Friday, October 19 is a big day for Catholics, especially for Jesuits and their colleagues. It is the Feast of the North American Martyrs, which commemorates such spiritual giants as St. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Brébeuf …

(RNS) It’s something that has haunted Kevin Miller ever since he became a Christian at age 9 at summer camp: hell.   Now 41, Miller says he has no idea what happens to people after death. But …

This has been a year full of new beginnings!  Our newest transition has to do with our staffing. Deshna Ubeda has recently stepped down from her demanding position as Associate Director.  She has decided that she wants to …

FAIRFAX, Va. (RNS) About 30 people are gathered in a dark, makeshift sanctuary at St. Anthony of Padua Church as the sun dips into the horizon. The service follows the familiar pattern of a Catholic Mass, but something is …

When Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council half a century ago, he said he wanted to “open the windows” of his almost 2,000-year Church to the rapid changes in the modern world. Within a few …

Above: California voters will make a life or death decision this election, when they vote on Proposition 34. The proposition to repeal the death penalty comes at a time when executions are declining and capital punishment has …

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Anxiety has yet to die down over a week after crowds of Muslims torched more than a dozen temples and scores of houses in southeast Bangladesh, leaving thousands of Buddhists with the unshakeable premonition that …

WASHINGTON (RNS) In a rare public rebuke, Catholic bishops chided Vice President Joe Biden for saying during Thursday’s vice-presidential debate that Catholic hospitals and institutions will not be forced to provide contraception coverage to employees. Without mentioning …

A Republican congressman has dismissed evolution, the Big Bang theory and embryology as “lies straight from the pit of hell.” Representative Paul Broun (R-Ga.), whose speech at Liberty Baptist Church in Georgia last September was posted on YouTube …

As we noted yesterday, the number of Americans who have no religious affiliation has hit an all-time high, according to a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. One in five adults does not belong …

One of the world’s most prominent Catholic theologians has called for a revolution from below to unseat the pope and force radical reform at the Vatican. Hans Küng is appealing to priests and churchgoers to confront the Catholic …

For the first time since researchers began tracking the religious identity of Americans, fewer than half said they were Protestants, a steep decline from 40 years ago when Protestant churches claimed the loyalty of more than two-thirds …

Is there no end to the things that divide people by religious categories? Here’s a stat for your Columbus Day (Observed) edition: Eighty-seven percent of Roman Catholics credit Christopher Columbus with discovering America, according to a 2010 …

On the Democratic side, the top issues listed on Obama’s faith platform are “economic recovery,” followed by “tax fairness” and “Wall Street reform.” Citing the Apostle Paul, the platform says that “President Obama’s belief that we are all connected …

In the Washington Post’s On Faith section, Sally Quinn, whose last noticed piece of writing was a much-ridiculed lament about the decline of the Washington power dinner party, is out this afternoon with quite possibly one of the most slipshod treatments of religion …

For decades, Sister Jeanne Gallagher, I.H.M., taught young children about government and the importance of voting. As the November election nears, the 86-year-old nun and retired teacher fears the state’s controversial Voter ID law will keep her …

 (ENInews). Ecumenical News International announced on 1 October that its ENInews service is suspending operations, effective immediately, as it seeks emergency funding in order to operate for the remainder of 2012. “We regret taking this step, but despite …

Citing concerns about fragment’s authenticity and its origin, the paper also criticized Harvard, a Vatican newspaper declared the so-called “Jesus wife” papyrus a fake. Nine days after early Christianity scholar Karen King announced the discovery of an …