Take comfort in this: The items on the following “to do” list do not apply to all teens today.

Lie to your parents about those wild weekend plans — check.

Steal that scarf you want at the mall — check.

Download that term…

When an Orthodox bishop enters a sanctuary, he is traditionally greeted with the following words chanted in Greek — “eis polla eti, despota.”In English this means, “Many years to you, Master.” Witty bishops in the Orthodox Church in America have…

Richard N. Ostling has never gotten used to seeing journalists commit sins of omission and commission on the religion beat.Religion can get very complicated, with layers of emotion stacked on centuries of history, doctrine, symbolism and ritual, said Ostling, who…

If you want to cause trouble for American bishops, stick them in a vise between Rome and the armies of dissenters employed on Catholic campuses.

But the bishops had to vote on Ex Corde Ecclesiae (”From the Heart of the Church”). After…

Reporter Louis Moore didn’t know much about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod when he began covering its bitter civil war in the 1970s.

Nevertheless, as a Southern Baptist with a seminary degree he knew a biblical-authority battle when he saw one —…

If you could erase one moment from Sen. Barack Obama’s White House campaign, which would you choose?That’s an easy question for evangelicals, Catholics and other religious believers who back Obama. Most would happily erase all evidence of his speech last…

The punch line rocketed around the World Wide Web, inspiring smiles in pews friendly to Sen. Barack Obama.

The Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners saw a campaign button based on this one liner and, on the “Interfaith Voices” public radio show,…

It’s an election year, which means the folks in evangelical Protestant pews know exactly what will happen if they choose to talk to a political pollster.

The dispassionate telephone voice is going to ask about abortion and then about same-sex marriage.…

At the first inauguration of George W. Bush as president, the Rev. Franklin Graham raised eyebrows by using an edgy word in his prayer.

“May this be the beginning of a new dawn for America as we humble ourselves before you…

Anyone who has lived in a minister’s house knows that  middle-of-the-night telephone calls often bring bad news.But for many pastors there is one kind of call that is uniquely  painful.

There are times when the shock of death is easier to…