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By Daniel Burke Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. State Department, in its annual report on international religious freedom issued Friday (Sept. 19), admonished several Asian nations, including China, for severely repressing religion. Listing “countries of particular concern” that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” the report highlights everything from…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service (RNS) Responding to a call from their Third World counterparts, U.S. evangelical leaders are urging church members to pay greater attention to global poverty, saying increased advocacy is necessary in light of the current U.S. financial crisis. Last month, 21 leaders of churches in Africa, Asia and South…

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services — Unrestricted – September 22, 2008 Sep. 20–RICHARDSON — In a banquet room above the student union’s bopping pingpong balls and blaring arcade games, the groan of empty stomachs met the hum of Arabic prayer. Tables of 20-somethings at the University of Texas at Dallas drooled over plates of hummus as their…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service (RNS) Four in 10 Americans believe that religious leaders should be permitted to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without risking their organization’s tax-exempt status, a new survey by the First Amendment Center shows. Twenty-two percent of respondents “strongly” agreed and 18 percent “mildly” agreed that religious leaders…

BBC Monitoring Middle East – September 19, 2008 At 0805 gmt on 19 September, Iranian radio and the Iranian News Network began broadcasting live Tehran Friday prayer sermons led by supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i in Tehran University Campus. President Ahmadinezhad, a number MPs including Speak Larijani, former Speaker Haddad-Adel and current vice-Speaker Bahonar,…

By Ashley Gipson c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As the market mayhem continues to rock Wall Street, dazed employees in the financial sector who have lost their faith in the economy are turning to religious leaders for guidance. “People who still have their jobs are asking, `Am I next?’ They are much less certain…

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Belmont, California – The women broke their fast at sunset. Their legs curled beneath them, they gathered around a blue tarp to eat Tuesday night. They chewed dates, while some poured each other orange juice or water before their prayers. They hadn’t had any food or water for 14 hours. “Fasting…

Associated Press Tehran, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel on Thursday, saying the Jewish state would not survive, even if it gave up land for a Palestinian state. He also dismissed allegations that his country is trying to make nuclear arms. Speaking to reporters in Tehran, the hard-line leader smirked at…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Washington – Heaven is no longer viewed as an exclusive place by many Americans, according to a new survey from Baylor University. When researchers polled U.S. adults about who (and how many) will get into heaven, 54 percent of respondents said at least half of average Americans will…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service (RNS) Six Michigan farmers, including two Amish men, say a state-required livestock numbering system infringes on their religious beliefs and are suing the U.S. and Michigan departments of agriculture to stop the program. The electronic numbering and tagging procedure is designed to trace sick animals and protect public health.…
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