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(RNS) As the U.S. has grown more diverse, more Americans believe that being a Christian is a key aspect of being “truly American,” researchers say. Purdue University scholars found that between 1996 and 2004, Americans who saw Christian identity as a “very important” attribute of being American increased from 38 percent to 49 percent. Scholars…

By Francis X. Rocca c. 2010 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Two American archbishops, one serving in Rome and the other in Washington, D.C., will be granted a cardinal’s red hat in a ceremony at the Vatican next month, Pope Benedict XVI announced on Wednesday (Oct. 20). Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and Archbishop…

By Nicole Neroulias S c. 2010 Religion News Service (RNS) Visit a Roman Catholic and an Eastern Orthodox liturgy, and the differences are stark: Catholic statues vs. Orthodox icons, celibate vs. married priests, communion wafers vs. hunks of bread. Pay closer attention, and other distinctions become apparent, including how each side makes the sign of…

Blogger Pamela Geller, who was instrumental is raising objections to the Islamic community center near Ground Zero, is calling for a boycott of Campbell soup as a result of the company offering halal soups in Canada certified by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), according to an article in The Washington Post. Geller said…

(RNS) President Obama’s approval rating among U.S. Jews has dropped in the past year, while opinions of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have improved, according to a new survey released by the American Jewish Committee. The global advocacy organization pegged Jewish approval of Obama’s performance as president at 51 percent, down from 57 percent in March,…

(RNS) Nearly eight in 10 respondents who participated in a Christianity Today International survey said convicted sex offenders should be welcomed in church pews. The vast majority of survey participants — pastors, church leaders and staff members and active Christians — agreed to the idea so long as offenders who were released from prison were…

(RNS) Two federal courts have issued strong defenses of religious expression in two separate decisions, one involving a teenager’s nose piercing and the other a license plate. Ariana Iacono, a freshman at Clayton (N.C.) High School, was allowed to return to class on Friday (Oct. 8) after missing more than four weeks of school for…

(RNS) More than 160 North American Muslims from the U.S. and Canada have issued a “Defense of Free Speech” statement that affirms free speech and condemns those who threaten violence against people who criticize or mock Islam. The statement follows recent deadly riots in Afghanistan after a small number of American Christians threatened to burn…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican’s top bioethics official expressed “perplexity” after the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded Monday (Oct. 4) to the inventor of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Bishop Ignazio Carrasco de Paula, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, praised British scientist Robert G. Edwards for opening a “new and important chapter in…

By Jeanette Rundquist c. 2010 Religion News Service (RNS) “Silent Night” and other religious songs will remain off the program at holiday concerts in one New Jersey school district — and possibly others across the country — after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a school ban on religious holiday music.…
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