The Archdiocese of New Orleans on Tuesday (Feb. 1) unveiled a new online database containing records of baptisms, marriages and deaths in colonial New Orleans, including those of African slaves. The first batch of five registers to go online contains baptismal records of slaves and free persons of color, most of them bereft of family…

By RICHARD YEAKLEY c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Critics who raised objections to a video at a Smithsonian exhibit that showed ants crawling on a crucifix are unsatisfied with new policies intended to prevent future controversies. The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents advisory panel on Monday (Jan. 31) issued a report calling for…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) A coalition of more than 50 Muslim, human rights, and faith organizations is urging House leaders to raise concerns about planned hearings this month on the “radicalization” of American Muslims. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, plans to focus his…

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Professors at the U.S. Air Force Academy have filed suit in a bid to stop a school prayer luncheon headlined by a motivational speaker who calls himself a “U.S. Marine for Christ.” Five faculty members joined the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which has spent…

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