Update (April 16): Bryan College student newspaper editor Alex Green recently earned the University of Oregon's 2013 Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for his decision to self-publish a story about a biblical studies professor after school officials spiked the article last fall.
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In a press freedom flap that reflects collegiate sensitivities following the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal at Penn State University, a Christian college in Tennessee attempted to stop student newspaper editors from publishing a story about a biblical studies professor who resigned after being arrested in an FBI sting this summer on charges of attempted child molestation.

Following in the footsteps of Jonathan Merritt, a prominent British evangelical leader has disclosed his same-sex attraction.

Vaughan Roberts, rector at St. Ebbe's, Oxford, made the announcement as he re-released his book, Battles Christians Face, which describes eight struggles of Christian life and biblical sin (including homosexuality); Roberts says the book was written out of his own experience.

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren, hospitalized on Tuesday after experiencing pain in both his arms and numbness in all his fingers, tweeted early this morning that he only has one more hospital test before he can go home.

The Saddleback Church leader has been undergoing a series of tests to determine the cause of the pain, preliminarily diagnosed as an inner ear virus, according to a church-wide email he sent from his hospital bed (posted below). “But that's just a guess until they do a full day of tests,” wrote Warren.

Police have arrested a Macon, Ga., man accused of trespassing on church property. His reason for doing so? Releasing cockroaches onto the church's front steps.

Members of Fountain Temple AME Church started noticing the problem in August, when roaches began appearing outside the foyer, The Macon County Telegraph reported. When the pastor's husband, James Denson, set up a surveillance camera to monitor the building, he found footage of "a man on the porch with no shirt on and white cups or containers in his hands. He was there maybe 25 seconds, emptying cups of clinging cucarachas."

Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian and a prominent Christian speaker, led a non-traditional marriage commitment ceremony this weekend, according to The New York Times.

(Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect a statement made by Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy.)

A Chicago alderman who criticized Chick-fil-A's philanthropic giving earlier this summer now says the fast-food chain has reversed course.

A new survey from LifeWay Research indicates that the vast majority of Southern Baptist pastors observe communion in ways that violate their denomination's guiding faith statement.

Parents who objected to their school district's ban on religious language won an unexpected victory from a Texas judge this week, who ruled that the ban amounted to unnecessary censorship on private speech.

Nearly three decades after a deadly massacre that killed 123 people in Putis in southern Peru, four military officers will face trial. The majority of the victims were women and children, many of whom were Christians.

Christian colleges in the U.S. are welcoming more Muslim students onto their campuses this fall -- especially female students, according to the New York Times.

Students are drawn by the schools' religious identities and more traditional values, including same-sex dormitories. They report feeling more at home in small communities, even though the majority of students may not share their beliefs.

CT previously reported on Houston Baptist University's "experiment" in having Muslim students on campus.

The global economic crisis is leading European cities to reconsider centuries-old tax breaks to churches.

A set of laws exempts the Roman Catholic Church and other recognized religious and nonprofit organizations from paying property tax in Spain, according to Time magazine.

Catholicism being the dominant religion in Spain, church properties currently are used as schools, homes, parks, sports fields, and restaurants. The Church's privileged status exempts it from an estimated 3 billion euros in taxes.

An all-male U.S. Army battalion known as the "Screaming Eagles" has become the first combat arms unit to have a female chaplain.

Capt. Delana Small's recent assignment to the 101st Airborne Division is part of the Department of Defense's (DOD) decision, following its recent Women in the Service Review (WSR), to open additional Army, Navy, and Marine Corps positions to "female Soldiers at the battalion level in open military occupational specialties."

A state high court recently ruled in favor of greater religious freedom in India's most Hindu state, striking down certain restrictions outlined in Himachal Pradesh's Freedom of Religion Act 2006 as unconstitutional.

The act previously required that individuals in the northern Indian state, which borders Kashmir, wishing to convert to a different religion give 30 days notice to the district magistrate. However, in response to a legal challenge by the Evangelical Fellowship of India, a two-judge panel ruled that every Indian citizen "has a right not only to follow his own beliefs but also has a right to change his beliefs."

Protestant churches in Kenya are suing the country's federal government, alleging a lack of help and protection following recent attacks.

The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) filed suit over riots that shook Mombasa in August and destroyed four local churches. The NCCK is seeking greater protection from the East African government, claiming that it is failing in its constitutional obligation to protect all citizens.

Coptic leaders in the U.S. and Egypt are strongly denouncing “Innocence of Muslims,” the anti-Islam film that has generated violent protests in dozens of countries, and appealing for calm. In Afghanistan, a suicide bombing related to the film killed 14 foreigners in Kabul today, bringing the total killed to 28 people in 10 countries, according to the New York Times.

In Southern California, Coptic leaders joined local Muslim leaders in issuing statements condemning the film, as well as “any attacks against religious communities, Coptic or Muslim in particular, both in Egypt and in the United States."

The statements said that neither the film nor its filmmakers should define the sentiments of the Coptic community.

Advocacy groups aiming to end China’s One-Child Policy appear split on the significance of China’s apparent ban on late-term forced abortion.

As CT noted last Friday, All Girls Allowed (AGA) reports that a new Chinese government directive, dated July 22, instructed family planning offices not to require late-term forced abortions.

However, Women's Rights Without Frontiers (WRWF) points out the new documents highlighted by AGA make no mention of early- and mid-term forced abortions. WRWF claims the AGA statement is based on Chinese Communist Party “rhetoric” and “propaganda.”

(RNS) The typical American underestimates how many Protestants there are in the U.S., and vastly overestimates the number of religious minorities such as Mormons, Muslims, and atheist/agnostics, according to a new study.

Update (April 3): Feng Jianmei, the Chinese woman who gained notoriety after a photo of her and her forcibly aborted daughter went viral last year, is speaking out about her "continued struggle for emotional healing," Baptist Press (BP) reports.

According to BP, Feng told a Chinese television station that the cost of her abortion is more than financial. Not only has the local government failed to reimburse her for medical treatments, Feng says, she "lost the most. We lost a baby."

Feng's story caused outcry over China's oppressive one-child policy, prompting reports that China would end forced abortions. Last winter, CT reported the dueling accounts of one-child policy change among advocacy groups, as well the dangers of sex-selective abortion amounting to genocide in China.
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Canadian churches in Toronto may face eviction if they fail to pay increased rent to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) -- even as those payments increase up to 800 percent.

The TDSB announced on August 29 that churches renting space in public schools would no longer qualify for reduced rental rates. Other nonprofits still qualify for subsidized rent, but churches have been removed as the school district seeks to close a sizable budget gap.

Churches have scrambled to determine their options. In some cases, the recent change will result in rent increases of up to 800 percent.

The European Union (EU) will now grant refugee status to those who seek asylum on the basis of religious persecution, even when applicants are still able to practice their faith in private.

After hitting his head in the New York City subway on Sept. 4, Jews for Jesus North American director Jahn Moskowitz died the next day. He was 64.

Family members buried Moskowitz in Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 9.

Moskowitz served as overseer for the organization's 10 U.S. locations. He initially directed the Jews for Jesus branch in New York, where he was born and raised as the child of Holocaust survivors. He also directed the Chicago branch for more than 20 years.

Update (May 14): Massachusetts residents voted not to legalize physician-assisted suicide last November, allowing Vermont to slide in as the third state to allow the practice. Vermont joins Oregon and Washington state, allowing terminally ill patients to opt to self-administer life-ending drugs.

Across the Atlantic, France and Belgium also have recently considered expanding their end-of-life laws.
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Massachusetts residents will vote for more than presidential candidates on this fall's ballot. In addition, voters will decide on the Death With Dignity Act, potentially another step on the slow spread of laws permitting physician-assisted suicide.

The Massachusetts Death With Dignity referendum would allow terminally ill patients to choose to take their own lives with doctor-prescribed medication, similar to already-approved right-to-die legislation in Montana, Oregon, and Washington state.

Editor's note: Hobby Lobby CEO David Green has written an op-ed in USA Today.

Family-owned retail craft chain Hobby Lobby joined the contraception mandate fray yesterday, suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its new requirement for employers to provide healthcare coverage for emergency contraceptives.

Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby requests an emergency injunction to prohibit the "unconstitutional" HHS policy from being enforced.

Editor's note: The Associated Press has uncovered the identity of the film's real creator, a Coptic activist in California convicted of bank fraud.

Terry Jones, pastor of a small fundamentalist church in Florida, drew condemnation from evangelical leaders when he burned copies of the Qur'an and inspired deadly riots in Afghanistan. Now, Jones' comments about a new amateur film are being cited as the fuel that sparked attacks on the U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya that resulted in the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

However, it remains unclear whether Jones knew of the film at all until notified of its existence by the New York Times after the attacks.

(Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect the findings of a forthcoming audit of the Social Science Research peer-review process.)

The University of Texas at Austin has concluded its investigation of Mark Regnerus and declared the associate professor of sociology not guilty of research misconduct during his controversial study of children whose parents had same-sex relationships.

UT Austin research integrity officer Robert A. Peterson investigated eight charges against Regnerus made by freelance writer Scott Rosensweig (who writes under the byline Scott Rose) and found that "none of the allegations ... were substantiated."

"In brief, Mr. Rose believed that the Regnerus research was seriously flawed and inferred that there must be scientific misconduct," wrote Peterson. "However, there is no evidence to support that inference."

Following the recent evacuation of an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, vandals attacked a 120-year-old Trappist monastery just west of Jerusalem, setting the door on fire and spray painting the phrase "Jesus is a monkey" in the entryway.

Other Christian sites in Israel have experienced similar attacks in recent months. But the attack at Latrun Monastery drew condemnation from top Israeli leaders, as well as exasperation from Catholic leaders in Israel.

(Editor's note: Morningstar News offers an updated report on the church's situation.)

A West Java church which has become emblematic of record-breaking religious intolerance in Indonesia will now be relocated by the Indonesian government.

Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI Yasmin) legally acquired permission to build a church in Bogor in 2006 but has been shuttered for years due to opposition from neighboring Muslim extremists. The Constitutional Court, the archipelago's equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court, ruled in 2011 that the church be allowed to occupy its building. The mayor of Bogor refused to comply.

An atheist-led challenge to the longstanding parsonage tax break enjoyed by ministers will now move forward -- again -- after a Wisconsin federal judge recently ruled that the group has new legal standing for its lawsuit.

District judge Barbara Crabb ruled Aug. 29 that plaintiffs from the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) can challenge an IRS tax exemption for "minister[s] of the gospel" for certain housing-related compensation because the FFRF recently changed its salary structure to include such a housing allowance.

A 17-foot, cross-shaped beam became a famous Ground Zero symbol in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Now it is facing legal challenges to its intended public display at the still-unopened, billion-dollar National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

The controversy reflects debate over whether memorial crosses are worth preserving if they have to be neutered of their religious significance in order to remain in the public square.

Esther Fleece, who has spearheaded Focus on the Family's outreach to millennials since 2009, announced yesterday (Sept. 10) that she is "parting ways" with the Colorado Springs-based ministry because it is eliminating her position.

"This is a hard one for me," Fleece wrote on her website. "To everything there is a season, and I have been fortunate to have spent most of my twenties with Focus on the Family. We have accomplished much..."

Focus made the "difficult decision" to end Fleece's role as an assistant to president Jim Daly after having "accomplished in the short run what we'd hoped to achieve," wrote Daly in a public letter. (Full text at bottom)

https://twitter.com/CSW_UK/status/244427312785940480

Youcef Nadarkhani, the Church of Iran pastor who became a worldwide cause celebre among religious freedom advocates after being sentenced to death for apostasy in 2010 yet repeatedly refusing to recant his faith, has finally been released after spending three years in prison.

In a fresh study of "Bible engagement" released yesterday, LifeWay Research surveyed more than 2,900 Protestant churchgoers and found that while 90 percent "desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do," only 19 percent personally read the Bible every day.

LifeWay also found that higher levels of Bible engagement were correlated to six actions:

Rimsha Masih, a 14-year-old, mentally disabled Pakistani Christian whose blasphemy case has drawn worldwide attention, was granted bail today after lengthy court arguments.

Paul Bhatti, a leading Christian politician, expressed "joy and satisfaction" because "justice has been done," and has proposed an interfaith council to reduce the abuse of Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws. However, he noted that the problem remains of hundreds of Christian families who fled Masih's neighborhood to avoid retaliatory violence.

In an unprecedented gesture, a leading body of Muslim clerics expressed support for Masih as a "daughter of the nation" after Pakistani officials arrested the girl's accuser.

Many people appear to be confused about what it means to be members in their churches -- that is, if they know their church offers membership at all.

A new study from Grey Matter Research indicates that 33 percent of worshipers surveyed believe their church does not offer any sort of membership, while 19 percent said they were not sure. This means that less than half of respondents know about membership offerings in their church.

In downtown Los Angeles, four major missions serve 8,000 free meals a day to homeless men and women. However, one group of clergy is urging those missions to stop their feeding ministries, suggesting the effort is "well-meaning but misguided".

The Downtown Clergy Council has issued a paper urging homeless service providers to stop street feedings, arguing the practice "takes away the incentive for people to go into the missions." This echoes a growing debate among homeless ministries amid a nationwide wave of feeding restrictions this summer.

After nine years as president and CEO of leading persecution ministry Open Doors USA, Carl Moeller announced this week that he is resigning in order to become president and managing partner of Sequoia Global Resources, which seeks to bridge the investment and philanthropy communities in order to make fundraising-driven ministries self-sustaining.

“[Persecuted Christians] have taught me so much about being faithful in the midst of suffering,” Moeller said in his announcement. “My prayer is that more Christians in the West become informed about persecution and unite as one in supporting persecuted believers.”

Open Doors has appointed Steve Ridgway, executive director of Northwest Network Foundation and a nine-year board member, as interim CEO.

Fans of Christian artist TobyMac may remember him from his days as a member of DC Talk. In the late 1990s, DC Talk notched five appearances on the Billboard 200, the main U.S. album chart.

Now TobyMac has landed at the top, earning his first appearance in the No. 1 slot of the Billboard 200 this week. His latest album, "Eye On It," is only the third Christian album ever to reach the top spot.

A Pennsylvania Bible college has halted plans to name a student recreational facility in honor of a past athletic director and trustee after concerns surfaced surrounding the honoree's handling of sexual abuse allegations more than two decades old.

Baptist Bible College and Seminary (BBCS) in Clarks Summit announced yesterday (September 5) that it had "suspended indefinitely" the dedication ceremony for a $5.6 million expansion project named after Wendell Kempton, a past athletic director and trustee who died in 2008, following “fresh concerns about the responses of Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) leaders during [Kempton's presidency] to disturbing matters of sexual abuse of missionary children by missionaries overseas in the 1980s.”