Religion

September 27, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today unveiled Faith-Based Missouri, his new initiative to increase cooperation between state government and faith and community-based groups in providing services to Missourians in need.    » read more »

22 September 2007 -- A political storm is raging over a project to build a shipping canal in southern India. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, Hindu activists say the canal will destroy a bridge they believe was built by the Hindu god Rama and his army of monkeys.

It is known as "India's Suez Canal," a project to dredge a deep passage between India and Sri Lanka, to allow cargo ships a faster route around the southern tip of India.    » read more »

September 13, 2007 -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement today to commemorate the start of Ramadan:

"Today is a special day for the more than one billion Muslims around the world. It is the first day of a month long period of reflection; when time is taken from busy lives to reflect on the year just past. Ramadan is also an occasion to look beyond the self and to focus on the suffering of those less fortunate through prayer, reflection and fasting.    » read more »

14 September 2007 -- A U.S. State Department report said Friday that political violence in Iraq has significantly impaired religious freedom there. But the annual world-wide survey cited improvements in conditions for religious adherents in, among other places, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

The annual report, which this year covered 198 countries and territories, is required under an act of Congress, and countries found to be significant violators of religious freedom are subject to U.S. sanctions.    » read more »

09/04/2007, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Twins, KTIS-FM and Youth Specialties invite you to a special event at the Metrodome on Saturday, Sept. 15 as the Twins take on the Detroit Tigers.

After the game stay for the Christian rock concert featuring the band Hawk Nelson. After the game, concert-goers will be invited to re-enter the Metrodome for the performance, about 30 minutes after the game. (Seating for the concert will be general admission).    » read more »

Sept. 4, 2007, LAWRENCE — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Kansas will offer 21 courses and three special events this fall in Lawrence and Topeka, as well as its new locations in Overland Park and Clay County in Missouri.    » read more »

05 September 2007 -- The late Pope John Paul II's private secretary - Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz - is urging fellow Roman Catholic church leaders to take immediate action against a popular priest accused of spreading anti-Semitism and nationalist politics by Catholic radio.

In remarks published by newspapers Tuesday, the cardinal said the church cannot ignore what is happening. He said the church is on the verge of what he calls a "dangerous crisis," where someone else is trying to set the direction of Polish Catholicism.    » read more »

And religious physicians appear to be less willing to refer patients to them

3-Sep-2007 -- A nationwide survey of the religious beliefs and practices of American physicians has found that the least religious of all medical specialties is psychiatry. Among psychiatrists who have a religion, more than twice as many are Jewish and far fewer are Protestant or Catholic, the two most common religions among physicians overall.    » read more »

29 August 2007 -- As of September 1, China is tightening control over Tibetan Buddhism with a new law requiring government permission for the reincarnation of lamas. Tibetan activists say this is another attempt by communist Chinese leaders to undermine Tibetan culture and even absurdly to control the religious afterlife. VOA's Heda Bayron has more on the story from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

The new law bans Tibetan lamas, or monks, from reincarnating without Chinese government approval.    » read more »

Denies preliminary injunction; allows Texas schoolchildren to continue reciting Pledge

August 28, 2007 -- DALLAS – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today prevailed in federal court, where a North Texas couple tried to prevent schoolchildren from reciting the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. A federal district judge ruled against David Wallace Croft and his wife, Shannon, who sought a preliminary injunction because the Texas Legislature recently added the words “one state under God” to the state Pledge. Solicitor General Ted Cruz argued on the state’s behalf.    » read more »

August 28, 2007 -- Statement of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott:

"With today's ruling, a federal judge denied the plaintiffs' attempt to prevent Texas school children from pledging their allegiance to "one state, under God"--just as they pledge to "one nation, under God."

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held patriotic acknowledgments of the Almighty such as these are completely consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

Texans can rest assured that we will continue vigorously defending their children's ability to recite the State Pledge of Allegiance each morning."    » read more »

27 August 2007 -- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is poised to become Turkey's president on Tuesday, which would make him the first head of state with a background in political Islam in a country with strong secularist principles. Gul's election would mark a major triumph for his Islamic-rooted government over the secular establishment, which blocked his initial bid for president over fears that he planned to dilute secular traditions.

Gul, 56, has been a controversial figure in Turkish politics because of his Islamist roots, but supporters say he is more than qualified to be president.    » read more »

20 August 2007 -- U.S. immigration authorities have deported a Mexican illegal immigrant who took refuge in a church for a year to avoid being separated from her U.S.-born son.

The pastor of the church, Reverend Walter Coleman, says Elvira Arellano was deported to the Mexican border city of Tijuana late Sunday.

Police arrested the 32-year-old activist earlier Sunday in Los Angeles after she spoke at a rally in support of illegal immigrant rights.    » read more »

Supreme Judicial Court Approves Archdiocese Plan

August 17, 2007 -- BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has agreed to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston's (RCAB) plan to redistribute contributions from its closed parishes to designated successor parishes. Following the Attorney General's agreement to the plan, the RCAB filed court documents in the Suffolk County Session of the Supreme Judicial Court, seeking the court's permission to implement the redistribution plan.    » read more »

August 15, 2007 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a Monmouth County contractor and his corporation were indicted today on a theft charge for allegedly stealing money from construction clients, including two churches.

According to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden Brown, Joseph Kohler, 44, Holmdel, and JenJo, Inc., Kohler’s construction company located in Holmdel, were charged with second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received.    » read more »