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When she was director of religious outreach for John Kerry’s Democratic presidential campaign four years ago, Mara Vanderslice could hardly have seemed lower on the campaign totem pole. “I had one unpaid intern who didn’t have a phone,” she said. “We didn’t have a budget, and they never let me talk to the press.” Her…

Vatican City – The Vatican is appealing for an end to religious violence in India, seeking to halt anti-Christian rampages by Hindu extremists. The Vatican used its annual message for the Hindu Diwali festival of light, praising the father of Indian independence Mahatma Gandhi as a model of nonviolence. The violence has claimed 38 lives…

By most counts, several times more people live in New York City than practice Buddhism nationwide. So American Buddhists aren’t likely to become a political machine or a crucial swing vote any time soon. But as the religion born in the East carves its place in the West, many Buddhists are making a mark in…

Leesburg, Virginia – Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a cheering crowd Monday that Democrats would raise taxes and “punish hard work” if Virginia voters break a 44-year preference for Republican presidents and help send Barack Obama to the White House. Palin, Republican John McCain’s running mate, also tried to burnish her foreign policy…

Washington – Fordham University’s plan to give an award to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has drawn criticism from alumni and the leader of the Catholic church in New York over Breyer’s support for abortion rights. Cardinal Edward Egan has spoken to the Catholic university’s leaders to ensure “that a mistake of this sort will…

Dharmsala, India – The Dalai Lama said Saturday he has given up on efforts to convince Beijing to allow greater autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule. The Tibetan spiritual leader said he would now ask the Tibetan people to decide how to take the dialogue forward. China has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of leading…

JERUSALEM – The German government on Thursday handed Israel’s national Holocaust memorial the personal details of 600,000 Jewish residents of Nazi Germany, the most comprehensive record to date of German-Jewish life during the Nazi era. German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann presented the directory during a ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial, saying that it allowed…

(RNS) New York state’s high court ruled Thursday (Oct. 23) that the Episcopal Church and Diocese of Rochester are entitled to keep the property of a parish that has seceded and joined another branch of the Anglican Communion. All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church agreed to abide by the rules of the national denomination and the…

California’s battle to define marriage as between a man and a woman is getting personal and nasty — especially for Mormons on both sides of the political debate. Opponents of Proposition 8, a ballot measure to thwart gay marriage, have picketed LDS services in Northern California and threatened to protest outside the Oakland LDS Temple.…

Washington – Six in 10 Americans think the U.S. is “uniquely blessed” by God, but a higher percentage — almost eight in 10 — think the country sometimes does more harm than good when it relates to the rest of the world, according to a new study on religion and America’s role in the world.…
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