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July 21st, 2011
05:24 PM ET
Perry's 'call' could shake up GOP fieldBy Jim Acosta and Erika Dimmler, CNN Austin, TX (CNN) – For Republicans who are dissatisfied with the current presidential field for 2012, it could be divine intervention. GOP insiders see Texas Governor Rick Perry as a potential game-changer. As his state's longest serving governor, the pro-business Perry appeals to both tea party activists and Christian conservatives, all with a Texas swagger. At a press conference Monday, Perry confirmed what he recently told the Des Moines Register. He is feeling called by his faith and his friends to run. "I don't ever get confused. I am a man of faith," he added. The governor resisted the suggestion that his comments meant he is being called by God to jump into the GOP race. Read the full story about Rick Perry's 'call' to run for president
July 21st, 2011
04:22 PM ET
Hindu diners sue Indian restaurant for selling meat samosas
By Moni Basu and Chelsea Bailey, CNN (CNN) - A small tray of vegetable samosas costs $35 at the Mughal Express restaurant. But one particular tray, sold to strict Hindu vegetarians, might end up costing the Edison, New Jersey, restaurant a whole lot more. The Hindu customers said the restaurant served them meat samosas, harming them emotionally and spirituality. A state appellate court ruled Wednesday that they can sue for the cost of travel to India to purify their souls. Two summers ago, Durgesh Gupta and Sharad Agrawal walked into the popular Mughal Express on Oak Tree Road, in the heart of Edison's Indian community, and ordered samosas. They were strict vegetarians, they said in making sure there was no meat in their order of the traditional Indian snack. 
July 21st, 2011
03:59 PM ET
Pew Survey: Western, Muslim tensions persist, but there's a tiny thawBy Joe Sterling, CNN Westerners and Muslims continue to harbor negative attitudes toward each other, but there's a glimmer of change in Western attitudes, a new survey found. The idea that relations are bad has become "somewhat less common" over the past five years in the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Russia, according to the survey, called "Muslim-Western Tensions Persist," produced by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Still, "Muslim and Western publics continue to see relations between them as generally bad, with both sides holding negative stereotypes of the other," says the center's report on the survey released Thursday.  Grover Norquist, purveyor of a popular "no new taxes" pledge.
July 21st, 2011
12:19 PM ET
My Take: Political pledges are unbiblical and unchristian
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Republicans like to present themselves as the party of God, Jesus and the Bible, but their recent orgy of oath taking is, in my view, both unchristian and unbiblical. There are a holy host of practical and historical reasons for opposing the pledges being signed by many Republican presidential candidates: the anti-tax pledge promoted by Americans for Tax Reform and its founder, Grover Norquist; the “Marriage Vow” of the Family Leader organization opposing same-sex marriage and “Sharia Islam”; and the “Pro-Life Leadership Pledge” calling for pro-life appointees to government offices. First, the practical reasons. Many of these oaths ask politicians to sign onto a lot of silliness that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. The original version of the "Marriage Vow" signed by Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum suggested that African-American families were better off under slavery than they are today. (That language has subsequently been excised.)
July 21st, 2011
11:34 AM ET
The story behind 'Finding God in the Delta'CNN producer Tommy Andres talks about his story and video 'Finding God in the Mississippi Delta," about a young white man with cerebral palsy who can't walk or talk but who finds his voice at an all-black church. |
  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.