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Given that this weekend’s first papal trip to Cyprus coincided with renewed outcry over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (prompted by the recent Gaza-bound flotilla violence), and the murder of a Turkish Catholic bishop, Pope Benedict understandably focused on delivering a Christian message of hope to the troubled region, both for interfaith harmony in the Middle East and for…

A year has passed since President Obama addressed the Muslim world in his Cairo speech, viewed at the time as a potential turning point in U.S.-Muslim relations. Consistent with a Gallup survey of several majority-Muslim countries, in my recent reporting, American Muslims have consistently told me that they are disappointed — though still hopeful — about the actions that…

I checked out “Sex and the City 2″ this week, and found it pleasant enough for a girls’ night out. My husband, who has been to Abu Dhabi recently, couldn’t make it to the movie, so I’ll have to assume the critics are correct about its inauthentic portrayal of the UAE; then again, those scenes were filmed in Morocco. Also, while SATC2 does…

More bad religion news out of Turkey today, less than a week since several Turkish activists — including a teenager with dual American citizenship — were among the nine civilians killed during Israel’s raid of the flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza: a Roman Catholic bishop has been stabbed to death by his driver.…

It’s been a busy week for the American Center for Law and Justice, the conservative civil liberties law firm founded by prominent evangelical Pat Robertson. The ACLJ, something of a counterweight to the ACLU, is involved in two high-profile cases concerning religion in the public school sphere: championing the right for school graduations to be…

June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, so it would have been a convenient bit of headline synergy if disgraced megachurch pastor Ted Haggard’s big announcement this morning were that he and his loyal wife Gayle would no longer be fighting his “homosexual urges.“ Instead, we just got official confirmation of last month’s scoop: the Haggards are…

Following up on his apologetic letter to Irish Catholics earlier this year, Pope Benedict has appointed a team of high-ranking clergy to conduct an Apostolic Visitation to Ireland, which has been hit hard by the clergy abuse scandal. The team, a kind of investigative commission, is a who’s who of diaspora Irish Catholic leaders: Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley…

Six weeks into the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and BP’s failed efforts to plug its gushing well, many Louisiana residents are searching for comfort through faith.  They and others should check out Beliefnet’s suggested prayer, appropriately titled “God, Stop the Damn Oil Leak… We Obviously Can’t!” Here’s a sample of other recent…

Israel’s raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid for blockaded Gaza, resulting in the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists and injuries to seven Israeli soldiers, has prompted outcry and statements of concern from religious and political leaders around the world. Predictably, most U.S. Jewish groups are firmly standing behind Israel, with the exception of a few…

Personally and professionally, I’m always up for discussing the Catholic Church’s insistence on mandatory celibacy for its clergy, particularly when most people still don’t know that this wasn’t an original requirement and that there are exceptions made for married converts and eastern rite Catholics in places like Ukraine. While the celibacy debate has floated around for decades —…
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