Articles by Adelle M. Banks

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Chaplains offered exit plan as gay training starts

Mar 25, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Army has started training chaplains on the repeal of the ban on openly gay military members, saying those who are unable to follow the forthcoming policy can seek a voluntary departure.
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U.S. embassy condemns Quran burning at Fla. church

Mar 23, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan called the burning of a Quran at a small Florida church "abhorrent" as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the act as a "serious setback" to world harmony.
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Evangelicals resist Obama's childhood obesity push

Mar 22, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelicals are the only major religious group where a majority opposes the federal government's efforts to reduce childhood obesity, a Pew Research Center survey shows.

Asked if the government should play a significant role in reducing childhood obesity, 56 percent of white evangelicals said it should not, compared to 42 percent who said it should.
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Missionaries grapple with leaving Japan

Mar 21, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) Wolfgang Langhans, a Tokyo-based field director for missionaries, calls the week since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan "the busiest and most stressful week of my life."
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Fla. pastor presides at burning of Quran

Mar 21, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) The controversial Florida pastor who halted plans to burn a Quran on the 9/11 anniversary last year oversaw the burning of the Islamic holy book on Sunday (March 20) after it was found "guilty" during a "trial" at his church.
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Schuller disparages ban on gays in church’s choir

Mar 17, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

Crystal Cathedral founder Robert H. Schuller says he never would have approved a recent covenant that the church's choir members were asked to sign urging them to be Christian and heterosexual.

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Smithsonian is restoring Jefferson’s unique Bible

Mar 15, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

A Smithsonian museum is restoring the "Jefferson Bible," a unique volume that the third president himself cut and pasted—omitting lots of theology—from portions of the New Testament.

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Research disputes ‘facts’ on Christian divorces

Mar 14, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

It's been proclaimed from pulpits and blogs for years: Christians divorce as much as everyone else in America. But some scholars and family activists are questioning the oft-cited statistics, saying Christians who attend church regularly are more likely to remain wed.

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Muslims watch warily as House holds hearing

Mar 10, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks and Omar Sacirbey

They were moved when the first Muslim elected to Congress shed tears discussing a Muslim who died trying to save others on 9/11. They were irked by accusations from House members and annoyed when fellow Muslims maligned their faith.

At times they constituted an Amen corner. At other moments, they jeered and glared at the images beamed live from Capitol Hill.

News

Court rejects challenge to `In God We Trust'

Mar 08, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) Atheist Michael Newdow plans to continue his fight to get "In God We Trust" off U.S. currency after the Supreme Court denied a hearing in his case on Monday (March 7).
News

White House praises Muslims ahead of hearing

Mar 07, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) Days ahead of a controversial congressional hearing on Islamic extremism, the Obama administration is highlighting the role Muslim Americans play in combating radicalism in their communities.
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House Republicans plan to defend DOMA

Mar 04, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) House Speaker John Boehner said on Friday (March 4) that he and fellow lawmakers will defend the Defense of Marriage Act after the Obama administration dropped its support for the law last month.
News

Is Phelps a role model on free speech issues?

Mar 02, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-to-1 that the "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" protesters from Westboro Bap­tist Church in Kansas have First Amend­ment rights to protest military funerals, the question being asked is: What's ahead?

More protests from religious groups? Or more efforts to limit them?

News

Blacks bristle at notion of `slave of Christ'

Mar 01, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

(RNS) For evangelical author John MacArthur, the best way to explain a Christian's relationship to Jesus is what appears to be a simple metaphor -- one often used by the Apostle Paul himself.

"To be a Christian is to be a slave of Christ," writes MacArthur, the pastor of a nondenominational church in Sun Valley, Calif.

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Harvard pastor, theologian Peter Gomes dies at 68

Mar 01, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) The Rev. Peter Gomes, the longtime minister of Harvard University's Memorial Church who was hailed as one of the nation's top preachers, died Monday (Feb. 28) at age 68.

Gomes died from complications of a stroke he suffered in December, the university said.
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If Obama won't fight gay marriage, conservatives will

Feb 25, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
WASHINGTON (RNS) If President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice no longer want to defend the Defense of Marriage Act from challenges by gay rights activists, who will?

Leading conservative law firms say they're eager to defend the 1996 law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but that may not be so easy.
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Islam dominated religion coverage in 2010

Feb 25, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) Islam was the most frequent topic of religion news coverage in 2010, as the media doubled the amount of time and space devoted to religion compared to 2009.
News

Obama drops defense of antigay marriage law

Feb 23, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

The Obama administration has an­nounced that it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a nearly 15-year-old law that defines marriages as heterosexual unions.

News

Suit accuses televangelist of breaking moral clause

Feb 22, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks
(RNS) Christian publisher Strang Communications has sued evangelist Benny Hinn, claiming he violated a moral clause in a book agreement and owes the company more than $250,000.
News

Christians concerned about conscience clause

Feb 22, 2011 by Adelle M. Banks

WASHINGTON (RNS) Catholic bishops and Christian medical groups are "disappointed" that the Obama administration has rescinded Bush-era conscience clauses for health care workers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday (Feb. 18) issued its new guidelines, which govern medical staffers who object to procedures for religious or moral reasons.