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The Pew Research Center reports that religion coverage doubled last year — to a whopping 2 percent of overall news — largely due to negative stories like the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal, Florida pastor Terry Jones’ threat to burn the Koran, the Park51 (“Ground Zero mosque” — except not) proposal, the Westboro Baptist Church hatemongers, etc. So, let’s have some fun:…

Updated Feb. 24 to add Catholic link. This just in: President Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage, against lawsuits challenging it as unconstitutional. Check out the Justice Department’s statement from Attorney General Eric Holder here, and the…

As Religion & Ethics Newsweekly reported on PBS this week, proposed government budget cuts have prompted heated debate between religious groups morally opposed to cutting aid to the poor and limiting the rights of labor unions, and conservatives who consider America’s debt a moral concern. (And, of course, there’s also the small matter of public funding for Planned…

It’s awards season, so there’s lots of celebrity news — and the religion beat is no exception. Recent headlines include music superstars like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga using their fame to weigh in on contentious values issues like abortion (Bieber is extremely pro-life) and homosexuality (Gaga, who campaigned for the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal, is…

A new poll has asked Americans how they feel about U.S. Rep. Peter King’s plans for a Congressional hearing on the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism. In my story for Religion News Service, I noted that most Americans haven’t heard about the hearings yet, but a slim majority likes the idea — though a larger…

Journalists can be a cynical bunch. (Perhaps we see too much, though there’s no excuse for some of the awful comments about CBS correspondent Lara Logan, who is recovering from a beating and sexual assault she suffered while reporting in Egypt.) Maybe that’s why I’m rarely surprised, though generally intrigued, by stories about falls from grace. Two such religion news items…

Any Mu-Bu’s out there? (Muslim Buddhists… Not quite as catchy as Bu-Jews or Cashews, but maybe I’ll start a trend here.) There’s twice as much reason for you to celebrate today: it’s the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday as well as Nirvana Day, the commemoration of the Buddha’s death. In contrast to the usual “Chrismukkah” type stories that proliferate whenever…

It’s Valentine’s Day: a Christian feast for some, a (happy or dreaded) Hallmark holiday for others. In addition to the story links provided by today’s Religion News Service daily roundup and a range of lovely links on Beliefnet’s main page, here are five interesting faith-related blog posts for the occasion: Valentine’s Day: Time for a couples checkup…

Lots of reporters and bloggers have been covering the new iPhone app for Confession, but it just feels like a retread of last month’s Fun Friday, about Penance, a similar app. Then again, you may need several silly, painless ways to seek absolution after reading the sexy stories about the sexy Bible this week! Newsflash: The Bible…

U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York, the new Republican head of the House Homeland Security Committee, is moving full speed ahead on controversial hearings to assess the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism. (To borrow an old Chris Rock joke, what about the threat of angry white guys with guns?) Some links: Muslims to be Congressional Hearings’ Main…
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