Articles by Kevin Eckstrom

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Court says religious knowledge test improper in asylum case

Jan 21, 2011 by Kevin Eckstrom
(RNS) A Chinese Christian should be given another chance at asylum after an immigration judge thought the man couldn't answer "basic questions" about Christianity, a federal appeals court has ruled.
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Clergy answer King's 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail

Jan 14, 2011 by Kevin Eckstrom


(RNS) A coalition of Christian churches answered the Rev. Martin Luther King's 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail," conceding that Americans have often have chosen to be comfortable rather than "prophetic" on racism.

Gallup: Jews score highest on "well-being" survey

Jan 07, 2011 by Kevin Eckstrom
(RNS) American Jews scored the highest of any religious group on a "well-being" index even though more than half of Jews are nonreligious, according to a new Gallup survey.
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Priest finds new love with wife, loses love for church

Jan 04, 2011 by Kevin Eckstrom

(RNS) The Rev. Albert Cutie saw a lot of things in his 14 years as a Catholic priest while church officials looked the other way: priests who got caught with prostitutes, priests who lived with their gay partners, and men of the cloth who kept one bed in the rectory and another with their mistress.

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Top religion news in 2010 evoked sense of déjà vu

Nov 24, 2010 by Kevin Eckstrom

The calendar may have said 2010, but for Pope Benedict XVI and much of his global flock, it looked and felt a lot like 2002.

For the second time in a decade, damning charges of child molestation at the hands of Catholic priests dominated headlines, this time reaching the highest levels of the Vatican, as critics questioned whether Benedict himself mishandled abuse cases.

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Openly gay bishop Robinson sets retirement date

Nov 08, 2010 by Kevin Eckstrom

Most Episcopal bishops retire around age 65, and Bishop V. Gene Robinson made his retirement date official by asking the Diocese of New Hampshire to elect a successor so that he can retire in early 2013.

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Tea Party activists akin to religious Republicans

Oct 13, 2010 by Kevin Eckstrom

Americans who identify with the Tea Party are more religious than the general population but are less religious than conservative Christians, according to a new American Values poll. The report said the religious profile of the Tea Party "differs only modestly" from the religious makeup of the Republican Party.

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City churches reap real-estate cash

Downtown congregations are striking deals with developers
May 16, 2006 by Kevin Eckstrom
Robert Brashear, a New York City pastor, rubs his fingers against the 117-year-old walls of his church, and a shower of red dust sprinkles the sidewalk. Above him, scaffolding protects pedestrians from falling 20-pound chunks of sandstone.
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Woman among four nominees as next Episcopal top bishop

Moving forward amid threats of schism
Feb 21, 2006 by Kevin Eckstrom
One woman from Nevada and three southern men have been nominated to lead the Episcopal Church for a nine-year term as the badly divided denomination faces an uncertain future and threats of schism after decades of fighting.
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Catholic bishops again condemn death penalty

Executions "unfair, unnecessary and unhealthy for America’s soul."
Dec 13, 2005 by Kevin Eckstrom
The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops have renewed their call to end the death penalty, saying state-sponsored executions are unfair, unnecessary and unhealthy for America’s soul.
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Methodist court says pastors may bar gays from membership

No automatic right to membership
Nov 15, 2005 by Kevin Eckstrom
An openly gay United Methodist minister lost her bid to return to the pulpit when the denomination’s highest court upheld her conviction on charges of being a “self-avowed practicing” lesbian.
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Presbyterian panel opens window for gays

Local congregations and gay clergy
Sep 20, 2005 by Kevin Eckstrom
A special panel has urged the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to maintain its ban on noncelibate gay clergy, but the panel also wants local congregations to determine when to apply—or bypass—that standard.