Court: Catholic businessman can fight contraception mandate

ST. LOUIS (RNS) — A federal appeals court Nov. 28 temporarily blocked the enforcement of the Obama administration’s contraception mandate while a Catholic business owner appeals a lower court’s ruling that tossed out his suit. Opponents of the law said it…

Anglicans vow to vote again on allowing women bishops

CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — The Church of England plans to rush through legislation to consecrate women bishops after last week’s surprising defeat at the church’s General Synod in London. The church’s Archbishops’ Council ended two days of closed-door meetings Nov. 28,…

Secession theology runs deep in American religious, political history

(RNS) — Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that will honor foundational texts. The message sounds familiar. A church schism? No, mounting calls for secession from the United States. Since President…

Catholic intensity fades as evangelical devotion surges

(RNS) — After November’s presidential vote, Catholics could cite ample evidence for their renewed political relevance while dispirited evangelicals were left wondering if they are destined to be yesterday’s election news. Yet their roles in American spiritual life may be…

Lutheran ministries offer free Advent devotions

Several Lutheran ministries are offering free devotions for Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas that begins on Dec. 2 this year and ends on Christmas Eve. Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM), St. Louis, is offering two new sets of Advent…

New LHM Bible study tackles challenges of veterans

Americans who sign up to serve their country in the U.S. armed forces expect challenges — especially if their duty includes combat. But service members also encounter challenges far from the battlefield, after they come home. “Warriors of Faith —…

TV station tells story of Concordia, Portland, collaboration with grade school

A story by NBC-affiliate KGW-TV Channel 8 in Portland, Ore. — airing several times over the Nov. 17-18 weekend — highlights the five-year relationship between Concordia University, Portland, and neighboring Faubion Elementary School. Since Concordia University students and faculty began volunteering…

CPH offers gift set to benefit Lutheran Malaria Initiative

This Christmas, you can give a gift of hope to a child a world away while encouraging the gift of compassion in a child close to home. Concordia Publishing House’s “Save A Life Gift Set” includes one copy of the children’s…

Church of England rejects women bishops

LONDON (RNS) — In a surprise move that shocked both sides of a years-long debate, the Church of England Nov. 20 rejected an expected move to allow women bishops, preserving the church’s status as one of the last bastions of…

New Congress more religiously diverse, less Protestant

(RNS) — Three Buddhists, a Hindu and a “none” will walk into the 113th Congress, and it’s no joke. Rather, it’s a series of “firsts” that reflect the growing religious diversity of the country. When the new Congress is sworn in…

Judge defends sentencing teenager to church

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (RNS) — A district judge in Oklahoma who sentenced a 17-year-old boy to 10 years of church attendance is standing by his sentence as the right thing to do — even if it may not have been the…

Episcopal leader: South Carolina diocese can't secede

(RNS) — Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Nov. 15 that the Diocese of South Carolina can’t unilaterally secede from the national church, and urged conservatives to stay despite sharp disputes over theology and homosexuality. “The Episcopal Diocese of South…

Analysis: Film revives questions about Lincoln's faith

(RNS) — There is a moment in Steven Spielberg’s masterful new film “Lincoln” when the 16th president asks the kind of big question usually tackled by religion: Why are we here? “Do you think we choose the times into which we…

Kenyan church leaders say laws would weaken marriage

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Kenyan church leaders are lining up in opposition to proposed new marriage bills, which they say will weaken marriage by allowing cohabitating couples to register as married. One bill would bring Christian, Hindu, Muslim, civil and customary…

#GivingTuesday event aims to boost charities

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (RNS) — In the days following Thanksgiving, there’s already Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday shopping season. Now, a group of charities and corporate sponsors is urging Americans to make the…

LCMS coordinates long-term recovery following Superstorm Sandy

By Megan K. Mertz “The living room portion of our house had been blown away,” said the Rev. Alan Steinke, recounting his first look at his Massapequa, N.Y., home after Superstorm Sandy pounded the Eastern Seaboard on Oct. 29. Steinke,…