Beliefnet News

Associated Press Albuquerque, New Mexico – July 17, School leaders in a New Mexico district will not face federal sanctions for allowing a high school project on racism in which students posted signs reading “Whites Only” and “People of Color” above water faucets, federal officials said. But the school district will have to implement procedures…

Associated Press New York – July 17, The husbands of women forced to abort a pregnancy, undergo involuntary sterilization or face persecution under China’s coercive population control program do not automatically qualify for asylum, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan conflicts with rulings…

Associated Press Washington, July 16 – Declaring a “moment of choice” in the Middle East, President George W. Bush said Monday he would call Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region to a peace conference aimed at restarting stalled talks and moving faster toward a Palestinian state. Such a session could result in Israelis…

United Press International Dorset, England, July 16 – The Wessex, Britain, Pagan Federation chapter has said they will do “rain magic” to wash away a giant chalk drawing of cartoon character Homer Simpson. The 180-foot publicity stunt for the new Simpsons film was drawn next to the Pagans’ famous fertility symbol, the Cerne Abbas giant,…

Associated Press LOS ANGELES, July 16 – After a whirlwind weekend, the negotiations that produced a landmark $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse are heading toward a conclusion. Attorneys from both sides, as well as Cardinal Roger Mahony, are expected in…

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS AP) – The key international Mideast mediators will confer with former British prime minister Tony Blair for the first time next week in his new role promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the U.N. said Friday. Top officials from the Quartet – the United Nations, the United States, the European…

Asociated Press WASHINGTON – President Bush’s nominee for surgeon general insisted Thursday that he harbors no bias against homosexuals in spite of his 1991 writings viewed by some as anti-gay. Dr. James Holsinger faced tough questioning at his Senate confirmation hearing over his views on homosexuality and how he would react if he were pressured…

By Omar Sacribey Religion News Service Muslim Americans and white evangelicals find themselves on opposite sides of many issues, but have more in common than other religious groups when it comes to religious fervor, scriptural literalism and social morality, according to a new report. The report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life…

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Chunks of concrete are missing from the mosque’s minarets. The walls of a religious school painted with Islamic verses are peppered with bullet holes. Black flies swarm over a makeshift bunker, blasted apart under a stairwell. A day after Pakistani commandos killed the last Islamic militants barricaded inside the Red Mosque complex,…

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Hollywood, meet the Bible. Zondervan, the Christian publishing giant, is launching the prequel to its critically acclaimed spoken-word Bible, “Inspired By … The Bible Experience” — an Old Testament version that will include a Hollywood cast with three Oscar winners, five Golden Globe winners and seven Emmy winners. The Old Testament…

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