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Associated Press ORLANDO, Florida — U.S. Roman Catholic bishops issued a document Friday warning against what they consider the moral dangers of embryonic stem cell research, saying it treats human beings as commodities and reduces procreation to a manufacturing process. With general elections looming in November, the bishops said they are not asking Catholics or…

By Ashly McGloneReligion News Service WASHINGTON — A federal religious freedom watchdog panel says it has reviewed textbooks used in a Saudi-run school in northern Virginia and confirmed that they contain passages that promote violence and intolerance. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said Wednesday (June 11) that the most troubling elements of the…

By Amy GreenReligion News Service ORLANDO, Fla. — Immigration has not weakened the Christian identity of the United States but rather strengthened it, the director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life told Catholic bishops here Thursday (June 12). “Even though immigration is increasing diversity,” Luis Lugo said, “its primary result is that…

United Press International GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia woman has received a one-year jail sentence after paying and signing paperwork for her son’s girlfriend to have an abortion, officials say. Cindi Cook, 44, was found guilty of encouraging her son’s 16-year-old girlfriend to have an abortion by paying for her to have the procedure at…

The Associated Press WASHINGTON – About 300 houses of worship are displaying anti-torture banners this month in an initiative by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Most of the banners are a stark black-and-white and read, “Torture is Wrong” or “Torture is a Moral Issue.” Congregations participating in the month-long campaign include Methodists, Presbyterians, Jews,…

By Paul R. KopenkoskeyReligion News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The perception that people unfettered by religion are happier than those who regularly attend church is false, an economist says. “People who believe in no moral constraints on activities have less happiness,” said Arthur Brooks, professor of business and government policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Southern Baptists on Tuesday (June 10) elected a Georgia pastor, the Rev. Johnny Hunt of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, as president after the most wide-open leadership race in three decades. Hunt, 55, a megachurch pastor known for his encouragement of young pastors, won 53 percent of the…

The Associated Press CHICAGO – Barack Obama discussed Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and other issues Tuesday with Christian leaders, including conservatives who have been criticized for praising the Democratic presidential candidate. Bishop T.D. Jakes, a prominent black clergyman who heads a Dallas megachurch, said Obama took questions, listened to participants and discussed…

By Achal Narayanan Religion News Service Chennai, India – The appointment of a new “living goddess” in Nepal has been held up by the recent abolition of the Hindu monarchy in the Himalayan nation, according to Nepalese officials. Traditionally, the palace priest appoints the girl, who is chosen in her infancy and is treated as…

The Dallas Morning News Jun. 10–WASHINGTON — Environmental messages preached from the pulpit have yet to take hold in evangelical and Catholic pews, according to a recent survey on religion in public life. Just 43 percent of evangelical Protestants said they would support strict environmental regulations if such rules would cost jobs or result in…
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