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.
The ethics of fertility treatments are struggling to keep up with rapid-fire advances in biotechnology. The case of Nadya Suleman, the “Octomom” who gave birth to octuplets in January 2009 through reproductive technology, is just an extreme example of the ethical dilemmas that parents, medical professionals and religious leaders are facing.
Religious differences are increasingly complicating child custody cases and are fueling a growing number of news stories. A generation ago, mothers almost always were granted custody and deemed responsible for most aspects of a child’s upbringing. Today these responsibilities are split more evenly between parents, and religion increasingly is a flash point.
It’s a new academic year and a new crop of seminarians — indeed, this year’s incoming class may be larger than most, as the recession appears to have sent many people back to school. But will they be trained to deal with the hot-button topics of sexuality that roil American denominations in good times and [...]
A May 15, 2008, court ruling striking down California’s ban on same-sex marriage has rocketed the issue back into the national spotlight. Political, legal and religious battles over homosexual unions are continuing in California, other states and nationally. Although the ruling directly affects only California, some predict it could play a role in softening objections [...]
Religion and adoption are both, at core, about identity. And increasingly, religious issues are complicating adoption. That’s because of the increase in international and interfaith adoptions, in adoptions between races, and in adoptions by singles and gay couples. At the same time, a significant proportion of adoption agencies are faith-based, which has led to conflicts [...]
How do you get to heaven? For adults, that’s a theological question, but for kids, it might be a matter of transportation – as in, is there a special bus or elevator to the great beyond? Adults are paying increasing attention to what children think about spiritual matters, and that’s reflected in innovations in congregational [...]
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