By FRANCIS X. ROCCA c. 2011 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) For seven centuries, Eucharistic adoration — praying before an exposed consecrated Communion host — was one of the most popular forms of devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, the focus of beloved prayers and hymns and a distinctive symbol of Catholic identity. Following…

By JACK JENKINS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Goshen College will no longer play The Star-Spangled Banner at sporting events, school leaders announced, reversing last year’s decision to allow the use of the national anthem for the first time in the Mennonite college’s history. Some Mennonites had criticized the anthem’s lyrics as glorifying war…

By DEBRA RUBIN c. 2011 Religion News Service SILVER SPRING, Md. (RNS) Saraleah was 19 and a part-time student when she discovered she was pregnant. She didn’t know how it could have happened — until she flashed back to a party nine weeks earlier where she was given a drink, realized it was vodka and…

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Southern Baptists meeting in Phoenix adopted a plan Tuesday (June 14) to try to boost minorities in their top leadership posts as they face continuing reports of stagnant baptism rates and declining membership. Members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination backed the recommendation for intentionally…

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