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January 27th, 2011
09:44 AM ET
Tax incentives for biblical theme park?Is Kentucky giving tax breaks to a for profit religious group a violation of the establishment clause in the constitution? Supporters say the life sized ark theme park is for profit and will bring jobs and tourists to the area. Critics say the park has religious conversion in mind and the state should not be giving the group tax incentives. Anderson Cooper takes a look at the controversy. Ken Ham, the President of Answers in Genesis, Reverend Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Jeff Toobin, CNN legal analyst all weigh in on the controversy.
January 27th, 2011
07:14 AM ET
'Call Me Jacob': Jewish names tops in baby derby
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN A few weeks ago, I wrote about the stranglehold Christians have on our current Congress. While 77.8 percent of American adults self-identify as Christians, 90.3 percent of our current representatives in the House and Senate affiliate with some form of Christianity. America looks a lot less Christian, however, if you turn your sights from the Congress to the crib. In fact, it looks like a Jewish nation. 
January 27th, 2011
12:01 AM ET
World Muslim population doubling, report projectsBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN Twenty years ago, the world had about 1.1 billion Muslims. Twenty years from now, it will have about twice as many - and they'll represent more than a quarter of all people on earth, according to a new study released Thursday. That's a rise from less than 20 percent in 1990. Pakistan will overtake Indonesia as home of the largest number of Muslims, as its population pushes over 256 million, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life projects.
January 26th, 2011
12:32 PM ET
California exorcist's life depicted in new film Father Gary Thomas's story is portrayed in "The Rite." A South Bay priest who has performed dozens of exorcisms is having his life story portrayed on the big screen in the new Anthony Hopkins movie "The Rite" which opens later this week. The movie is about a priest who travels to Rome to learn how to become an exorcist. Father Gary Thomas, the priest who the film’s main character is based on, preaches at a San Jose church on Saratoga Avenue. Read the full story on KTVU.com
January 26th, 2011
11:31 AM ET
Jewish hockey player claims he was harassedA Jewish hockey player sued the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, claiming that coaches of one of its affiliate teams subjected him to harassment and anti-Semitic remarks. Jason Bailey, 23, is seeking unspecified damages in the action filed in Orange County (California) Superior Court against the Ducks, the Bakersfield Condors and coaches Martin Raymond and Mark Pederson. "Sorry, we can't comment," said Alex Gilchrist, director of media and communications for the Ducks. According to the complaint, Bailey endured "a barrage of anti-Semitic, offensive and degrading verbal attacks regarding his Jewish faith" from Raymond, head coach of the Condors. Raymond, according to the lawsuit, would say, "they (referring to Jews) 'only care about money and who's who.' " Read the full story here about the Jewish hockey player who says he was harassed.
January 26th, 2011
10:00 AM ET
Osteen gets serious on sex, prosperity and politicsBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor By now you have likely seen or read that megachurch pastor Joel Osteen told CNN’s Piers Morgan he thinks homosexuality is a sin. For years Osteen has been dinged by religious critics as a theological lightweight - for talking too much about sunshine and not enough about sin. But the television preacher with the megawatt smile put his cards on the table in his hourlong interview with Morgan. Osteen, who is rich, said it would be an insult to God to apologize for that blessing. He tried to shake off the label of prosperity gospel preacher. And yes, he said he thinks homosexuality is a sin.
January 25th, 2011
01:54 PM ET
Kim Kardashian gives 10% of her money to church and charityIn this preview of Thursday's "Piers Morgan Tonight," featuring Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, the subject of money gives way to a conversation about giving. When Piers Morgan asks how much Kim is worth, she says, "Whatever it is, I give 10% away to the church and that's what I was taught. Every year, absolutely." But does Kourtney? "I'm going to now," Kourtney said. "I was taught that too but I forgot about it." Kim said she has given millions of her money to the Dream Foundation, as well as tithing to a church her mother created in Calabasas, CA. The full interview airs Thursday night on CNN at 9pmET/PT.  A Rohingya boy waits for a fishing boat to come in so he can make small money carrying the fish to shore on May 5, 2009 in Sittwe, Arakan state, Myanmar.
January 25th, 2011
10:31 AM ET
New wave of ethnic Muslims arrive in ThailandAuthorities in Thailand were trying Tuesday to deal with a new group of 67 members of an ethnic Muslim minority that arrived in a boat claiming that they were the victims of persecution. The new group adds to a recent wave of Rohingya who have recently arrived in southern Thailand, claiming that they have been persecuted in Myanmar. Their arrival could test Bangkok's international pledges to treat the Rohingya humanely, two years after Thailand faced international condemnation over secret policies of towing Rohingya back out to sea in unpowered boats with little food and water. The group of 67 Rohingya who arrived Sunday are the second group to come ashore in the last few days. Another group of 91 Rohingya arrived Saturday. The second group was being held at a police station in Thailand's Satun Province, authorities said. Read the full story here of the group of Muslims who fled to Thailand. 
January 25th, 2011
07:00 AM ET
My Take: How Christians should rethink sexBy Tyler Blanski, Special to CNN
When it comes to sex, many Christians confuse the fences for the playground. We’ve created what I call the chastity cult. Married and single Christians alike put sex on a pedestal. We’re more serious and obsessed with the rules than we ought to be. Young people wear promise rings - pledging to delay sex till marriage - march hand in hand under the banner of courtship. Some won’t even kiss until they’ve walked down the aisle. Married couples pray before making love or sometimes even feel guilty about the joy and sensuality of it all. Like the heretics of yore, we are so wary of sensual pleasure, we put up so many rules, rigmarole, and warning signs that we’ve made sex unrecognizable. We forget that sex is playful. Ever since I was 12, the conversation of choice for Christian guys has been to confess addiction to pornography, habitual masturbation, and unbearable guilt. All the while, pastors warned us against holding hands, kissing or - even worse - cuddling.
January 25th, 2011
07:00 AM ET
Fight emerges over yoga's religious rootsBy Wes Little, CNN Sheetal Shah, an official with the Hindu American Foundation, hears a lot about the physical practice of yoga these days - but not much about its religious roots. So her group, which seeks to provide what it calls "a progressive voice for American Hindus," recently mounted a "take back yoga" campaign, including appearances at conferences and attempts to raise media awareness of the practice's Hindu origins. For Shah, who is the Hindu American Foundation's senior director, yoga is primarily a moral and spiritual philosophy, a fact she says has been lost as the popularity of physical yoga has boomed in the West. "There has been a conscious de-linking between Hinduism and yoga," in the United States and elsewhere, she says. |
  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.
Editor's Note: Tyler Blanski is the author of 