A recent expansion of the federal hate crimes law "does not suspend the First Amendment," says New York Times staff writer David Kirkpatrick, "and there's nobody, I think, on either side of the US Senate or House of Representatives that

Germany has twice as many mosques as the United States, but it still has a long way to go to provide equal opportunities for Muslim immigrants and their children.

There will always be a purpose to monastic life, say the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, as long as there is a need in the world for silence, prayer, simplicity, and balance.

Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?" Those stirring words come at the beginning of one of the most durable spiritual guides of all time, the Rule of St. Benedict.

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In Afghanistan, gunmen attacked a house where aid workers were staying and killed five UN staff members, including one American. The workers were to monitor Afghanistan's runoff presidential election this coming week (November 7). The attack prompted the UN to

Tuesday (November 3) is Election Day, and religious leaders around the country are watching a referendum in Maine. Voters there will decide whether to uphold a new law that allows same-sex couples to marry. The Roman Catholic diocese of Portland

Another gay rights issue that has divided people of faith is hate crime legislation. President Obama signed an expansion of the hate crime law that makes it a federal offense to attack people because of their sexual orientation.President Barack Obama:

The Rev. Bernice King has been elected to lead the civil rights organization cofounded by her father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. She will be the first woman to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the second

There were mixed reactions to the Vatican's announcement last week that the Catholic Church will make it easier for Anglicans to convert. The Church would allow former Anglicans to preserve elements of their liturgy and would also permit more married