Elizabeth Smart, a sheltered, devout Mormon teenager from Salt Lake City, was abducted, raped and held against her will as the “plural wife” of self-proclaimed prophet Brian David Mitchell in June 2002. After reuniting with her parents and five siblings nine months later, she moved on with her life, including studying music at Brigham Young University and serving an…

From today’s Religion News Service roundup: In Spain over the weekend, Pope Benedict XVI defended traditional families and the rights of the unborn, attacking Spanish laws that allow gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier access to abortions; the pontiff was met by 200 kissing gays and lesbians as he headed to dedicate Barcelona’s iconic basilica,…

Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who recently made headlines for adding his voice to the “It Gets Better” project aimed at preventing gay teen suicides, has announced that he will retire in 2013. Robinson will only be 65 when he steps down — young for a bishop — just shy of a decade since New Hampshire…

Comedy Central hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert didn’t skip a beat this week, coming back from their Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear to satirize the mid-term elections (aka “Indecision 2010”) — including live Election Night coverage. Check out Colbert’s take on the results, including Oklahoma’s approved constitutional amendment to forbid the state’s courts…

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