More than two centuries after racial divisions sparked the birth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the black and white congregations at the center of the split will worship together for the first time in late October in Philadelphia. In the late 1700s, lay preacher Richard Allen and other members walked out of Historic St.... Continue Reading

Following the U.S. House’s passage of hate crimes legislation attached to a military spending bill, critics have argued its provisions create “special rights” based on sexual behavior and could threaten religious freedom. They further charged that the provisions’ backers used the military as a “political tool” to achieve their goals. The bill…contained a provision that... Continue Reading

African bishops attending a Vatican meeting are speaking about the election of Barack Obama in divine terms—putting them very much at odds with many of their U.S. counterparts. Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana said Wednesday that there was “a divine plan behind” Obama’s election. “It’s like the biblical story repeating itself,” he told... Continue Reading

A London church has reacted with anger after being issued with a noise abatement order. Following the judgement by magistrates the Immanuel House of Worship church in Walthamstow, north London, will now be restricted to using music for just 20 minutes on a Sunday morning. This week’s ruling followed an inspection by the local council... Continue Reading

A growing number of churches are joining together against the ordination of a gay minister in Scotland. The Church of Scotland appointed Scott Rennie, a divorced father-of-one who lives with his homosexual partner, as minister of a church in Aberdeen in July. Now a group of like-minded congregations set up to oppose the move says... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, DC – City Council members introduced legislation Tuesday to allow same-sex marriage here. If it passes, as expected, Washington would be the first city below the Mason-Dixon line to allow such unions. The city’s bill is expected to become law by December. But the measure is likely to draw harsh criticism from Congressional Republicans... Continue Reading

A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population from the Pew Foundation Released October 8, 2009 A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion.... Continue Reading

New Wineskins Transitional Presbytery, during the sixth convocation of the New Wineskins Association of Churches Oct. 4-6, 2009, in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, continued efforts toward fulfilling its missional calling and further clarifying its relationship with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Following up on a similar June action by the EPC at its General Assembly in Michigan,... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /Standard Newswire/ — U.S. Congressman Mike Pence released the following statement after the unveiling of our national motto “In God We Trust” engraved in stone in the Capitol Visitor Center: “Our nation’s rich spiritual heritage was further declared with the unveiling of our national motto ‘In God We Trust,’ carved in stone... Continue Reading

Mary Alice Robbins, The Texas Lawyer A judge in Dallas has held that Texas’ constitutional ban on gay marriage violates the 14th Amendment. In an order signed Thursday in In the Matter of the Marriage of J.B. and H.B., 302nd District Judge Tena Callahan held that Texas Constitution Article 1, §32(a), which provides that “marriage... Continue Reading