The number of people in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is going up steadily as a result of the lower age limits for both men and women who want to serve as missionaries.

Strongly influenced by Catholic teachings, the country of El Salvador now forbids all abortions. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from San Salvador on the consequences for many women when abortion is considered murder, regardless of the circumstances.

This expression of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, "is creating an atmosphere to pray, and it’s an offering. I think it’s just a physical way of expressing this love for the divine, and in the whirling it becomes a meditation," says Manjula Kumar, a program manager at the Smithsonian ...

The legacy of Nelson Mandela; the pope’s document urging Catholics to do more for the poor; churches and alternative Christmas gift-giving; and the growing number of Hispanic Protestants in the U.S.

The first democratically elected president of South Africa died this week at the age of 95. We look back at the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, who led the movement to end apartheid peacefully.

"He has given a higher priority to the church’s social teachings, to our obligations to the poor, and to criticism of an unjust economy than we have heard in a long time," says Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne.

Most Hispanics in the U.S. still call themselves Catholic, but more and more are joining Protestant churches, especially the younger generation. The explosive growth of the Protestant Hispanic population can be seen in places like New Life Covenant Church in Chicago, which draws more than 17,000 ...

“Christmas is about Jesus’ birth and honoring Jesus with the priorities that Jesus would have in the world, especially amongst marginalized people. But what we’ve done is made it more about us,” says Rev. Mike Slaughter.

Divisions in the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage; historian Taylor Branch on the key civil rights events of 1963; students and tutors recite the Gettysburg Address in honor of its 150th anniversary.

The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline states that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” and it prohibits Methodist ministers from performing same-sex marriages. But “these are unjust laws,” says Rev. Thomas Ogletree, “and therefore they do ...

The civil rights movement was both “the work of the Lord and the work of freedom,” says author Taylor Branch. “It took redemption, and it took faith and tenacity, not just an empty, simple hope.”

At New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Lincoln rented a pew and attended services, tutors and students recite the brief but eloquent speech that has come to be regarded as quite mystical in meaning. It puts forward both a language of responsibility and a moral vision of new life for the ...

Celebrating Hanukkah and Thanksgiving on the same day; removing the homeless from downtown; and using dogs to comfort disaster victims.

According to many in the Jewish community, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving have much more in common this year than just a calendar date. They both celebrate gratitude, community, and religious tolerance.

"If Thanksgivukkah can be a spark that allows us to bring a little bit of the Hanukkah light into a Jewish person’s Thanksgiving table, then that’s a gift." 

As cities grapple with the problem of homelessness, some believe the solution is to move them to "retreats" outside the city. But critics say such proposals are cases of "out of sight, out of mind" that will actually result in more homelessness.

Dogs, says Tim Hetzner of Lutheran Church Charities, are “a very gifted part of God’s creation.” In disaster situations they sense when someone is hurting, and together with their handlers they minister compassionately to the needs of victims.

A conversation on the agenda of the US Catholic bishops and the anniversary of JFK's assassination; the debate over gun control in communities of faith; and a movement to identify the unmarked graves of mentally disabled patients

For American Catholics, "the election of Kennedy was an important moment in history, where they were recognized and accepted by American society as true Americans," says Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J. But anti-Catholicism continued to linger until JFK’s assassination, when the 34th president became an ...

This senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter says new US Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Kurtz is "not going to be just a simple culture warrior, I think he’s going to have more complexity to him."