speaking parishioners grows (Denver Post)
- Conservative Catholics stoking a ‘fire’ | Meeting at their national conference in Anaheim next week, traditionalists try holding the line against ‘impure’ influences (Los Angeles Times)
- Worldwide donations to Vatican increase | Church feared decrease, but U.S. is number one source of contributions (Associated Press)
- Pope hires experts to ward off website attackers | Site is attacked by at least 30 mainly US hackers every day (AFP)
Interfaith relations and other religions:
- You can’t compel me to respect the risible | It is self-deceiving to think that we can expunge the tendency to discriminate by ordering us all to show respect for the stupid, the deluded, the gullible and the moral fascists (Terry Lane, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
- ‘Tolerance’ seems to exclude Christianity | When it comes to theology, everyone is an expert (Dan Secrist, The Olympian, Wash.)
- Mosque destroyed, Nazareth remains divided | Muslims vow they’ll try to rebuild (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Muslim, Christian leaders take exception to Chief Minister’s remarks on minorities | Official said non-Hindus are trying to pressure state (KeralaNext.com)
Other stories of interest:
- Silence is the killer | Why do so many born-again Christians insist on the ‘right’ to beat young children under their care or tutelage? (Henry McDonald, The Observer, London)
- Life has a spiritual side, even without faith in God | Many secularists I’ve met over the years care just as deeply about life’s enduring values as the believers who surround them (David Crumm, Detroit Free Press)
- Religion news in brief | PCUSA considers abuse policy, Lutheran baptism debate, Mennonites change policy on abortion (Associated Press)
- First Mary, now Jesus said to adorn U.S. hospital | First the Virgin Mary turned up in a hospital window. Now Jesus is apparently on the chimney (Reuters)
- ‘Chimps + Language = Religion’ | Jane Goodall now believes that discussing religion minus spirituality in animals has led to an anthropocentric conception of God (Outlook, India)
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