The Rev. Billy Graham turns 93 on Nov. 7, but still manages to meet with major public figures on occasion and releases periodic reflections on his life and faith. Indeed, though Graham is infirm and in virtual seclusion in his mountaintop home in North Carolina, his stature and legacy seem to grow as he ages.
Jesus is bigger than Justin Bieber? Christians would say that’s true, of course. But when a Facebook page on Jesus outranks the teen idol, then the wider culture begins to take notice.
The Sept. 11 terror attacks seemed to confirm suspicions of some that there is an inherent connection between religion and violence. The 9/11 plotters cited Islam as their inspiration – case closed. But that explanation was considered too simple then, and 10 years later the debate on this controversial topic continues.
The 10th anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11 inevitably puts a spotlight on Islam and in particular on the growing Muslim community in the United States. That spotlight reveals both ongoing problems as well as significant progress, and ReligionLink provides a roundup of resources for covering these topics.
Theologians have pondered the nature of evil for centuries, but for Americans, the attacks of Sept. 11 brought the issue home as few other atrocities in recent times have.
While debates over gay marriage dominate the headlines, the iconic American family, composed of a husband, wife and children, is undergoing a profound transformation. For the first time, fewer than half of American households are headed by married couples. Yet today couples remain married longer, are more loyal and are less likely to divorce.
New York is now the sixth and largest state to allow gay marriage, and it may not be the last. Maryland will try to follow suit, and the fate of the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 hang in the balance – developments that herald complications for religious groups on both sides of the issue.
Even as public attention focuses on the legalization of gay marriage in New York and related battles across the country, religious communities are continuing to struggle with the role of homosexuals. Presbyterians voted in May to allow openly gay clergy, and in June a Methodist church court convicted a pastor for performing a same-sex union.
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