http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-public-life en http://www.firstthings.com/images/blogimg.gif http://www.firstthings.com/religion-public-life 125 100 ft@firsthings.com () Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:21:28 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/wisconsin-group-seeks-to-bar-religious-inscriptions http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/wisconsin-group-seeks-to-bar-religious-inscriptions From the New York Times:

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nations largest group of atheists and agnostics, filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in western Wisconsin seeking to block the engraving of In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington. The group, which is based in Madison, says the engravings would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, and would discriminate against those who do not practice religion and unfairly promote a Judeo-Christian perspective. The group is also challenging the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:00:43 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/episcopal-church-vote-favors-gay-ordination http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/episcopal-church-vote-favors-gay-ordination From Christianity Today :

Starting last week, The Episcopal Church (TEC) has been meeting in Anaheim, California, for its General Convention. The convention is subdivided into the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (lay and clergy).



The big question coming into the convention was whether the convention would move to repeal so-called B033, approved at their last convention. This resolution B033 called for the church to abide by a moratorium for consecrating openly homosexual individuals to the office of Bishop. (In 2003, the openly gay V. Gene Robinson was named as Bishop of New Hampshire.)



Last night, the House of Bishops approved D025, a measure from the House of Deputies that will allow gay clergy to serve openly in all offices of the church. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:56:00 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/president-obama-addresses-jewish-concerns http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/president-obama-addresses-jewish-concerns From the L.A. Times:

A private meeting Monday held to ease tensions between the White House and American Jewish leaders included a pointed exchange as President Obama said public disagreements between the U.S. government and Israel are useful in the pursuit of Middle East peace, several participants said.



The president's remarks, surprising to some in the room, came as he was questioned about a perceived distance between his administration and Israel -- specifically in his insistence that Israel halt all settlement construction in the West Bank.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to rule out building new homes in existing settlements, a policy that Palestinian leaders say would preclude their sitting down for peace talks. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:22:29 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/anglican-and-roman-catholic-leaders-say-the-market-is-lacking-morals http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/anglican-and-roman-catholic-leaders-say-the-market-is-lacking-morals From the L.A. Times:

In the midst of a global recession, religious leaders are looking beyond the recent regulatory fixes and bailouts aimed at repairing an ailing financial system.



They are questioning the underlying assumptions of a market economy that they say has lost its moral bearings.



Last week, Pope Benedict XVI issued an encyclical, a papal pronouncement, that decries the divide between rich and poor.



He said that growing financial interdependence had not been matched by ethical interactions for the good of all and that the United Nations and financial institutions should be reformed so that a "true world political authority" can work for the common good while respecting local decision-making. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:55:34 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/us-bishops-and-vatican-view-obama-differently http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/us-bishops-and-vatican-view-obama-differently From the New York Times:

Ever since he took office, President Obama has been given a cold reception by some Roman Catholic bishops in the United States who have repeatedly emphasized their churchs differences with him on abortion, birth control and stem cell research.


But Mr. Obama is likely to receive a much warmer reception in the Vatican on Friday when he meets Pope Benedict XVI for the first time, experts on the church say.


Both the pope and the president recognize that despite their differences, they have an opportunity to join forces on international issues that are mutual priorities: Israel and the Palestinians, climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, increased aid to poor nations and immigration reform.


Their encounter comes just as Mr. Obama leaves the Group of 8 industrialized nations summit meeting in LAquila, Italy, and three days after Pope Benedict released a weighty encyclical, Caritas in Veritate" or Charity in Truth," which updates Catholic social teaching for the global economic era. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:49:35 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/iowa-school-district-shapes-policy-on-religion http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/iowa-school-district-shapes-policy-on-religion From the Des Moines Register

Public school students in Spencer will get to study the Bible and pray at graduation if school district leaders approve a proposed "religious liberties" policy, the first of its kind in Iowa.


The plan calls for elective classes such as "Critic of Darwinism," which includes arguments against the theory of evolution, and "The Bible in History and Literature."


School officials say they want to set clear rules for religious expression without discouraging students, for example, from writing "Merry Christmas" on holiday cards in class.


Spencer Superintendent Greg Ebeling said most public educators who fear lawsuits go too far to exclude religion from schools. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:37:51 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/pharmacists-cant-refuse-plan-b-pill-appeals-court-says http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/pharmacists-cant-refuse-plan-b-pill-appeals-court-says From the L.A. Times:

Pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.



In a case that could affect policy across the Western states, a supermarket pharmacy owner in Olympia, Wash., failed in a bid to block 2007 changes to pharmacy regulations that required all Washington pharmacies to stock and dispense the contraceptive.



Family-owned Ralph's Thriftway and two women employed at other pharmacies sued Washington state officials over the requirement. The plaintiffs asserted that their Christian beliefs prevented them from dispensing the pills, which can prevent implantation of a recently fertilized egg. They said that the new regulations would force them to choose between keeping their jobs and heeding their religious objections to a medication they regard as a form of abortion. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:43:14 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/pope-calls-for-god-centered-global-economy http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/pope-calls-for-god-centered-global-economy From USA Today :

Pope Benedict XVI today called for reforming the United Nations and establishing a "true world political authority" with "real teeth" to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics.



In his third encyclical, a major teaching, released as the G-8 summit begins in Italy, the pope says such an authority is urgently needed to end the current worldwide financial crisis. It should "revive" damaged economies, reach toward "disarmament, food security and peace," protect the environment and "regulate migration."



Benedict writes, "The market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak."



The encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) is a theologically dense explication of Catholic social teaching that draws heavily from earlier popes, particularly PaulVI's critique of capitalism 42 years ago. And echoing his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict says, "every economic decision has a moral consequence." ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:59:35 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/megachurch-pastor-rick-warren-addresses-us-muslims http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/megachurch-pastor-rick-warren-addresses-us-muslims From the AP:

Defying some of his fellow conservative Christian critics, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country told several thousand American Muslims on Saturday that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems.



"Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren addressed the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America.



Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy.



Warren, founder of Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, Calif., is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. His willingness to show support for U.S. Muslims is a huge gain for the community, which has endured intense scrutiny since 9/11. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:54:34 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/a-war-of-words-between-catholics-and-jews http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/a-war-of-words-between-catholics-and-jews From the L.A. Times:

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, looking to clarify their position on interfaith dialogue with Jews, have instead caused an uproar by issuing a recent statement that appears to endorse attempts to convert them.



The bishops' action threatens to further erode Catholic-Jewish ties that have been strained in recent years by other controversies, including a decision by Pope Benedict XVI two years ago to revive a Latin Mass that contained a passage calling for the conversion of Jews.



The heads of several major U.S. Jewish organizations said the bishops' statement in June touched historic sensitivities among Jews about persecution by Christians. And they questioned whether the bishops were retreating from a carefully crafted 2002 document that spoke of dialogue between the two faiths as a "mutually enriching sharing of gifts devoid of any intention whatsoever" to proselytize. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:11:49 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/cardinal-john-henry-newman-catholic-convert-is-beatified-by-the-pope http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/cardinal-john-henry-newman-catholic-convert-is-beatified-by-the-pope From the Boston Globe:

Cardinal John Henry Newman, an influential 19th-century Anglican theologian who converted to Roman Catholicism, moved a step closer to possible sainthood Friday after the pope approved a miracle attributed to his intercession.



Pope Benedict XVI ruled that the recovery of a Boston-area resident who for years suffered from a spinal disorder was miraculous, meaning Newman can now be beatified. A second miracle is necessary for him to be declared a saint-an event which, if it happens, would make Newman the first English-born saint since the Reformation.



Newman, a hero to many Anglicans and Catholics alike, was one of the founders of the so-called Oxford Movement of the 1830s, which sought to revive certain Roman Catholic doctrines in the Church of England by looking back to the traditions of the earliest Christian church. Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:05:52 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/catholic-church-investigates-us-nuns http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/catholic-church-investigates-us-nuns From UPI:

The Vatican is investigating the conduct of U.S. nuns through two "visitations" of religious orders and an umbrella organization.


Several nuns told The New York Times they fear the church is trying to restore old traditions such as wearing habits, living in convents and working in church institutions.


"They think of us as an ecclesiastical work force," said Sister Sandra M. Schneiders, who taught at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, Calif. "Whereas we are religious, we're living the life of total dedication to Christ, and out of that flows a profound concern for the good of all humanity. So our vision of our lives, and their vision of us as a work force, are just not on the same planet." ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:07:31 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/courts-face-new-challenges-in-faith-healing-cases http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/courts-face-new-challenges-in-faith-healing-cases From the AP:

Most states have child abuse laws allowing some religious exemptions for parents who shun medicine for their sick children, but a few recent cases highlight thorny legal issues for parents following less-recognized faiths.



Existing laws have gradually accounted for more well-known and established faiths, such as Pentecostalism, Christian Science and Jehovah's Witnesses.



But recent cases in the news have judges and child care advocates dealing with parents who claim adherence to lesser-known faiths, such as the Minnesota family following an Internet-based group's American Indian beliefs, and an independent Oregon church that has been investigated in the past for the deaths of members' sick children.



Legal and religious scholars say it's becoming more difficult for courts to decide when to honor the religious beliefs of parents and when to order conventional medical treatment for extremely sick children. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:05:41 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/supreme-court-wont-touch-bible-club-case http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/07/supreme-court-wont-touch-bible-club-case From CBSNews.com:

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to stop a school district from blocking a group of Christian students from forming a Bible club on campus.



The court refused to hear an appeal from the high school students who wanted to form the Truth Bible Club at Kentridge High School in Washington state in 2001.



The school refused to let the group be chartered as a school club. They cited the group's name, the fact that students would have to pledge to Jesus Christ to vote in the club and that allowing the club in would bring religion into the school. The club's would-be founders then sued the Kent School District, claiming discrimination.



The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the district did not violate the students' First Amendment rights by requiring them to allow all students full membership in their club. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:41:42 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/survey-shows-widest-generation-gap-among-american-children-and-their-parents http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/survey-shows-widest-generation-gap-among-american-children-and-their-parents From the New York Daily News:

Older and younger Americans are most likely to differ on issues dealing with social values and morality, according to The Associated Press.



A survey released Monday by the Pew Research Center shows a widening generation gap on issues ranging from religion to marriage, creating divisions not seen since generational clashes over the Vietnam War, civil rights and womens rights 40 years ago.



The survey results highlighted the growing difference among age groups, as evidenced by voting trends from Novembers presidential election, in which 18-to-29-year-olds voted overwhelmingly in favor of Democrat Barack Obama by a 2-to-1 ratio.



According to Pew, an independent public opinion research group, nearly 80% of people surveyed believe there is a major difference in the points of view of older and younger people today.
]]> ft@firsthings.com () Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:53:26 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/high-court-backs-firefighters-in-reverse-discrimination-suit http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/high-court-backs-firefighters-in-reverse-discrimination-suit From CNN.com:

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with white firefighters in a workplace discrimination lawsuit, a divisive case over the role race should play in job advancement.



In the split 5-4 vote, a majority of the justices ruled that the city of New Haven, Connecticut, improperly threw out the results of promotional exams that officials said left too few minorities qualified.



One Latino and no African-American firefighters qualified for promotion based on the exam; the city subsequently decided not to certify the results and issued no promotions.



A group of 20 mostly white firefighters sued, claiming reverse discrimination.



High court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor heard the case on her federal appeals court last year and sided with the city. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:43:31 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/pope-scientific-analysis-done-on-st-pauls-bones http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/pope-scientific-analysis-done-on-st-pauls-bones From the Washington Post:

The first-ever scientific test on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seems to confirm" that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday.



It was the second major discovery concerning St. Paul announced by the Vatican in as many days.



On Saturday, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano announced the June 19 discovery of a fresco inside another tomb depicting St. Paul, which Vatican officials said represented the oldest known icon of the apostle. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:11:23 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/au-wants-justice-department-to-revoke-or-modify-questionable-grants http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/au-wants-justice-department-to-revoke-or-modify-questionable-grants From Religion Clause:

Americans United yesterday released a letter (full text) that it has sent to Attorney General Eric Holder challenging nine separate Juvenile Justice and Byrne Law Enforcement Assistance grants that were funded by the Department of Justice through Congressional earmarks in fiscal 2008.

The letter asks that five of the grants-involving drug prevention and at-risk youths-be terminated. It asks that four others-involving transitional housing, juvenile offenders, at-risk youth and funding of a medical building also housing a college chapel-either be terminated or modified to include appropriate safeguards. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:56:08 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/southern-baptists-have-mixed-view-of-obama http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/southern-baptists-have-mixed-view-of-obama From the Associated Press:

Southern Baptists praised the election of President Barack Obama but said at their national meeting on Wednesday that they oppose his views on abortion and other social issues.



Leaders of the nation's largest Protestant denomination voted in favor of a resolution to "share our nation's pride" in Obama's historic victory.



"I think it would have actually been irresponsible for us not to speak to the election of the first African American president," said Daniel Akin, president of the Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.



But Akin said Southern Baptists have "strong disagreement" with many of the new president's policies. The resolution decried Obama's support of abortion rights, embryonic stem-cell research and the reduction of funding for abstinence education. ]]> ft@firsthings.com () Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:53:33 -0400 http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/in-98-hints-from-sotomayor-on-death-penalty http://www.firstthings.com/RSS/religion-and-public-life/2009/06/in-98-hints-from-sotomayor-on-death-penalty From the New York Times :

As a drug kingpin and his bodyguard, both black, faced the first death penalty trial in Manhattan since the days of the Rosenbergs, their lawyers argued that the practice of capital punishment was racist.



Were doing what the death penalty has always done historically, which is target minority people," one of the lawyers said in 1998 as he asked a Federal District Court judge to declare the penalty unconstitutional.



That judge was Sonia Sotomayor - a Bronx-born woman of Puerto Rican descent who as a young lawyer had leveled much the same attack on capital punishment. And as she listened to the arguments that day, she acknowledged there were many unresolved tensions" surrounding the death penalty.



But she flatly told the lawyers she had no power to resolve them. I dont as a judge," she said. They are not up to me. Ultimately, they are up to Congress and the Supreme Court."



Judge Sotomayor, of course, is now up for a seat on the Supreme Court, and her nomination has sparked questions about her early advocacy and whether that might flavor her performance as a justice. ]]>