"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."