Beliefnet News

Associated Press Madison, Wisconsin – Taxpayers cannot sue the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for incorporating religion into its health care programs for the nation’s veterans, an appeals court has ruled. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and three of its members have no legal standing to…

Associated Press It may not be as big as 7-7-7, but thousands of couples are heading down the aisle Friday, hoping the date Aug. 8, 2008, brings them luck and an easy to remember anniversary date. The number eight has long been considered fortuitous in China, where people pay extra to have it in phone…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Mazen Asbahi, the Chicago lawyer who recently was appointed as the Muslim outreach director for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, has resigned less than two weeks after taking the job. “Mr. Asbahi has informed the campaign that he no longer wishes to serve in his volunteer…

The Dallas Morning News – August 5, 2008 SAN ANGELO, Texas – Texas’ Child Protective Services, forced two months ago to return to their families hundreds of children it had swept from a polygamist sect’s West Texas ranch, went to court Tuesday to ask that eight of them be put back into state custody. In…

Associated Press – August 3, 2008 BRESSANONE, Italy – Pope Benedict XVI sent greetings to China on Sunday before the Olympics and said he hoped the Games would offer an example of coexistence among people from different countries. He said he will follow the Olympics, which open Friday, with a sense of “deep friendship” and…

Francis X. Rocca Religion News Service Vatican City – A German court has ordered four years’ probation, psychotherapy and medication for a 28-year-old man who last year jumped a barricade and briefly touched a vehicle carrying Pope Benedict XVI. The German man, whose identity was not released, was also ordered “categorically” to abstain from alcohol…

By Michele Chabin Religion News Service Jerusalem – When Kyle Edenzon showed up for his first day of Hebrew school as a young boy, his parents asked the teacher to place their hard-of-hearing son in the front row to better help him understand the lessons. “But as soon as they left, the teacher put me…

By Tim Murphy Religion News Service Unitarian Univeralists in Knoxville, Tenn., reopened their doors on Sunday (Aug. 3), just one week after a gunman opened fire during a production of a church musical and left two people dead. “This sanctuary, which has been defiled by violence, we rededicate to peace. This holy place, which has…

Associated Press – August 4, 2008 NEW YORK – Two decades ago, the Rubashkin family of Brooklyn opened up a kosher slaughterhouse amid the cornfields of Iowa – not exactly a center of Jewish culture. The bearded, fedora-wearing strangers from Brooklyn quickly transformed Postville into its own small-town melting pot. Immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico…

By Valerie Sudol Religion News Service (RNS) The latest site in Israel to win designation from UNESCO as a World Heritage Site is Haifa’s Baha’i Gardens, a place sacred to what may be the least-known religion in the conflict-torn Holy Land. The gardens, which climb from the base of Mount Carmel to its summit, include…

More from Beliefnet and our partners