Iraq's simmering sectarian tension boiled in recent days over a controversial decision banning more than 500 people with alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from running in next month's Iraqi national elections.
As France moves closer to a partial ban on the burqa, a leading European lawmaker declared Wednesday that the full Muslim veil is a symbol of political Islam and has no place in Europe.
In an event considered rare, one of India's low-caste communities has declared its own distinct religion.
A furor has erupted in Britain over comments by the pope seen as critical of a new law the Roman Catholic church fears will force it to accept homosexuals into its ranks.
Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter Want to get health care legislation passed in Congress? Send the elected men home, one congresswoman reportedly suggests. Shea-Porter, a New Hampshire Democrat, said as much at a Manchester town hall meeting last weekend, according to The Hill.com. It reports someone released 55 seconds of her remarks, which went viral and made national headlines.
A Nebraska man is expected to plead guilty next week to launching a cyber attack that shut down the Church of Scientology's Web sites, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The Buddhist religion has largely remained the same over the past few centuries, but a group of monks in Japan are spicing things up by turning to alcohol and rap music to lure in followers.
Outside the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple, Kansho Tagai, dressed in his traditional monk robes, paused and began a sutra. He bobbed his head and then broke into a lyrical rap.
The pope has summoned several Irish bishops to the Vatican to discuss a report documenting child abuse by Irish clergy members, the Vatican spokesman said Wednesday.
Iraq's simmering sectarian tension boiled in recent days over a controversial decision banning more than 500 people with alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from running in next month's Iraqi national elections.
As France moves closer to a partial ban on the burqa, a leading European lawmaker declared Wednesday that the full Muslim veil is a symbol of political Islam and has no place in Europe.
In an event considered rare, one of India's low-caste communities has declared its own distinct religion.
A furor has erupted in Britain over comments by the pope seen as critical of a new law the Roman Catholic church fears will force it to accept homosexuals into its ranks.
Pope John Paul II used to beat himself with a belt and sleep on a bare floor to bring himself closer to Christ, a book published Wednesday says.
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter Want to get health care legislation passed in Congress? Send the elected men home, one congresswoman reportedly suggests. Shea-Porter, a New Hampshire Democrat, said as much at a Manchester town hall meeting last weekend, according to The Hill.com. It reports someone released 55 seconds of her remarks, which went viral and made national headlines.
A Nebraska man is expected to plead guilty next week to launching a cyber attack that shut down the Church of Scientology's Web sites, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The Buddhist religion has largely remained the same over the past few centuries, but a group of monks in Japan are spicing things up by turning to alcohol and rap music to lure in followers.
Outside the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple, Kansho Tagai, dressed in his traditional monk robes, paused and began a sutra. He bobbed his head and then broke into a lyrical rap.
The pope has summoned several Irish bishops to the Vatican to discuss a report documenting child abuse by Irish clergy members, the Vatican spokesman said Wednesday.
Focus on the Family, a Christian non-profit group, said it will air its first Super Bowl spot during the upcoming game.
Pope Benedict XVI visited the main Jewish synagogue in Rome on Sunday, a trip that unfolded amid heightened tension between Catholics and Jews.
Pope Benedict XVI is set to take one step forward in Catholic-Jewish relations Sunday when he becomes the first pope since 1986 to visit the main Jewish synagogue in Rome, Italy.
Pope Benedict XVI met privately on Wednesday with the woman who dragged him to the ground on Christmas Eve, the Vatican said.
Seven leaders of Iran's Baha'i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday accused of spying for Israel, a charge their supporters say is motivated by religious discrimination.
A trial for seven Iranian Baha'is that has come to symbolize the persecution of followers of the faith is set to unfold next week with added controversy and global attention.
Pope Benedict XVI championed the environment in the Vatican's annual World Day of Peace message.
Pope Benedict XVI ended 2009 much as he began it -- with a major gaffe that angered Jews.
An Irish bishop resigned Wednesday following a government report into the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy -- the second to do so.
As Christmas season went into full swing this year, Glen Fullmer's 7-year-old son came home from school with an assignment: Make a poster illustrating his family holiday traditions.
It was a Vatican announcement guaranteed to spark controversy.
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri One of Iran's most senior dissident clerics and a staunch defender of the nation's opposition movement died Sunday at 87.
Pope John Paul II was a step closer to sainthood Saturday after Pope Benedict XVI signed a decree recognizing the late pontiff's "heroic virtues" and declaring him "venerable," the Vatican said.
Evangelist Oral Roberts, founder of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University, died Tuesday from complications of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California, his spokeswoman said. He was 91.
Pope Benedict XVI is "deeply disturbed and distressed" by a recent report showing the Irish Catholic Church covered up child sex abuse by clergy for decades, the Vatican said Friday.
Los Angeles Episcopalians elected an openly lesbian bishop late Saturday, the denomination's news service reported.
Music from late rapper Tupac Shakur has been included as part of the Vatican's official MySpace Music playlist.
Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Christian leaders last week issued a bold political statement. They intended to target the Obama administration. Inadvertently, they may have also hit probable Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
A dispute over abortion between the only remaining Kennedy in Congress and his Roman Catholic bishop has highlighted the political volatility of the issue and the challenge it presents to the nation's Catholics.
Rhode Island's top Roman Catholic leader has asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy to stop taking Communion over his support for abortion rights, the diocese said Sunday.
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday, the first meeting between the religious leaders since a Catholic overture to disaffected Anglicans that some commentators compared to a hostile takeover on Wall Street.
For many Muslims it's the journey of a lifetime: making the Hajj pilgrimage. Almost 3 million faithful, together, in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. But this year, the Hajj could become an incubator for the H1N1 virus.
Outside a Manhattan mosque where the imam preaches against terrorism, the brothers of the "Revolution Muslim" are spreading a different message.
Gurdeep Kaur's wrinkled face was wet with tears, as she recounted what she saw a quarter century ago: the killings of 21 of family members.
The school bell rang and along with my sixth-grade friends, I climbed down the stairs. My teenage sister was in the hallway waiting for me. Her being there was unusual.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai about 3,300 years ago, he couldn't have seen these Jews coming.
The U.S Army has granted a member of a religious minority permission to keep his turban, beard and uncut hair while he serves in the military, the Pentagon and a group representing him said.
Acclaimed film director Paul Haggis's decision to leave the Church of Scientology shines a further public spotlight on the organization.
A French court's verdict against the Church of Scientology amounts to a "modern Inquisition" and threatens freedom of religion in France, a senior Scientologist said Tuesday.
In his darkest moment, Kenneth Brown lost it all. His wife and kids, the housebroken dog, the vacation home on Cape Cod all vanished when he was sent to prison for an arson in 1996.
Why is Rainn Wilson, "Dwight" on "The Office," writing a news commentary for CNN? Good question.
Why is Rainn Wilson, "Dwight" on "The Office," writing a news commentary for CNN? Good question.
The Vatican said Tuesday it has worked out a way for groups of Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their faith to join the Catholic Church.
There's more to wearing the "niqab" -- the austere, all-covering veil favored by ultra-religious Muslim women -- than meets the eye.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized five new saints Sunday, including a 19th-century priest who worked with ostracized leprosy patients in Hawaii before contracting the disease himself and dying from it.
In his darkest moment, Kenneth Brown lost it all. His wife and kids, the housebroken dog, the vacation home on Cape Cod all vanished when he was sent to prison for an arson in 1996.
Pope Benedict XVI urged a crowd of 120,000 worshippers in one of Europe's most secular countries to remain faithful to religious tradition on Sunday.
Every Friday evening, the Nunez family sits down to a traditional religious dinner.
In their latest communique regarding the fate of seven arrested members of the Baha'i religious minority in Iran, Amnesty International has expressed grave concern they may face the death penalty if they are found guilty of the charges of "espionage for Israel," "insulting religious sanctities," and "propaganda against the system."
Shortly before he died from brain cancer, Sen. Ted Kennedy wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI. President Obama delivered the letter to the pontiff during his visit to the Vatican in July.
Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy didn't wear his faith on his sleeve, but those close to him say Catholicism was much more than an ethnic and cultural identity.
After hours of back and forth between members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided Friday evening to accept noncelibate clergy members and lay leaders who are in "lifelong" and "monogamous" same-sex relationships.
Iran should release seven Baha'i prisoners accused of espionage because it does not have any evidence against them, their lawyer Shirin Ebadi told CNN on Saturday.
The trial of seven Baha'i prisoners accused of espionage in Iran will begin on Tuesday, despite that one of their lawyers is now behind bars and the other is outside the country, state-run media reported Saturday.
Iran reportedly plans next week to put on trial seven Baha'i prisoners accused of espionage, even though one of their lawyers has become a fellow detainee and the other is outside the country.
Episcopal churches in California and Minnesota moved toward appointing gay bishops over the weekend, less than a month after the denomination lifted a self-imposed freeze on promoting openly gay clergy into the top ranks of the church.
The actor's spokesman refutes a report that he split from Scientology after death of son Jett
The archbishops of Canterbury and York are recommending that churches stop sharing the chalice at communion over swine flu fears, the Church of England said Thursday.
Pope Benedict XVI had surgery on his right wrist Friday after he broke it in a fall, the Vatican said.
There is a shiny addition among the Ottoman mosques and palaces that make up Istanbul's stunning skyline: the metallic, mirrored dome of the new Sakirin Mosque, a Muslim place of worship built with a woman's touch.
The people of Pakistan must back Islamic militants to counter the influence of the United States in their country or face punishment from God, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, said in an audio message released early Wednesday.
The Episcopal Church has moved decisively closer to full acceptance of gay men and lesbians, taking steps toward recognizing same-sex marriage and gay bishops.
A death-penalty trial of seven Baha'i prisoners accused of spying for Israel has been delayed, Iranian officials have told family members, according to the U.S. Baha'i Office of External Affairs.
U.S. President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI discussed current affairs, the Catholic Church's teachings and abortion as they met for the first time Friday, according to the White House and the Vatican.
Seven Baha'i prisoners face a death-penalty trial Saturday in Iran amid calls for their release from a U.S. panel on religious freedom.
The world's oldest known Christian Bible goes online Monday -- but the 1,600-year-old text doesn't match the one you'll find in churches today.
Scientific tests prove bones housed in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome are those of the apostle St. Paul himself, according to Pope Benedict XVI.
The United States is providing weapons and ammunition to Somalia's transitional government as it fights al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday.
Father Alberto Cutie, an internationally known Catholic priest who admitted having a romantic affair and breaking his vow of celibacy, was married this week in Miami, Florida.
When Alysa Stanton officially becomes a rabbi in June, she'll be walking into history.
Tokyo is a fantastic city at any time of year, but there are some annual events you won't want to miss. Here are some of the city's seasonal highlights.
Police tightened security Wednesday in India's Punjab for the funeral of a preacher whose killing in Vienna, Austria sparked violent protests in the Sikh majority state last week.
The devout actor still goes to church - but forgoes Communion
Father Alberto Cutie, an internationally known Catholic priest who admitted having a romantic affair and breaking his vow of celibacy, is joining the Episcopal Church to be with the woman he loves, he said Thursday.
The Church of Scientology went on trial this week in France, accused of fraud in a case that sheds light on the group.
Tensions eased in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Tuesday, following widespread violence across the region after a Sikh guru was shot to death and another was wounded at an Indian temple in Vienna, Austria.
Unregistered churches are attracting millions of worshippers in China, exposing an enduring rift between the government and the Vatican.
Sixteen people were wounded and a guru was shot to death in an outbreak of violence between rival Sikhs at an Indian temple in Vienna, Austria, police said.
It's an issue that simply won't go away. In spite of signals from the Vatican discouraging even discussions of obligatory celibacy for Catholic priests, the almost 1,000-year-old rule is under the microscope. And it will be for decades to come. Here's why.
Does Antimatter really matter? And other burning questions
The scandal surrounding the Rev. Alberto Cutie has raised questions in the minds of many concerning the Catholic Church's discipline of priestly celibacy. Why does the church continue to defend a practice that seems so unnatural and so unnecessary?
Pope Benedict XVI completed his eight-day tour of the Holy Land on Friday with an exhortation to both Israelis and Palestinians to work through their decades-old conflict.
Just so you know, Bart Ehrman says he's not the anti-Christ.
Seven Baha'i leaders jailed in Iran face a possible new accusation that could lead to the death penalty, the religious group said Thursday, and a major human rights group has called for their release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday to use his moral authority to thwart anti-Semitic sentiment and hatred toward Israel, especially by Iran.
A Taliban spokesman issued a series of threats and ultimatums against Pakistani officials Wednesday as the country's military continued its offensive against the militant group in the Swat Valley.
Three years ago, the film based on Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" was the focus of protest and controversy, with a Vatican archbishop calling for a boycott and Catholics at many levels refuting plot points.
With his visit already bogged down in historical disputes, the pope's message of peace in Gaza was interrupted Monday by an impromptu speaker who fueled the longtime resentment between Palestinians and Israelis.
As he arrives in Israel, the focus for Pope Benedict XVI shifts from Catholic/Muslim ties, which were at the heart of his three-day visit to Jordan, to relations with Judaism.
For more than 20 years, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then the Vatican's top doctrinal czar, was the intellectual architect of the papacy of John Paul II.
On the second day of his visit to the Middle East, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the need for harmony and unity between Christians and Muslims.
Pope Benedict XVI arrived Friday in Amman, Jordan, for a weeklong visit to the Middle East that he hopes will help "foster good relations between Christians and Muslims."
Pope Benedict XVI will leave for a weeklong tour of the Middle East Friday morning, the first papal visit to some of Christianity's most holy places since Pope John Paul II made the pilgrimage in 2000.
The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.
Prince Charles visited the Vatican on Monday for his first meeting with a pope since his 1996 divorce from Princess Diana.
Taliban militants took control Wednesday of a district 60 miles away from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
He built his own traditionalist Catholic church in L.A. How will faith affect his divorce?
For Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, this is a hill worth fighting for.
At dawn Wednesday, Jews around the world celebrated the Blessing of the Sun, an event that happens once every 28 years.
A polygamist sect is planning an event today to mark the first anniversary of a raid in which more than 400 children were removed from its Texas ranch.
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