WASHINGTON – Religious freedom has sharply deteriorated in Iraq over the past year because of both the insurgency and violence targeting people of specific faiths, despite the U.S. military buildup intended to improve security, says a State Department report to be released Friday. The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom finds that all worshipers are…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS)– Jesus and Moses were sold out, but you could still head to the checkout counter with Mary, Noah, David and a ferocious-looking Samson, packaged with Delilah in hot pink. The world of posable action figures has traditionally belonged to hulking heroes such as Spider-Man and He-Man. But this latest crop — heroes…

(Religion News Service) The years-long strife in the Anglican Communion could reach a breaking point in New Orleans next week (Sept. 20-24) when Episcopal bishops consider a Sept. 30 deadline to change their church or face “consequences.” The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, was given until the end of the month…

(AP) The Vatican and U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are investigating the writings of a well-known American theologian who has analyzed how the Catholic faith relates to other religions. The inquiry’s focus is the Rev. Peter Phan, of Georgetown University, a Vietnamese-American priest from the Dallas diocese and former president of the Catholic Theological Society of…

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