Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

Beliefnet News

Washington – Tens of thousands of abortion opponents rallied Thursday on the National Mall to mark the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade amid concerns they could face political setbacks under the new president. The rally and subsequent march to the Supreme Court comes two days after the swearing-in of Barack Obama, which many at…

Washington – An Orthodox rabbi broke Jewish law by participating in an interfaith prayer service on Wednesday (Jan. 21) at Washington National Cathedral, according to the Rabbinical Council of America. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, who leads Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York, was one of three rabbis who participated in the National Prayer Service. The others…

Jan. 21–Sharing the date with President Barack Obama’s inauguration didn’t hurt attendance at the annual March for Life rally on the Capitol steps Tuesday. More than 4,000 people gathered in the chilly afternoon to call for an end to abortion, according to Washington State Patrol estimates. The March for Life rally typically is the largest…

(RNS) As Barack Obama begins his tenure as the first U.S. president with Muslim ancestry, a group of 300 young Muslim activists from 76 countries has asked him to promote policies that can help peacefully curtail religious extremism. The Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, a grassroots movement aiming to foster a new generation of civic engagement,…

WASHINGTON — President Obama opened his first full day in office at the Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday (Jan. 21) with a diverse array of religious leaders, including the ceremony’s first-ever woman preacher, who urged him to hold onto his “ethical center” as he leads the nation. “There are crises banging on the door right…

Washington – Even before he stepped into the Oval Office on Tuesday (Jan. 20) as America’s 44th president, the nation’s Catholic bishops sent Barack Obama their public policy wish list, with a special emphasis on “the fundamental right to life from conception to natural death.” In twin letters sent to President-elect Barack Obama, Cardinal Francis…

Washington – When President Obama rose to speak between the prayers offered by evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren and civil rights veteran Joseph Lowery, he indicated — without ever saying a word — the breadth of the religious outreach ahead in his administration. Though Warren’s prayer contained touches of inclusivity, it was nonetheless explicitly and…

Washington – Seeking to revive a dispirited nation, President Obama on Tuesday (Jan. 20) told Americans to get religion — civil religion. “We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things,” Obama said, quoting St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, in one of…

NEW YORK (RNS) A new charter school will soon provide a free, secular alternative to private Jewish day schools or extracurricular religious education for students who wish to learn Hebrew. Despite the city’s large Jewish population and its dozens of public schools offering dual-language instruction in Arabic, Greek, Spanish and other tongues, the Hebrew Language…

WASHINGTON (RNS) Seven states have sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying a new regulation that permits health care workers to abstain from providing abortions is illegal. The suit, filed Thursday (Jan. 15) by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, seeks to block the rule that is scheduled to take effect on Jan.…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners