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FRIDLEY, Minn. – The Rev. Dave Glesne stood before the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church a few weeks ago and told them there might be some painful decisions in the near future. Glesne is against letting people in same-sex relationships serve as pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and he says his congregation…

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s newspaper on Thursday praised as a step toward “ethical finance” a deal announced by the Swiss and U.S. governments to settle American demands for the identities of suspected tax dodgers. L’Osservatore Romano said the deal marks “significant progress in the fight against tax evasion and in the direction of a…

DES MOINES, Iowa – A dispute about bus advertisements seeking to publicize atheist views has touched off a free speech debate after the signs were torn down – then posted again – on the sides of Des Moines city buses. The ads, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, pictured white puffy clouds against a…

(RNS) Atheists, agnostics or otherwise nonreligious people can be just as content and well-adjusted as their religious counterparts, according to a new study. “The common assumption of greater religiosity relating to greater happiness and satisfaction is overly simplistic,” said Luke Galen, an associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and…

(RNS) The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has put India on its `watch list,’ citing the country’s “inadequate” response to recent waves of violence toward religious minorities. While there has been a “disturbing increase in communal violence” in India, “the government’s response… has been found to be largely inadequate and the national government has…

A new study of Catholic religious orders shows that their dwindling ranks are predominantly white and aging, but some groups are drawing interest from more diverse seekers. The new members particularly seem drawn to the conservative communities that live a communal life, celebrate the Eucharist each day, and don traditional religious habits, according to the…

Associated Press – August 12, 2009, PARIS – A Muslim woman garbed in a head-to-toe swimsuit – dubbed a “burquini” – may have opened a new chapter in France’s tussle between religious practices and its stern secular code. Officials insisted Wednesday they banned the woman’s use of the Islam-friendly suit at a local pool because…

c. 2009 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS — The nation’s largest umbrella group for Roman Catholic sisters opened its annual meeting here Tuesday (Aug. 11), marking the first formal gathering of members since the Vatican launched two unprecedented inquiries into their communities. Officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, whose 1,500 members represent about…

(RNS) The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s domestic missions agency and three of his associates resigned Tuesday (Aug. 11) after questions were raised about his management of the agency. Geoff Hammond led the North American Mission Board for two years. Hammond’s resignation takes effect immediately, Tim Patterson, chairman of the agency’s trustee board, said…

(RNS) A Virginia jail will stop censoring religious mail after protests from civil rights organizations that clerks had turned Bible-quoting missives from an inmate’s mother into tattered strips of paper signed “Love, Mom.” Rappahannock Regional Jail authorities agreed to change the policy after receiving a letter signed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the…
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