Gay Marriage Around the World

From Canada to Uruguay, gay and lesbian couples are seeking the right to marry or enter into other legally recognized forms of domestic partnerships. A new report analyzes global public opinion and summarizes the history and politics of same-sex marriage in the five nations that currently allow the practice.

Read the report

Jerusalem

Palestinian scholar Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al-Quds University, discusses the growing role of faith-related issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how the recognition of a shared "secular faith" can help resolve the larger tensions between Islam and other religions.

Read the Q&A

Candidate Websites Avoid "God," "Religion"

While many of the presidential candidates have been playing up their religions on the campaign trail, their campaign websites tell a different story. The Project for Excellence in Journalism, a project of the Pew Research Center, examined the official candidate biographies of each of the 2008 presidential hopefuls. While candidates emphasize families and children, the words "God," "moral" and "religion" are not mentioned in any of the biographies.

Read the PEJ analysis (see section on "Avoided Words")

Visit the Pew Forum's Religion & Politics '08 section to read religious biographies of many of the candidates.

July 15 - U.S. News & World Report
Thompson Reaches to the Right
It remains to be seen if former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson will get strong support from evangelicals, says Senior Fellow John Green.

July 12 - TIME
Leveling the Praying Field
John Green says there are more than 22 million voters that he calls "freestyle evangelicals," many of whom may have voted Republican in the past but might find Democratic candidates more attractive in 2008.

July 18 - Reuters
When to Let Go? Medicine's Top Dilemma
Hospitals are grappling with ethical decisions about the end of life as medical advances increasingly enable doctors to extend the lives of the terminally ill.

July 18 - The Christian Science Monitor
A Church's Shift Toward Tradition
Pope Benedict XVI is completing a significant theological shift of the Roman Catholic Church that seeks to reassert the spiritual supremacy of the Vatican.

July 18 - The New York Times
Abstinence Education Faces an Uncertain Future
Abstinence education programs are fighting serious threats to their future after the most comprehensive study of these programs to date found no sign that absitenence eduation delays a teenager's sexual debut.

July 18 - Reuters
Obama, Clinton Slam Court on Abortion Ruling
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton attacked a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a late-term abortion ban while pointing to their Senate votes against the confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

July 17 - The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy
Religious Groups Push Farm Policy Reforms to Combat Poverty
As Congress prepares to rewrite the nation's Farm Bill, interdenominational religious organizations are drawing connections between farm policies and the larger issues of poverty and nutrition.

July 17 - The New York Times
As Muslim Group Goes on Trial, Other Charities Watch Warily
The largest Muslim charity in the U.S. has been accused of aiding Hamas, bringing to the forefront the question of how to deal with charities suspected of supporting terrorism.

July 16 - Los Angeles Times
Line in Sand for Same-Sex Couples
Unlike a heterosexual spouse, a gay U.S. citizen cannot sponsor his or her noncitizen partner for a green card.

July 16 - The Christian Science Monitor
Barack Obama: Putting Faith Out Front
How the Illinois senator came to embrace religion in his life.

July 14 - The Dallas Morning News
To Some Evangelical Christians, GOP Not Preaching to the Choir
Many Christian conservatives are disappointed over the GOP's failure to deliver on issues they care about, and they are divided over the current slate of presidential candidates.

July 12 - The Christian Science Monitor
Public Schools Grapple with Muslim Prayer
A San Diego school's decision to adjust its schedule to accommodate Muslim worship is raising questions about whether the school is unfairly promoting religion.