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Associated Press Seattle – Pharmacists have sued Washington state over a new regulation that requires them to sell emergency contraception, also known as the “morning-after pill.” In a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists say the rule that took effect Thursday violates their civil rights by forcing them into…

Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Leaders of an upcoming Baptist unity celebration have denied two Baptist organizations an official role in the event because they support gay rights. The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists and the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America learned in mid-July that they could not be “participating organizations” of…

By Jennifer Koons Religion News Service Washington — Bolstered by polls showing that a growing number of young evangelicals are turning away from the Republican Party, Democrats are on a campaign to reach them where they’re at — in school. Republicans lost votes across all age groups in the 2006 midterm elections,but it was young…

By David E. Anderson Religion News Service U.S. foreign policy officials have shown an increased understanding of religion’s importance to American diplomacy, but the government’s activities in that area display a “lack of strategic thinking” that hampers efforts abroad, according to a new report. U.S. officials do not have “a clear set of policy objectives…

RNS by Michelle Rindels Ukrainian Catholics are fighting to stop a U.S.-owned company from turning a 19th-century church into a casino, according to international reports. Protesters inside St. Joseph’s church in Dnipropetrovsk were forcefully evicted before the roof and ceiling were removed Friday (July 20), according to Ecumenical News International. “The authorities are laughing at…

Associated Press Kabul, Afghanistan – July 25, 2007 – Afghan police discovered the bullet-riddled body of a South Korean hostage Wednesday as the Taliban released eight other captives who were taken to a U.S. military base, officials said. Because of a recent spike in kidnappings – including an attempt against a Danish citizen Wednesday –…

RNS By Gwen Filosa and John Pope New Orleans — Closing one of the most sensational chapters in post-Katrina New Orleans, Dr. Anna Pou said she fell to her knees and thanked God when she learned Tuesday (July 24) that a grand jury had refused to charge her with murdering patients in Memorial Medical Center…

RNS by Adelle M. Banks Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of the humanistic stream of Judaism, died Saturday (July 21) in an automobile accident. Wine, 79, was vacationing in Morocco at the time. Described by the Humanist chaplain of Harvard University as “the greatest American religious leader you never heard of,” Wine founded the movement…

RNS by Michelle Rindels The Vatican is appealing to U.S. officials to commute the death sentence of a Georgia man convicted of killing a police officer in 1989. Saying that a number of key witnesses have recanted their testimonies, the Vatican embassy in Washington sent a letter to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, requesting clemency for…

RNS by Omar Sacribey Rizwan Kadir liked working in finance, but when he read a verse in the Quran that said engaging in usury was the same as “waging war” against God and Islam’s prophet Muhammad, fear struck him. “When you come across an aya (verse) like this, it makes you start wondering what you’re…

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