"Though more Americans go to church or believe in God than their counterparts in virtually every other Western country, fewer Americans now trust religious institutions. A recent Gallup poll showed that just 44 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in 'the church or organized religion.'"

Some Facts About Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Jews

"The ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim (Hebrew for “those who tremble (before God)”), have gone from being a tiny minority in Israel’s mostly secular society to its fastest-growing sector, now about 10 percent of the 7.8 million population. . ."

Bible-Era Earthquake Reveals Year of Jesus' Crucifixion

"Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday April 3, 33 A.D. The latest investigation, reported in the journal International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion."

America’s ‘Angriest’ Theologian Faces Lynching Tree

"Cone, who once called himself 'the angriest theologian in America,' is still angry. His book is not just a memoir of growing up in the Jim Crow era; it’s a blistering takedown of white churches, and one of America’s greatest theologians, Reinhold Niebuhr - a colossal figure often cited by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr."

Gallup: The Most and Least Religious States

"Mississippi is the most religious U.S. state, and is one of eight states where Gallup classifies at least half of the residents as 'very religious.' At the other end of the spectrum, Vermont and New Hampshire are the least religious states . . ."

Dalai Lama Wins Templeton Prize in Science, Religion

"The annual honor, which comes with a $1.7 million award, goes to leading voices who address spiritual questions by drawing on science and religion."

Pew: More Americans See 'Too Much' Religious Talk In Politics

"According to a new survey, 38 percent of Americans say there is too much 'expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders.'"

Rowan Williams Quits as Anglican Leader, Says Successor Needs a “Rhino Skin”

"Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who has agonised about keeping his Anglican Communion from splitting over women and gay bishops and same-sex unions, announced unexpectedly on Friday that he would step down at the end of the year."

Irish Catholic Church Leaders Were Negligent About Abuse, Vatican Report Says

"A Vatican report on the sexual abuse of Irish children by Catholic clergy accused Ireland’s religious leaders of negligence and called for more reforms there to avoid a similarly 'shameful' scandal in the future."

William Hamilton, Who Said 'God is Dead,' Dies at 87

"William Hamilton, the retired theologian who declared in the 1960s that God was dead, died Tuesday in his downtown Portland apartment. He was 87."

Number of U.S. Mosques Up 74% Since 2000

"The number of Islamic places of worship in the United States soared 74% in the past decade."

High Noon in Oxford: Dawkins vs the Archbishop

"In the blue corner, the leader of the Church of England. In the red corner, the world's most prominent critic of religion."

Ancient Biblical City 'Blooms' Again

"An ancient royal garden has come back into bloom in a way, as scientists have reconstructed what it would've looked like some 2,500 years ago in the kingdom of the biblical Judah."

Roman Empire Ran on Camel Power

"In a forthcoming report in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Belgian archeologists Fabienne Pigière and Denis Henrotay, report on the discovery of the bones of a Roman-era dromedary camel in Arlon, Belgium. And they inventory 22 sites in Northern Europe that have turned up camel bones from the Roman era."

Jury Selection to Begin in Philadelphia Archdiocese Scandal Case

"Jury selection begins Tuesday in the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese trial, a case experts have called one of the most sweeping sex abuse scandals in America."

Former GDR Activist Pastor Joachim Gauck to Become German President

"Joachim Gauck, a former anti-Communist human rights activist in East Germany who is set to become the next German president, is a moral authority to be reckoned with. The Lutheran pastor, who has been called Germany’s answer to Nelson Mandela, was one of a number of Protestant clerics who helped bring down the communist East German regime, setting the stage for the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification in 1990."

In 200-Year Tradition, Most Christian Missionaries are American

"The United State sent out 127,000 of the world's estimated 400,000 missionaries abroad in 2010, according to Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts."

Facing Death, a Top Pastor Rethinks What it Means to Be Christian

"Ed Dobson is not afraid of dying. It’s the getting there that really scares him. A former pastor, onetime Christian Right operative and an icon among religious leaders, Dobson has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. When he was diagnosed, doctors gave him 3 to 5 years to live. That was 11 years ago."

The New Christian Abolition Movement

"Motivated in large part by their religious traditions of protecting the vulnerable and serving 'the least of these,' as Jesus instructed his followers to do in the Gospel of Matthew, World Relief and other Christian agencies like the Salvation Army are stepping up efforts and working with law enforcement to stem the flow of human trafficking, which includes sex trafficking and labor trafficking."

Excavated Gold Mine Could Have Belonged To Queen of Sheba

"A British excavation has struck archaeological gold with a discovery that may solve the mystery of where the Queen of Sheba derived her fabled treasures."

Home-Schooling Demographics Change, Expand

"Secular organizations across the country report their numbers are growing. Though government records indicate religion is still the driving force in home schooling, members of these organizations say the face of home schooling is changing, not because of faith, but because of what parents see as shortcomings in public and private schools."

Who are the Evangelicals?

Interesting article on Evangelicals

"Monsignors' Mutiny" Revealed By Vatican Leaks

"Senior church officials interviewed this month said almost daily embarrassments that have put the Vatican on the defensive could force Pope Benedict to act to clean up the image of its administration - at a time when the church faces a deeper crisis of authority and relevance in the wider world."

UK Christian Leaders Warn Religion is Being Pushed Out of Public Life

"They are recited at the beginning of Britain’s parliamentary sessions and many school assemblies, but Christian leaders fear prayers could be driven from public life after a court ruled that a council had acted unlawfully by allowing them at meetings."

Catholic Leaders to Use Internet Against Pedophiles

"Roman Catholic Church leaders unveiled an Internet teaching project on Thursday to help clergy around the world root out pedophiles in their ranks and protect children from potential abusers."

Radical U.S. Muslims Little Threat, Study Says

"The study found that arrests of Muslim Americans in plots or violent attacks have dropped sharply since 2009."

Churches Go Less Formal to Make People Comfortable

"Comfortable is a theme that's becoming common among churches taking advantage of new, non-traditional spaces. Across the country, churches are springing up in unexpected locations — movie theaters, skating rinks, strip malls and old warehouses, among others — in an effort to welcome people who may not feel comfortable in more traditional settings."

Corruption Scandal Shakes Vatican as Internal Letters on Crony Contracts Leaked

"The Vatican was shaken by a corruption scandal Thursday after an Italian television investigation said a former top official had been transferred against his will after complaining about irregularities in awarding contracts."

Mormonism Besieged By the Modern Age

"The LDS church claims 14 million members worldwide -- optimistically including nearly every person baptized. But census data from some foreign countries targeted by clean-cut young missionaries show that the retention rate for their converts is as low as 25 percent. In the U.S., only about half of Mormons are active members of the church, said Washington State University emeritus sociologist Armand Mauss, a leading researcher on Mormons."

Scholar Emphasizes New Testament's Jewish Roots

Article on the new Jewish Annotated New Testament

Arizona Proposes Elective Bible Course for High Schools

"Proposed legislation would make Arizona the sixth state in the nation to allow schools to offer a high-school elective course on the Bible."

Rick Warren and Church Tackle Obesity

"Studies indicate that people who try to lose weight or adopt healthier habits in groups are more likely to be successful than individuals working independently."

The faith (and doubts) of our fathers

"What did the makers of America believe about God and religion? The subject is stirring the very rancour they wanted to avoid."

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools

"Despite Supreme Court rulings in 1962 and ’63, open prayer and Christian symbols have never really disappeared from some schools."

U.S. Supreme Court: Ministers Can’t Sue Churches for Job Discrimination

"The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday for the first time in an important church-state separation issue that ministers cannot sue their churches claiming they had been fired in violation of employment discrimination laws."

Poll Finds 43 Percent Of People Believe God Helps Tebow Win

"According to a national telephone survey conducted by Poll Position, 43 percent of people believe that “divine intervention” is responsible for his success compared to 42 percent of people surveyed who think that God has nothing to do with Tebow winning."

Orthodox Christians Celebrate the Epiphany

Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into chilly waters across southern and eastern Europe on Friday to retrieve crucifixes in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.

Images of Jesus Christ and Other Religious Figures Seen in Everyday Objects

Interesting slideshow of images--it speaks to contemporary popular culture and also contemporary religious psychology.