February 19, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Former President Bush endorses McCain
Associated Press (02/18/2008: msnbc.msn.com)
HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush endorsed John McCain on Monday, a nod of approval from the Republican political dynasty's patriarch that sends a strong signal to a GOP establishment wary of the Arizona senator.

Obama says he should have given Patrick credit
John McCormick/baltimoresun.com (02/18/2008)
NILES, Ohio – Sen. Barack Obama said today that he should have given credit to his friend, Deval Patrick, when he used language very similar to some previously spoken by the Massachusetts governor in 2006.

Missouri House backs right-to-pray amendment
Kit Wagar/Kansas City Star (02/18/2008)
JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri House gave preliminary approval Monday to a proposed constitutional amendment that would emphasize the right to pray in any public setting, including public schools. The action came after more than an hour of debate over whether such an amendment would make any difference and whether the names of individual deities should be inserted into the Missouri Constitution.

Grassley's tax probe draws wrath of televangelists
Jane Norman/Des Moines Register (02/16/2008)
Washington, D.C. - A backlash is growing among televangelists against an investigation spearheaded by Sen. Charles Grassley that is probing churches' acquisitions of Rolls Royces, mansions and private jets. The Iowa Republican is preparing to send out a new round of letters to tax-exempt ministries that have resisted questions he asked in November about their contributions, salaries and spending.

EDUCATION
Science Standards Will Call Evolution 'Scientific Theory'
Associated Press (02/19/2008: abcnews.go.com)
Florida's State Board of Education has voted to use the term "scientific theory of evolution" in new science standards, the first time the word "evolution" has been included. Florida's current standards require the teaching of evolution using code words like "change over time."

Where religion, ideology and the Web cross
David G. Savage/Los Angeles Times (02/19/2008)
WASHINGTON -- The College of William & Mary, the nation's second oldest, lost its president last week after a culture-war clash that began when he ordered the removal of an 18-inch brass cross from the altar of the historic Wren Chapel. His decision, an act of legal principle to some and a blunder of liberal activism to others, touched off a revolt among conservative bloggers and alumni of the state -supported school in Williamsburg, Va., and led to his resignation Tuesday.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Southern Baptists Diversifying to Survive
Jacqueline L. Salmon/Washington Post (02/16/2008)
Faced with a crisis of aging and departing members, the nation's largest non-Catholic Christian bodies -- Southern Baptists, United Methodists, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- are reaching out to minorities in ways they never have before. Yet, while local churches often remain predominately black or white, the outreach does result in a more diverse national organization.

Presbyterian ruling disappoints gay candidates for clergy
Rebecca Rosen Lum/Contra Costa Times (02/16/2008)
Three rulings by the Presbyterian church's high court have delivered a stunning defeat for actively gay and lesbian candidates for the ministry, including a San Francisco woman who just won the right to be considered for ordination. At issue in all three is the practice of "scrupling," which allows a candidate to deviate from church doctrine.

Churches weigh in on same-sex marriage
Bob Egelko/San Francisco Chronicle (02/18/2008)
The legal battle over same-sex marriage in California is also a clash of religions. As the state Supreme Court prepares for a three-hour hearing March 4 on the constitutionality of a state law allowing only opposite-sex couples to marry, the justices have been flooded with written arguments from advocates on both sides - including two large contingents of religious organizations with sharply differing views.

FAITH LEADERS
Vatican says Pius XII sainthood process not stalled
Phil Stewart/Reuters (02/18/2008)
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican's top saint-maker said on Monday he was moving ahead with the cause of wartime Pope Pius XII, and defended him against accusations he was silent about the Holocaust.