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By Daniel Burke c. 2008 Religion News Service CANTERBURY, England — The spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion said the communion will be in “grave peril” if its North American churches ignore temporary bans on gay bishops and same-sex unions. “If the North American churches don’t accept moratoria” on gay bishops and blessings, Archbishop…

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has appointed a Chicago lawyer as its national coordinator for Muslim affairs. Mazen Asbahi represents Muslim and Arab American businesses in his corporate law practice, reported Politico.com. A community blog on the Obama campaign’s Web site announced July 25 that Asbahi…

By Kate Coscarelli Religion News Service NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Making jokes and comments about a person’s religion can create a “humiliating and painful environment” and be a form of on-the-job discrimination, New Jersey’s highest court ruled Thursday (July 31). The New Jersey Supreme Court said remarks about someone’s faith — even as a form of…

By Daniel Burke c. 2008 Religion News Service CANTERBURY, England — For five years, conservative Episcopalians eager to escape their liberal American church have been building ties with African Anglicans half a world away. But they have few connections with black Americans in their own back yard, say black Episcopal bishops gathered here for a…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service Canterbury, England – For centuries, the cathedral at the heart of this city has drawn millions to its doors, from Chaucer’s rowdy pilgrims to throngs of Anglican bishops and clumps of camera-toting tourists. The Very Rev. Robert Willis, dean of the Canterbury Cathedral for the past seven years, says…

The Hartford Courant New Haven – The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, a California pastor and host of television’s “Hour of Power,” reaches 20 million Christian followers around the world. Sheik Al-Habib Ali Al-Jifri ranks among the 10 most popular Muslim preachers worldwide, with followers in the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia and across the Arab world.…

Associated Press Boston – Massachusetts on Thursday began allowing any gay couple to get married there as Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that had blocked most out-of-state same-sex couples from tying the knot. The old law barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their union would not be legal in…

By RENEE K. GADOUA c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Rev. Michael Dowd’s Dodge Sprinter van bears an image of kissing fish. The fish, labeled “Darwin” and “Jesus,” reflect his belief that evolution is sacred and that science and religion go hand in hand. “I’m not into reconciling science and religion,” said Dowd, 49,…

By Ashly McGlone Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) A federal religious freedom watchdog panel on Wednesday (July 30) asked President Bush to use his trip to the Beijing Olympics next month to speak publicly against abuses of religious freedom and human rights in China. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, joined by the Congressional…

By Nicole Neroulias Religion News Service (RNS) Nine faith leaders have banded together to urge Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to present a 10-year plan to combat poverty when speaking at their national nominating conventions. The interfaith coalition — led by Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and…

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