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November 16th, 2010
04:23 PM ET
For Iraqi Christians, fear is knockingShe lives in a paralyzing state of "constant and fear" and it's forcing her to keep her children indoors and out of school. That's how one Baghdad woman describes the dire predicament faced by her and other Iraqi Christians, a dwindling community that is enduring another string of anti-Christian sectarian assaults in Baghdad and in Mosul. The woman, who didn't want to be identified because of fear for her life, said security hasn't been beefed up since the assaults began on October 31, when the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral, or Our Lady of Salvation Church, was attacked. 
November 16th, 2010
04:05 PM ET
My Take: The budget commission and our nation of Huck Finns
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN In a seminar this week my students and I read a rant by the Kentucky farmer/poet Wendell Berry against the perpetual adolescence of Huck Finn’s America, and our own. Berry begins his essay, “Writer and Region,” by praising Huck Finn for escaping from the stultifying “indoor piety” of Miss Watson to the secular adventures of the raft, the Mississippi and the out of doors. He criticizes Huck, however, for his refusal to return home, for vowing at the end of Huckleberry Finn to “light out for the territory” yet again. The problem with Huck, with Twain and with America, Berry writes, is that we want our freedom free of responsibility. We are a nation of perpetual adolescents, ever adrift on the Mississippi, refusing to come home to what Berry calls (after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.) the “beloved community.” 
November 16th, 2010
12:49 PM ET
Dolan elected president of U.S. Catholic bishops conferenceNew York Archbishop Timothy Dolan was chosen Tuesday as the next leader of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dolan defeated Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, and eight others to win the three-year term. The vote was 128-111, according to conference spokesman Don Clemmer. Dolan will replace Cardinal Francis George, who did not run for re-election. 
November 16th, 2010
08:00 AM ET
Author wants to rebrand Muslims from terrorists to environmentalistsEditor's Note: CNN's Maria Ebrahimji filed this Q&A. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is a second generation American Muslim, radio personality and a policy advisor in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. In his new book, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet, he challenges Muslims and non-Muslims to be stewards of the earth. He hopes the book will help rebrand Muslims from terrorists to environmentalists. Here's an edited transcript of our conversation: What does Green Deen mean? Green has become the catch-all word for being environmentally friendly. Deen in Arabic means religion but can also be translated to path or way. So a green deen is literally an environmentally friendly religion. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.