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By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Southern Baptists on Wednesday (June 14) called hell an “eternal, conscious punishment” for those who do not accept Jesus, rebutting a controversial book from Michigan pastor Rob Bell that questions traditional views of hell. Citing Bell’s book “Love Wins,” the resolution urges Southern Baptists “to…

By DANIEL BURKE c. 2011 Religion News Service BELLEVUE, Wash. (RNS) The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops began a review of church sex abuse policies here on Wednesday (June 15), bypassing several recent reports that raise questions about whether the rules are effective at removing abusive priests. The bishops’ brief public discussion seemed a mere prelude…

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…

By PETER KENNY c. 2011 Religion News Service GENEVA (RNS) The Obama administration’s new envoy for international religious freedom told a U.N. commission on Tuesday (June 14) that government, political, religious and business leaders must stand ready to condemn hateful ideology. Borrowing from recent headlines, Ambassador-at-Large Suzan Johnson Cook cited a Florida pastor who had…

By JACK JENKINS c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) The Catholic University of America will phase out co-ed dormitories later this year, President John H. Garvey said Monday (June 13), in a bid to crack down on drinking and casual sex. Garvey, writing in The Wall Street Journal, said the Washington school would instead…

By MICHELE CHABIN c. 2011 Religion News Service TEL AVIV, Israel (RNS) Though never short on spectacle, this year’s annual gay pride festival was even more colorful with a parade float, sponsored by Google, representing the country’s religious gay and lesbian communities. Dressed in shorts and T-shirts bearing the words “Religious Pride Community,” the 20-…

By SCOTT D. PIERCE c. 2011 Salt Lake Tribune (RNS) The irreverent and hilarious The Book of Mormon musical dominated the 65th annual Tony Awards on Sunday (June 12), winning the award for Best Musical and becoming one of the most honored productions in Broadway history. Broadway neophytes Trey Parker and Matt Stone thanked their…
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