Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press reports that churches were among those borrowing beyond their means in the heyday of loose credit. Those chickens have come home to roost, and now, "foreclosures and delinquencies for congregations are rising, according to...
Frank Lockwood, the Bible Belt Blogger and religion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, reports on the latest annual list of the 25 largest denominations in America, compiled by the National Council of Churches. All mainline Protestant churches lost members since...
"[T]he strongest and most effective religions owe their success in part to their accountability. As one example, the church started by John Calvin in sixteenth-century Geneva was run not by one person but by a group of pastors. When they...
On the cusp of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the inauguration of the country's first black president, USA Today this weekend sent reporters out to four churches where King had preached: one in Los Angeles, one in Atlanta, one...
As part of its effort to document the significance of the swearing-in of America's first black president, the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center is asking churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship for copies of sermons or speeches...
Sam Hodges had a story in this morning's paper about "Blue Christmas" services, offered by a growing number of churches to help those who are having a tough time at the holidays, whether because of "a loved one's death, a...
A sampling of comments from our readers: "You're pro-'choice,' therefore you're not in Communion with the Catholic Church, so why do you claim to be Catholic? What other teachings of the Church do you call a lie? What other pages...
"[T]he early Christians didn't have any churches. They never dedicated church buildings. They celebrated the breaking of the bread in their homes ... and that's how it was for over 300 years. No churches, no buildings to celebrate ..." --...
Tom Breen of the Associated Press reports that places of worship across the country are facing hard times because of the economic squeeze. Contributions are understandably down. If people have less, they have less to put in the collection plate....
A pastor has responded to on of our commentors on the question of whether churches that engage in partisan politics should lose their tax-free status. The pastor's comment almost got lost in the shuffle, so I'll go ahead and...
A sampling of comments from our readers: "If you want to play politics, pay taxes like all other property owners." -- "Jason," on churches that engage in politicking from the pulpit, in violation of their tax-exempt status "It is...
This weekend, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, many churches -- Catholic and otherwise -- are holding a "blessing of the animals." Members are invited to bring their pets. Dallas Morning News videographer Ron...
Bob Moos has a story on this morning's Metro cover about churches that are taking a more active role in helping members care for elderly relatives -- sure to be an issue as the Baby Boomer generation moves into retirement...
Sue Nowicki of The Modesto Bee in California reports on how the economic downturn is affecting places of worship. She cites one Southern Baptist survey in which 72 percent of pastors indicated that their churches were being hurt by the...
In his first week as Cuba's president, Raul Castro met with the Vatican's No. 2 official. But that visit had been scheduled before Fidel Castro stepped aside. And even though the Vatican official said he'd been told there could be...
That's according to the 2008 Yearbook of Canadian and American Churches, produced by the National Council of Churches, which has tracked such things for years. Among the largest denominations, the Episcopal Church, which has been torn by disputes over homosexuality...
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