Singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” might be okay in Maplewood-South Orange schools in New Jersey. But “Silent Night” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” are still out. A board of education policy that prohibits celebratory religious music in district schools was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The three-judge... Continue Reading

BERNE (ANS) — The Swiss vote in favor of a ban on minarets has been met with controversial reactions in the Christian community of the alpine country. In a referendum on November 29, a proposed building ban for further minarets received a 57.5 percent majority. The motion was supported by the conservative Swiss People’s Party... Continue Reading

In a vote that displayed a widespread anxiety about Islam and undermined the country’s reputation for religious tolerance, the Swiss on Sunday overwhelmingly imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques, in a referendum drawn up by the far right and opposed by the government. The referendum, which passed... Continue Reading

Television lights burned brightly in the room at the National Press Club where the Consumer Federation of America was holding a press conference on holiday spending. Outside the room where something called the 2010 Hunger Report was about to be released, the juice-and-muffin table was swarmed. Things were a little quieter in the Zenger Room.... Continue Reading

‘The two MMs have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the U.K., I think I’ll delete the file rather than send to anyone. . . . We also have a data protection act, which I will hide behind.” So apparently... Continue Reading

As a BYU football player competing against Utah, Aaron Roderick remembers the derisive signs and religious taunts of fans — likely the same fans who now support him as a Ute assistant coach. Much of the passion involved in the rivalry stems from BYU’s affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As... Continue Reading

The British government is being forced by the European commission to rip up controversial exemptions that allow church bodies to refuse to employ homosexual staff. It has emerged that the commission wrote to the government last week raising concerns that the UK had incorrectly implemented an EU directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of a... Continue Reading

A president’s first Thanksgiving Day proclamation is an opportunity for the commander in chief to highlight his new administration’s accomplishments or reassure the nation at a time of gratitude and family togetherness. But President Obama’s Turkey Day bulletin Monday went in a different direction. Obama’s declaration is short — just over 400 words — and... Continue Reading

Even for a religion started by a science fiction writer, the allegations levelled against the Church of Scientology in Australia’s federal parliament last week sound stranger than fiction. Blackmail, cover-ups of child abuse, labour camps, embezzlement and coerced abortions are spelled out among the 53 pages of allegations by seven former Scientologists – some of... Continue Reading

A month of harsh words between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and a strident critic, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, escalated recently when the bishop acknowledged asking Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion because of the Democratic lawmaker’s support for abortion rights. The bishop’s attempt to publicly shame Kennedy on his abortion stance comes just a few... Continue Reading