The Christian Century

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Americans' confidence in organized religion, slowly but steadily declining since the 1970s, slipped to a new low in the latest survey, the Gallup Organization reported.

Today only 44 percent of Americans have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in "the church or organized religion," Gallup said. It was 68 percent in the mid-1970s.

The Higgs boson is perhaps better known by its sexier nickname: the “God particle.” But many scientists, including the physicist for whom it is named, dislike the term.

In 1993 when American physicist Leon Lederman was writing a book on the Higgs boson, he dubbed it “the goddamn particle.” An editor suggested “the God particle” instead.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) As skeptics, atheists and humanists prepare to gather for their largest meeting in Las Vegas this weekend, attendance by women is expected to be down significantly.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) At 26, Syed Farhaj Hassan was a devout Muslim, and a man who took a lot of pride in being one of the relatively few Muslim Americans to join the military and then go to war in Iraq.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Devout Muslims pray five times a day, facing the holy city of Mecca.

But what if you don't know what direction Mecca is?

Try the new illuminated prayer mat.

Invented by London-based Turkish designer Soner Ozenc, the mat lights up when facing the Saudi city.

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) A large-scale Bible museum will open in Washington, D.C., within four years, say planners who have been touring the world with portions of their collection.

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican posted a record loss of $19 million (15 million euros) in 2011, its worst deficit in more than a decade.

Vatican officials blamed the loss on the "negative trend of global financial markets, which made it impossible to achieve the goals laid down in the budget," in an announcement on Thursday (July 5).