Gay Hendricks, Arjuna Ardagh and a group of Conscious Men from around the world offer apologies to women for thousands of years of imbalance between masculine and feminine energy, as well as vision of a new era of co-creation.

A recent poll shows a huge shift in American attitudes toward gay marriage, from a 32 percent approval in 2004 to 53 percent today. I am one of those people who changed their minds.

My home state of Indiana stands ready to enact legislation that will require any woman seeking a legal abortion to undergo "medical" counseling.

Conservatives are right: traditional marriage is under attack. But the assault isn't just from gay men and lesbians who want the right to enter into marriages of their own.

Two things about Jesus come to mind that might be relevant regarding healthcare in general (not to the specific legislation that just passed).

A common response to criticisms of religion is that its adherents can sometimes do good things, even if it's for irrational reasons.

"Daughters aren't to be independent. They're not to act outside the scope of their father. As long as they're under the authority of their fathers, fathers have the ability to nullify or not the oaths and the vows.

In a statement today, Political Research Associates condemned the murder and demanded an end to "the export of homophobia to Uganda by American conservatives."

Great reverence for Great Spirit, Father Sky and Great Spirit Mother, Mother Earth, is at the heart of all Native Traditions.

The untamed mind is endless racing, anxious thing; one thought after another, creating heaven or hell. The contemplation of wisdom calms the beast simply because it is the proper use of the mind.

"More than 100 people have died and hundreds have been wounded since Tuesday in bomb attacks that bear the hallmarks of Sunni Arab insurgents

There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit," Bentley said.

Over the years, the Mormon community and its critics from within and without have debated whether Smart's upbringing in the mainstream Mormon (LDS) church--which emphasizes male authority and prophecy and holds the belief in "direct revelation" from God--preconditioned her  …

Devout Christian hotel owners who refused to allow a gay couple to share a double room acted unlawfully, a judge at Bristol county court ruled today.

"If you challenge the prophet, we will take revenge. It doesn't matter who does it," shouted a cleric on loudspeakers to thousands of cheering onlookers.

In a flier posted on its web site, the controversial church writes, "THANK GOD FOR THE SHOOTER -- 6 DEAD!" The message continues: God appointed this rod for your sins! God sent the shooter! This hateful nation unleashed violent veterans on the servants of God at WBC--hoping to s …

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is asking for help from the state's Supreme Court in the constitutional challenge to Proposition 8. At issue, according to the Bay Area Reporter, is whether the organization that sponsored Prop.

Does the pope live in the popemobile bubble all the time? Does he have zero connection with the real world? My friend Dan sent me the following link yesterday: Pope: Christians are most persecuted group: Pressing concern for Christian minorities, especially in the Middle East.

Controversial atheist Sam Harris interviewed on ABC Nightline. He reveals that while he thinks religion is a negative force in the world ,surprisingly he is in favour of spirituality, and that he himself actually does have a spiritual practice.

Sam Harris is a well known "Atheist spokesman" and usually bashes religion in general. (Here's another seed with an excellent discussion about his views on Atheism vs faith: Atheist Sam Harris: Why We Should Ditch Religion).

Women received the gospel equally with men in the first-century church. There was no distinction in Christ, at least theoretically, between male and female, slave and free, and Jew and Gentile. Women suffered, as well men, and were dragged to prison (Acts 8:3, 9:2).

The Catholic bishop of Phoenix on Tuesday stripped a local hospital of Catholic affiliation after it ended a woman's pregnancy to save her life.

There are numerous god-men in the ancient Mediterranean area and Middle East. There are many stories that appear both in Jesus' biography and in the legends of another god-man:

What if Jesus' birth, not the resurrection, heralded humanity's rebirth at a whole new level? What if we had passed the first phase of our development and were ready to see that we had emerged from the animal world to become something new by being more fully conscious of each oth …

If David Bahati succeeds in passing the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda, we need to pray for our own deliverance in the United States. [...]

"Locked up in a California jail, Malcolm Alarmo King wanted healthier meals. In an argument apparently made to a friendly court, he won a ruling from Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson that he should be fed double-portion kosher meals.

Christopher Hitchens: "I would not want the job of deciding which monotheism, let alone which faith, was "the stupidest." For one thing, one becomes lost in an Aladdin's cave of multiple choice.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg also joined the debate, quoting Scripture to try to prove that God doesn't judge, so neither should humans judge homosexuals. "I really believe that God said very clearly 'Noone else can judge you, but Me'," Goldberg expressed.

Well, hold onto your bonnets: The Puritans' value system remains lodged deep in our psyches, shaping our emotions, judgments and behaviors. And its effects can be seen regardless of one's political orientation or religious affiliation.

Asia's case dates back to June 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. But a group of Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl.

A Church of England bishop caused outrage last night by linking those who support the ordination of women bishops to the Nazis.

I have been writing articles called "Are you for Gay Rights Yes or No?". As it grew it became more of an article about educating people on the culture of homosexuals. For that reason I have decided to separate the two series.

Women, far more than men, have enriched national and tribal mythologies with elements from other sources.

Elizabeth Smart told jurors Tuesday how a Salt Lake City police detective tried to see behind her veil but backed down when the man accused of kidnapping her said her face was hidden for religious reasons.

In many ways, State Question 755 will likely have little impact either in Oklahoma or elsewhere -- Muslims quickly point out they never lobbied for shariah law, and many wouldn't support its use anyway.

For a man who evangelized foreign leaders and taught Sunday school while U.S. president, Jimmy Carter has some strong words for what he sees as an "excessive melding of religion and politics."

I read a couple of articles today refuting Harvard political scientist and author Robert Putnam's recent claim that based on research he did for his latest book, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, he determined that there are almost no atheists in America.

You're killing your unborn baby!" That's what they yelled at me and my wife on the worst day of our lives.

"Editor of The New Oxford Annotated Bible Michael Coogan recently applied his thorough knowledge of Scripture to a universal and eternally relevant topic: sex.

Unlike many other modern religions, the Goddess is primary in Wiccan belief. Not as the winner of some gender competition, but because those qualities ascribed to the Feminine are the starting point of Creation.

The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer), first published in 1486, is arguably one of the most infamous books ever written, due primarily to its position and regard during the Middle Ages.

Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of the Darwinian view that morality grew out of the social instincts.

In Gaza City, girls as young as 13 years old are restricted in their activities under pressure of Hamas and their ultra conservative interpretation of Islam.

A traditionalist Anglican group has voiced regret after an Anglo-Catholic bishop said he would convert to Rome. The Bishop of Fulham, John Broadhurst, has become the fourth Anglican bishop to make the announcement.

Members of an entire Anglican community in southern England are taking up an offer by the Pope to convert to Roman Catholicism.The congregation of St Peter's at Folkestone voted to defect because they resent the creation of women bishops.

"Accommodationism" is the word used today to speak of the position that believes science and religion can exist together harmoniously, or at least without conflict.

Young evangelical leader Gabe Lyons believes that the death of Christian America is a good thing because it makes way for a new generation of believers, which he calls the Next Christians.

An increasingly popular bumper sticker reads, "Guns Don't Kill People -- RELIGION Kills People!" In light of recent events I would add religion kills young people: gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people.

The Mormon Church chided its members Tuesday to consider whether their attitudes toward all people — including gays — followed Christian principles, responding to activists' demand that a church leader withdraw anti-gay statements.

If someone was getting beat for wearing a rainbow necklace, would you walk on by feeling they deserved it because they must be gay? If a student was getting their books knocked out of their hands because they were carrying a Qur'an, would you laugh?

...[Tyler] Clementi's death last month, following suicides by several other homosexual teens in recent weeks, has also prompted a sharp debate in religious communities, a discussion that includes an unusual degree of soul-searching in addition to the more typical defensiveness.

While doing a routine search for a mother/daughter image, I came across this photo. How would you feel if your mother's face was obliterated when you needed her most?

Got a question about God? Ask an atheist.

Imagine a place where almost no one ever goes to church, the majority of people do not believe in God, and among those who do, their belief is fairly watery and thin.

An 88 year-old Sand Lake woman at the center of a property dispute left court Monday afternoon without a decision on whether she'll be evicted. Mary Snyder has lived at the home at 74 Methodist Farm Road home for 62 years.

Sir, Your remarks made last week concerning church authorities' handling of child rape complaints give the impression that neither John-Paul II nor yourself knew of how these complaints were being managed.

As if we didn't need another reason to criticize either the Catholic Church or former Nazi Youth member, Pope Benedict XVI.

Police officers, at the direction of an imam, remove six Muslim women from the Islamic Center. Their crime? Worshiping peacefully.

On September 10, 2010 a South African high court banned a Muslim activist from organizing a "Bible burning day" at the Library Gardens in Johannesburg on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The event was meant to be a response to the planned Qur'an burning in Florida by Pastor Terry Jones.

An Islamic intellectual organization, The Scholars of Truth, launched a court interdict to prevent Mohammed Vawda from organizing the event. The defense, led by Attorneys Zehir Omar and Yasmin Omar, argued that the protest would be insulting to all religions and would only serve to divide people. Zehir Omar and Yasmin Omar are a married Muslim couple.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has developed close ties with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has offered asylum to Mohammadi Ashtiani, prompting an embarrassing public rejection of his offer by Iran.

The principles behind American secular law are similar to Shariah law - that we protect life, liberty and property, that we provide for the common welfare, that we maintain a certain amount of modesty.

An AP writer has a provocative thesis: the availability of porn in Iraq mirrors the level of freedom and security there. Is he right? And what would that look like?

Half the people in the world commit this sin against god: they are born women. It's an astounding thing that any women at all accept Christianity, Judaism, or Islam; these are profoundly misogynistic faiths.

GAINESVILLE, Florida (AP) — Officials in a Florida city have denied a church that is seeking to burn copies of the Quran on Sept.11 a permit to set a bonfire. Interim Fire Chief Gene Prince said Wednesday that the open burning of books is not allowed under Gainesville's burnin …

Daisy Khan is shocked. In a phone conversation with her minutes ago she said she couldn't believe that what had started out as "a community center for everyone in the neighborhood, to scale up and build up people of all religions has become so skewed.

NEW ORELANS -- A national atheist organization is taking its message to the streets of New Orleans with a campaign that is likely to both turn heads and raise some temperatures.

The comedy was an episode in Saudi Arabia's most celebrated satirical series, Tash Ma Tash or No Big Deal, a take-off of social prejudices shown annually during the holy month of Ramadan.

"Muslims are calling for the executions of homosexuals in America," Dean said on YCR's May 15 radio show on AM 1280 the Patriot.

If doubts remained about the relationship between the Catholic Church's spectacular failure to address the clerical child sex abuse crisis and the church's glaring system of gender apartheid, the Vatican put them to rest in July.

The normal jolt most of us get when we run into someone well-known was accentuated for me when I turned to see Christopher Hitchens standing a few feet away from me at a party on the night of the recent UK election.

It's no secret that the leaders of many Christian traditions prefer to stick with unambiguously male depictions of God, despite the feminine alternatives present in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. But it hasn't always been this way.

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association, wrote a blog post yesterday on the AFA's site arguing that the United States should have "no more mosques, period."

The abortion debate has always been a fiery one. Both sides see it as a question of morality; one side believes that abortion is murder, while the other side feels that it is wrong to legislate what a woman does with her own body.

Ancient pines trees are admired in Asia, not only because they symbolize longevity and tenacity, but they also embody the ideal of pu.

We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity.

So here goes: If you don't support religious freedom for everyone, you don't support it. Yes. As I said, it's obvious. Opposing religious freedom for one, takes it away from all of us.

"For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat.

On Sept. 11, 2010, members of the Dove World Outreach Center -- a non-denominational Christian church of dubious credibility in Gainesville, Florida -- plan to burn copies of the Koran in a public ceremony billed as a memorial for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Forget evening dresses and bikinis. The girls who participate in a ten-week-long beauty contest in Saudi-Arabia are disguised in black burqas. And the winner will be the woman with 'the greatest 'inner beauty'.

A popular Saudi cleric said Saturday it is permissible for Muslim women to reveal their faces in countries where the Islamic veil is banned to avoid harassment, while deploring the effort to outlaw the garment in France.

A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 23:1-2)

The pastor of a Nevada megachurch that provides financial support to Martin Ssempa, one of the most prominent backers of Uganda's notorious "kill the gays" bill, now concedes that his rhetoric has been "offensive" at times -- but also contends that Ssempa and the bill have been  …

Those Islamists and their apologists who argue for "religious toleration" are arrogantly dishonest. They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or synagogues in all of Saudi Arabia.

If the Vatican is trying to restore the impression that its moral sense is intact, issuing a document that equates pedophilia with the ordination of women doesn't really do that.

In some Gnostic sects, emphasis was laid on the feminine in religion. In Gnostic myths Mary Magdalen was portrayed as a key figure among Jesus' disciples. She helped to highlight various aspects of this feminine mystery. I present here only a short outline of Mary's role.

The Church of England today moved a step closer to ordaining women as bishops after the Archbishop of Canterbury warned against dropping the issue into the "difficult basket" and further delaying resolution.

As expected, the French Assembly has indeed voted in favor of banning the full facial veil in public spaces; the measure extends to both burqas and niqabs. The bill is expected to be ratified by the Senate in September.

At a meeting of scholars from the world's various religions, a Chinese scholar reported that in China now they are starting to put free condoms in hotel drawers. Mustering as straight a face as I could I said: "We don't do that in the United States.

The Mormon Church has acknowledged not declaring in a timely manner significant sums that it spent in supporting a highly divisive campaign to ban marriage equality in California in 2008.

The son of "God Hates Fags" preacher Pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, has been speaking publicly about his relationship with his father.

There are those who believe human beings are fundamentally selfish, and there are those who believe we are essentially kindly creatures who need only love to flourish; but I stand in neither camp, or maybe I should say I stand in both camps.

"Empowering Women to Save the World" - that's been the mission of author and radio show host Karen Tate.