With religion a significant factor in how people vote, we begin this week a three-part series on religious voting blocs. Today, one of the most important of those blocs: Catholic voters. Once loyal to the Democratic Party, Catholics are now as divided as the rest of the nation. More →

October 8, 2004

Try Jewish cooking authority Joan Nathan’s recipes for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur from JOAN NATHAN’S JEWISH HOLIDAY COOKBOOK (Schocken Books, 2004).
More →

September 10, 2004

In Utah, people who get licenses to carry concealed weapons can carry them even in church. If a church does not want its worshippers armed, it can either post a “No Guns” notice at the door or register with a state agency as a no-guns site. That has provoked a battle between the gun lobby and the Mormon church, on one side, and several other churches, on the other. More →

July 23, 2004

In India, in the city of Kalimpong, the poorest children have one place to go to school. It is called the Gandhi Ashram, and it’s run by a Canadian Jesuit priest. Father Thomas McGuire seeks students out, feeds them, teaches them, and gives them confidence — and violins. More →

July 9, 2004

Father Joe Maier is a Catholic priest who, over 30 years, has set up schools that have educated thousands of poor Thai children in the slums of Bangkok. In the process, he has skirmished with all kinds of people from drug dealers to church hierarchy. More →

June 4, 2004

The debate over abortion and Catholic politicians affects all Catholic public officials who are pro-choice. Catholic politicians, both past and present, often face many challenges when it comes to questions of faith and politics. More →

May 14, 2004

Immigrants have been pouring into the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Minnesota is now home to many Muslims, East African Somalis, Indian Hindus and Laotian Hmong — all of whom are trying to find a balance between their cultural traditions and U.S. customs. More →

April 27, 2004

Read more of Lucky Severson’s interview about evangelicals and politics with author, teacher, and Baptist minister Tony Campolo, an evangelical Democrat. More →

April 23, 2004

Part two of a four-part series: the politics of America’s evangelicals. An overwhelming number of all white evangelicals, 70 percent, are Republican or lean toward the political right. But not all evangelicals share the same views. More →

April 23, 2004

The pros and cons of gay marriage are frequent topics of discussion and conflict. The topics are especially sensitive when it comes to same sex couples having children. According to the Census Bureau, of the country’s nearly half a million … More →

January 16, 2004