Beliefnet News

(RNS) The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow religiously observant Jews to transport ritual objects related to the holiday of Sukkot in airports and through security checkpoints in the U.S. The move comes at the request of the New York-based Orthodox Union (OU), which over the years has heard complaints from Jews whose lulavs (palm…

WASHINGTON (RNS) When the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center opened in December 2008, the national motto, “In God We Trust,” was nowhere to be found. But almost a year later, after complaints from members of Congress, a new engraving of the phrase was unveiled. “This was accomplished due to the efforts of so many individuals in…

The Dalai Lama announced this week a gift of $50,000 to an Emory University initiative that is developing a science education curriculum for Tibetan monastics. Emory officials also announced that the Tibetan spiritual leader will return to the campus in October 2010 and host forums, seminars and other activities for the college community and the…

WASHINGTON (RNS) Support for abortion is declining across the country, with Americans now evenly divided on whether it should be legal, a new report shows. In 2007 and 2008, supporters of legal abortion more clearly outnumbered opponents, but recent surveys by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 47 percent…

(RNS) When the Dalai Lama came to Washington two years ago, he was feted with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, as President George W. Bush and a bipartisan delegation looked on. But as the exiled Tibetan leader returns for another visit to the nation’s capital next week (Oct. 5-10), there is…

WASHINGTON (RNS) A slight majority of American Jews approve of the Obama administration’s Israel policy, but an almost equal number oppose his call for an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to a new poll. The 2009 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion found that 54 percent of American Jews approve of…

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has asked U.S. Catholic bishops to fund a $1.1 million investigation of American nuns ordered by church authorities in Rome. “We have a projected budget of $1,100,000 for the three years which the total work of the apostolic visitations will require,” Cardinal Franc Rode, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for…

WASHINGTON (RNS) As thousands of gays and lesbians prepare to march on the nation’s capital to push for equal rights, leaders from a range of faiths say it’s time to stop using religion as a weapon to oppose same-sex marriage. What’s more, advocates for gay rights say their faith and a sacred belief in justice…

(RNS) Catholic, Lutheran and United Methodist leaders will gather in Chicago on Thursday (Oct. 1) to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a milestone agreement on the long, slow and often painful road to Christian unity. The celebration, held at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago, will pay tribute to the signing of the Joint Declaration…

(RNS) Does an offended observer who drives by a cross-shaped war memorial in the middle of the desert have a right to call for its removal? And can that 7-foot cross stand without violating the constitution’s prohibition of government establishment of religion? The Supreme Court will consider those questions in the case of a cross-shaped…

More from Beliefnet and our partners