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(RNS) Muslim Americans faced more anti-Muslim bias but fewer physical assaults in 2008, according to a report released Thursday (Dec. 3) by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. “In 2008, Muslims continued to face barriers to their full and equal participation in American society. Certain individuals and institutions persisted in profiting by smearing Islam,” CAIR’s…

NEW YORK (RNS) Religious activists on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate vowed to continue their work after the New York State Senate rejected a gay marriage bill on Wednesday (Dec. 2). The 34-28 vote, coming after debate in which state senators evoked various religious traditions and texts, was a blow for proponents of…

HANOI, Vietnam – Followers of a famed Buddhist monk say they are continuing to suffer police harassment two months after they were forcibly evicted from a monastery in southern Vietnam. The followers of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who has popularized Buddhism in the West and sold millions of books worldwide, say they are being…

(RNS) Secular and religious groups are urging Christians and Jews to take safety precautions during Christmas and Hanukkah, when candles, electric lights and flammable decorations create fire hazards. Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that begins at sunset on Dec. 11, has traditions that involve lighting up to eight candles and frying foods in…

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The leaders in the local large Orthodox Jewish community go to great lengths to keep out the outside world, discouraging nonbusiness use of the Internet and encouraging strict filters to keep the ungodly out when members must use the Web. But last month, several rabbis and other elders did something astounding for…

BERLIN (RNS) Constitutional provisions that declare Sunday a day of rest mean German merchants will have to significantly rein in the number of days they are open for business, Germany’s highest court ruled Tuesday (Dec. 1). The ruling was prompted by protests from Catholic and Protestant churches in Berlin over laws enacted in 2006 that…

PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) Teachers are likely to win the right to wear religious clothing such as turbans, yarmulkes, crosses and headscarves in public schools when state lawmakers convene in February, elected officials say. Oregon’s relatively unique prohibition on teachers’ religious garb dates to a shameful anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant period in state history and is overdue to…

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three Virginia yoga instructors aren’t feeling so Zen about a state plan to regulate and license would-be teachers of the ancient discipline. The instructors say they plan to file a federal lawsuit in Alexandria on Tuesday claiming the plan infringes on their free speech rights. They say entrepreneurs would have to ask…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican is facing calls to apologize — as yet unanswered — for the large-scale child abuse by Irish Catholic priests detailed in a damning government report. The new report, issued by a commission charged with probing allegations involving the Archdiocese of Dublin between 1975 and 2004, revealed a pattern of clergy…

PARIS (RNS) A Swiss vote to ban the construction of minarets at Muslim houses of worship sent ripples of surprise and dismay across Europe and Islamic countries Monday (Nov. 30), as opponents vowed to challenge the results. “We are really sad — for ourselves and for Switzerland’s place in the world,” said Geneva Muslim leader…
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