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Associated Press New York – The number of abortions in the United States dropped to 1.2 million in 2005, the lowest level in more than 30 years in a slide attributed to reasons that include better use of contraceptives. The decline also marks a 25 percent drop from the all-time high of 1.6 million in…

By Matthew Streib Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Several Jewish leaders have come to the defense of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama against rumors that he secretly espouses radical Muslim beliefs. In a joint letter, leaders of nine Jewish groups including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Congress characterized the e-mail rumor campaign…

Associated Press – January 16, 2008 RICHMOND, Calif. – A Presbyterian deacon who has twice been denied ordination because of her sexual orientation can move forward with her bid to join the clergy. The regional body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted 167-151 Tuesday night in support of Lisa Larges’ application, despite the denomination’s long-standing…

By Bruce Nolan 2008 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS — A months-long effort by Habitat for Humanity International to retool relations with its 1,600 local affiliates has raised concerns in Habitat’s productive operation here, where volunteers have built more than 100 low-cost replacement homes since Hurricane Katrina. The dispute recently surfaced publicly in Texas, when…

By Daniel Burke Religion News Service The Episcopal Church has barred Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin, Calif., from ministry for “abandoning” the church by leading his diocese to secede from the national church last December. Officially called an “inhibition,” the ban was imposed by Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori late Friday (Jan. 11),…

Associated Press Madrid, Spain – The world is in urgent need of dialogue between Western and Muslim countries as a way to combat terrorism, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday as he opened an international forum. “Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue, among individuals, among…

Associated Press Atlanta – An 80-year-old leader of a suburban megachurch who is at the center of a sex scandal has been charged with lying under oath for saying he had sex outside marriage with only one other woman, court documents show. A warrant for the arrest of Archbishop Earl Paulk, co-founder of Cathedral of…

By Robert Travis Scott 2008 Religion News Service CHANDIGARH, India — When Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal converted to Catholicism during high school and college, he took a momentous step away from his inherited faith of Hinduism, the prevalent religion of his parents’ generation and Indian homeland. But among Jindal’s relatives and among Hindus in India…

USA Today – January 14, 2008 Two weeks into the New Year, life in the USA is largely back to normal. That means time is scarce, stress is high and an ordinary day — filled with chatter and other noise — permits barely a moment for the mind to rest in silence. Maybe that’s why…

By Daniel Burke 2008 Religion News Service (RNS) Efforts to portray Sen. Barack Obama’s Chicago church as racist and anti-American are “absurd, mean-spirited and politically motivated,” said the Rev. John Thomas, head of the United Church of Christ. Thomas, the denomination’s general minister and president, said that since Obama won the Iowa caucuses on Jan.…
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