Tag: Social Issues

The U.S. Catholic bishops’ opposition to national health care legislation mandating contraception coverage was ranked the No. 1 Religion Story of 2012 by members of the Religion Newswriters Association.

Related to the top story, the top religion newsmaker was Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who became the point man for Catholic objections to required coverage of contraception, sterilization and morning after drugs in Obamacare.

A new report on global religious identity shows that while Christians and Muslims make up the two largest groups, those with no religious affiliation — including atheists and agnostics — are now the third-largest “religious” group in the world.
The study, released Tuesday (Dec. 18) by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, found that more than eight in 10 (84 percent) of the world’s 7 billion people adheres to some form of religion.

It is no longer a simple question, as more people become “unchurched” and the United States becomes even more diversified, there is a larger population that celebrate the holiday as a nonreligious holiday — an opportunity to party and give gifts.

The estranged son of a Kansas pastor famous for protesting the funerals of soldiers and AIDS victims has condemned his family’s plans to picket the funerals of the 26 people -- including 20 children -- who were killed when a gunman stormed a Connecticut elementary school.

It seems like an archaic term, "keeping Christmas." I remember it well from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. And it does have a Dickensian quality to it.

My heart is heavy and my soul enraged at the thought of beautiful children shot dead. The sentiments you have all heard these last days about the innocent, defenseless, children killed by a deranged man cause us all to question everything we thought we knew.

As horrible as it seems, there are still heartless people out there who have the nerve to show it in the wake of a terrible tragedy.