AltWeeklies Wire
The Fight is On Over Teaching 'Intelligent Design' in Texas Schoolsnew
The basic fight is expected to be over what kids are taught about evolution -- which takes up only about three days of teaching in a 180-day school year. But scientists and teachers argue there are much bigger things at stake: the intimidation of teachers and the possible beginning of biblical beliefs being taught as science in Texas public schools.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Laurie Barker James |
09-05-2008 |
Education
The Passion of Victoria Osteennew

A flight attendant went after the Osteens in court, bringing on trials and tribulation for one and all.
Houston Press |
Richard Connelly |
09-02-2008 |
Religion
The Two Faces of Spiritual Leader Bo Lozoffnew

Lozoff faces allegations that he mistreated parolees and engaged in questionable sexual conduct at Kindness House, a centerpiece of his ministry.
The Templeton Foundation: Strange Lab Partnersnew
God, science and a $1.6 million prize intersect in a suburban office park.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Alicia Puglionesi |
08-26-2008 |
Religion
How One Former TV Reporter Brought His Sky Gospel to the Peoplenew

Former TV-news reporter Jack Borden found transcendental peace in the cloudy sky, and he's determined to spread his stratospheric gospel to everyone -- even Jessica Simpson.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
08-20-2008 |
Religion
Why Can't Khadija Go to Mosque?new
Khadija could be a star spokeswoman for Muslims if they wanted to show off Islam's teachings of peace and acceptance. Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, the imam of Masjed As-Saber, won't let Khadija back in his Southwest Portland mosque because Khadija is transgendered.
Willamette Week |
Byron Beck |
08-20-2008 |
LGBT
As Scientology Expands in Seattle, So Do Its Naysayersnew

Masked protesters are taking to the city's streets as the church eyes new facilities downtown and in lower Queen Anne.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
08-18-2008 |
Religion
An Ex-Scientologist and Online Pranksters Try to Bring Down the Controversial Religionnew
Before January, no one dreamed that Tommy Gorman would be backed up by the most unlikely of allies: an army of internet geeks pissed about a censored Tom Cruise video. The troops call themselves Anonymous, the president of the San Francisco Church of Scientology calls them the "electric Klan," and they have stepped out of cyberspace in masks to bring down Scientology, too.
Death By Prayernew
Eleven-year-old Madeline Kara Neumann died of diabetic complications as her parents prayed for her healing and stubbornly refused to call doctors. Now they face second-degree homicide charges. Will a religious exemption to child abuse laws--common to about 40 states--undermine their prosecution?
Isthmus |
Erik Gunn |
08-08-2008 |
Crime & Justice
New Evangelicals Search for Faith, Not Lip Servicenew

The Obama campaign opened its Raleigh headquarters July 22 to much fanfare, but just around the corner the same night, their celebration was outdrawn almost 3-to-1 by Jesus. That's where a "campaign stop" of the Jesus for President book tour was led by evangelical progressives Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. The new movement represents one of the most exciting shifts among Christian evangelicals.
The Queer and the Qur'an: One Man's Struggle with Being a Gay Muslimnew
Ali stays in the shadows, because if he were to come out as a gay Muslim, he would lose things dearer to him than his own life: family, community, identity.
Willamette Week |
Byron Beck |
08-06-2008 |
LGBT
Looking at the Implications of Colorado's Proposed Anti-Choice Amendmentnew
If voters pass Amendment 48 in November, the Colorado Constitution will be changed so that even a pronuclear embryo -- a single-celled, newly fertilized human egg -- will have the same rights and protections as a fully developed, living, breathing human being. The so-called "Personhood Amendment," an initiative placed on the ballot by anti-abortion extremists, would impact not only abortion, experts say, but also a broad range of issues pertaining to women's health from access to contraception to infertility treatment to the flexibility doctors have in treating pregnant women.
Boulder Weekly |
Pamela White |
08-04-2008 |
Sex
New Life Ministries' Pastor Troy Campbell Follows the Example of Jesusnew
Unlike some of the more visible evangelical houses of worship in Kansas City, New Life seems serious about closing the gap between the church described in the New Testament and what's happening in the suburbs today.
Inside Radical Living: A Communal Christian House in Bed-Stuynew
The story of Radical Living, a group of twenty- and thritysomething born-again Christians, begins with the Storbakkens. One day in the fall of 2006 Jason Storbakken was headed uptown toward his job at High Times, when a subway preacher caught his ear.
New York Press |
Joseph Huff-Hannon |
07-17-2008 |
Religion
The Said Girls Made One Deadly Misstep: They Fell in Lovenew
News that a Muslim father had been accused of murdering two beautiful daughters because he disapproved of their boyfriends triggered an instantaneous and predictable reaction from non-Muslims: It had to be an "Islamic" honor killing. The truth is more complex.
Dallas Observer |
Glenna Whitley |
06-23-2008 |
Crime & Justice