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Parents may pull their children from classes that offend their religion, Supreme Court rules

Religion / Religious News /

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that parents have a right to opt their schoolchildren out of classes and lessons that offend their religious beliefs.

The 6-3 ruling will have an impact nationwide because it empowers parents who object to books or lessons at school.

"A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Does religion hold too much or too little sway over US schools? What poll finds

Religion / Religious News /

As the decades-long debate over the role of religion in public school education continues to spark legislation and legal challenges in the United States, a new poll reveals the nuanced views held among the general public.

Americans are largely split on what they think about religion’s influence on public school curriculum, with 32% saying ...Read more

Tierney L. Cross/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Parents may pull their children from classes that offend their religion, Supreme Court rules

Religion / Religious News /

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that parents have a right to opt their schoolchildren out of classes and lessons that offend their religious beliefs.

The 6-3 ruling will have an impact nationwide because it empowers parents who object to books or lessons at school.

"A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it ...Read more

Can God help my sister?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My sister grew up the same way I did – in a Christian family and in church. But we have gone very different directions, and when we talk, she cannot understand why I am living a contented life and she is living in misery. Though she is much more successful than I am and never lacks for ...Read more

What is the famous passage in Luke that describes the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem?

Religion / Bible Trivia /

A) Luke 2:1-20
B) Luke 5:1-11
C) Luke 9:28-36
D) Luke 24:1-12

What is the famous passage in Haggai that speaks of the future glory of the temple?

Religion / Bible Trivia /

A) Haggai 1:1-6
B) Haggai 1:7-11
C) Haggai 2:1-9
D) Haggai 2:10-19

The God Squad: Three strikes and you are not out

Religion / God Squad /

Q: Some people say reincarnation is biblical and happens today, what is your take on reincarnation? – (From S)

A: You get three strikes in baseball. The great question you raise is how many strikes do you get in life?

Reincarnation is really a combination of two religious beliefs: the belief that we have an immaterial and ...Read more

Does God ever let us down?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I have friends who are disappointed in God because they have believed in Him, but He let them down and did not help them with their problems. This seems unfair toward God as they wrongly identify Him as an imagined genie. They don’t want to accept responsibility for their own bad decisions and ...Read more

What are the key elements of being good parents?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My husband and I will become parents for the first time, and we are both 35 years old. We are happy but also filled with anxiety. While we will have perhaps more wisdom than younger new parents, we are bound to make mistakes. Some people tell us that we should make life fun for children and give ...Read more

Queens priest defrocked over sexual abuse allegations dating to 1980s

Religion / Religious News /

NEW YORK — A Queens priest has been defrocked over sexual abuse allegations dating back more than two decades, according to church officials.

The Rev. Michael McHugh, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, was removed from the ministry after members of a Catholic review board claimed they substantiated allegations of ...Read more

Does the Bible really teach that Christians should share God’s truth even to people who curse Him and deny that Jesus is who He claimed?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Does the Bible really teach that Christians should share God’s truth even to people who curse Him and deny that Jesus is who He claimed? – G.D.

A: Many people struggle with sharing the Gospel with those who are outspokenly opposed to Jesus. How do we react when we see someone whose lifestyle is...Read more

Isn’t this contrary to Jesus’ entire message?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I have many Christian friends who say they are saved, but they have no assurance that they will go to Heaven someday. I even read this is true of Mother Teresa – that she wasn’t sure she had done enough good works. Isn’t this contrary to Jesus’ entire message? – S.A.

A: Many people who ...Read more

Is it advantageous to declare that we are people of faith?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My friend calls herself a person of faith, so I assumed she was a Christian. When she began to tell me about her one-on-one encounters with angels and demons, I began to question what it really means to be a person of faith. Most people think it is a good designation, but surely, a “person of ...Read more

Does God really call us to set ourselves aside?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Being obedient to God’s Word in areas that reveal my own selfishness is troubling. Does God really call us to set ourselves aside, and if so, why is this so hard to do? – L.O.

A: It is much easier to see someone else’s faults than to see our own. One of the strongest reasons for this is that ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA faith leaders come together to defend immigrant communities amid federal raids

Religion / Religious News /

LOS ANGELES — More than a dozen religious leaders from an array of faiths marched to the steps of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night, flowers in hand, calling for an end to the federal immigration raids they say have torn families apart and resulted in racial profiling.

At the start of the procession in Plaza ...Read more

Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Are Pope Leo's ancestors from Cuba? Genealogy researchers in Miami think so

Religion / Religious News /

It has become an old joke in the Cuban American community to note that Cubans seem to be everywhere. And so, when Pope Leo was elected to lead the Catholic Church and traces of his rich heritage began to emerge, including an ancestor who had been born in Havana, a Cuban genealogist in Miami rushed to figure out if this was just an isolated case ...Read more

The God Squad: The war

Religion / God Squad /

To explain the unique spiritual fears of the Jewish people is quite difficult. In a way it is like trying to explain to a white person what it feels like to be a Black person. There are some feelings that we just cannot adequately share with people who do not share our history or faith.

Let me try.

One day during an attack on Israel by Iraqi ...Read more

Is it possible to comprehend such a miraculous work as this?

Religion / Billy Graham /

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: The recent events in space have been fascinating to watch. To think that the world was spoken into existence is beyond imagination; yet I do believe in the God who created it all. Is it possible to comprehend such a miraculous work as this? – C.G.

A: When an image of God comes to mind, many think...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Jesuit priest with Bay Area ties accused of sexual assault of minors

Religion / Religious News /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A prominent Catholic priest with ties to the Bay Area is behind bars in San Luis Obispo County facing charges of sexually abusing three boys starting in the early 1990s, and police think there are more victims.

Theodore Gabrielli, 61, was arrested June 12 in Los Osos, near Morro Bay, and charged with three counts of ...Read more

What is a 'supernatural church?' Five things to know about a growing Christian branch

Religion / Religious News /

MIAMI -- “Miracles happen here.”

That’s the slogan of one megachurch in southwest Miami-Dade County at the forefront of the fast-growing Christian “supernatural” movement.

It’s an Evangelical offshoot, rooted in Pentecostalism, that leans far more heavily into revelations and prophecy than mainstream Christian churches and wields ...Read more