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December 22nd, 2011
11:23 PM ET
Vatican.xxx not a porn site, Holy See happy to findBy Gabe LaMonica, CNN (CNN) – The Internet is the grapevine. A Vatican spokesman's comments on radio this week led news organizations to report that the Vatican had lost its bid for Vatican.xxx, a coupling of the Vatican and the ".xxx" extension now reserved for pornographic content. "This domain is not available because it has been acquired by someone else, but not the Vatican," the Rev. Federico Lombardi said on Vatican radio. But that turns out not to be the case. On the contrary, the domain is reserved specifically for no one. "Vatican.xxx is a name that is on the permanent reserve list, so it was pulled out of the registry before the launch," said Jocelyn Johnson, a representative for ICM Registry, the company operating the new dot-triple-X domain as a voluntary option for pornographic sites.
December 22nd, 2011
11:09 PM ET
India's ruling party woos Muslim voters with quotaBy Moni Basu (CNN) – India approved quotas for minority groups Thursday in a move that was widely seen as the ruling party's attempt to woo Muslim voters in a key state. The federal cabinet set aside a 4.5% minority quota in jobs and education within an existing 27 percent quota for what are known as Other Backward Classes, traditionally the lowest rungs of the Hindu caste system otherwise known as Dalits. The Indian constitution prohibits privileges based on religion but Thursday's decision would allow economically and socially disadvantaged minorities - Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians - to be included in affirmative action programs. FULL STORY A creche stands in Santa Monica, California, where atheists have legally occupied space normally used for Nativity scenes.
December 22nd, 2011
10:20 PM ET
On California coast, atheists nudge out Nativity scenesBy Michael Martinez and Zohreen Adamjee, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) - Every Christmas for the past 60 years, Nativity scenes have dominated two blocks of a park on bluffs overlooking the ocean in Santa Monica, California. The 14 scenes depicting Jesus Christ's birth have long been a popular attraction among area residents and tourists to the southern California city. This year, however, atheists have taken over most of the two-block stretch, nearly shutting out and angering a group of churches who contend the atheists have organized against the Christians and gamed a city lottery process allocating the holiday exhibit space. In response, a leader of the atheist group says he's just looking for evenhanded treatment to present his beliefs in a public space - and goes so far as to say that the city shouldn't even be allowing any religious or even atheist expression in the park. Read the full story here
December 22nd, 2011
11:45 AM ET
Honduras nativity scene depicts violence(CNN)–A Latin American nativity scene is drawing double-takes for displaying violence. Along side the depictions of the birth of baby Jesus are the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and terrorist Osama bin Laden. CNN's Guillermo Arduino reports.  Steven T. Schlicht's family (pictured above) are among the nonbelievers who shared their secular holiday traditions with iReport.
December 22nd, 2011
10:52 AM ET
iReport: Holidays, minus God(CNN)- Americans who are unaffiliated with any faith tradition are the fastest growing religious group in the country. With the holiday season upon us, we asked iReporters: If you're atheist, agnostic or a nonbeliever of any kind, how do you celebrate the holidays? The outpouring of submissions we received were thoughtful, heartwarming, engaging and, above all, cheerful - In other words, perfectly in tune with the holiday season. Read the full story here from CNN's iReport The Salvation Army band plays at a charity distribution in Los Angeles.
December 22nd, 2011
09:46 AM ET
The church of the Salvation ArmyEditor's note: Listen to the CNN Radio broadcast about the Salvation Army as a church: By Jim Roope, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) - The Salvation Army is wrapping up its Red Kettle program for the year and hopes to top last year’s record $142 million collected nationwide. The money collected through the Red Kettles, seen only at Christmastime, helps fund all of the Salvation Army’s programs and ministries for the entire year. “I call it the church where the rubber meets the road,” said Lt. Keri Rudd. She and her husband, Lt. Eric Rudd, are ministers at a Salvation Army church in the Los Angeles area. Rudd said what many people don’t realize is that the Salvation Army is a 365-day-a-year evangelical Christian Church. “But because we do so many social services and family services, people think of us as just that,” she said.  An elderly Christian woman in Pakistan stands among the ruins of her home that was destroyed by mob violence.
December 22nd, 2011
08:21 AM ET
My Take: Looking for faith amid persecution
By Vivian Padilla-Chapman, Special to CNN (CNN) - Imagine living in a country where being born into your family's faith could thwart your chances of learning to read, narrow your employment opportunities to jobs like trash collector, street sweeper, or brick maker, and restrict you to drinking from separate water fountains in your village. In 2009 in Pakistan, I discovered that these issues as well as life-threatening circumstances are daily challenges for Pakistani Christians who live in segregated “colonies” and make up about 2% of the majority Muslim population.
December 22nd, 2011
04:28 AM ET
Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Thursday, December 22
By Dan Merica, CNN Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories. From the Blog: CNN: Christmas compromise lesson for lawmakers  Interested in the answer for the long held Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hannukah question? TIME: Is there a right way to spell Hanukkah? Chanukah? Hannukah? |
  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: Vivian Chapman is a writer and producer based in metro Atlanta. She often collaborates with her husband, photographer 
