So much for “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.”

A new poll by the Barna Group finds that born again Christians are as likely as non-Christians to get divorced. In fact, atheists are slightly less likely than born again Christians to get divorced, if the poll is accurate. [The difference is within the margin of error.]

Click here to see the complete poll.

Letters are flying between top church officials and their lawyers…
Click here for the letters.

Jews, Muslims primary targets of religious bigots, FBI reports.

“Religious bias
Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,597 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

64.3 percent were anti-Jewish.
12.0 percent were anti-Islamic.
8.8 percent were anti-other religion.
5.5 percent were anti-multiple religions, (i.e., groups of individuals of varying religions).
5.1 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.9 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism.”

The news department thought it was inappropriate to ‘out’ an allegedly-gay soldier who died a hero’s death. So the ombudsman outed him instead. Was this the ethical thing to do?
To read the ombudsman’s column, click here.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says there are now 888 such groups nationwide. To see their report, click here.

I found this clip of Ethel Waters on YouTube and wanted to share it with you. For nearly two decades, she did the unthinkable — beautifully, joyously, delightfully upstaging the Rev. Billy Graham at his own crusades.

The Christian Science Monitor apparently got a $250,000 grant to create an interactive election map that goes beyond red and blue. Instead, it divides America’s counties up into 11 “communities” with names such as “Immigration Nation” and “Minority Central” and “Tractor Country.”
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The court said the Everett, Washington display is more like the Texas 10 Commandments display (which was ruled constitutional in 2005) than the Kentucky 10 Commandments display (which was ruled unconstitutional in 2005). The court rejected the notion that the monument is promoting religion — at least with any degree of effectiveness. As it noted: “In its current location, the monument is shrouded by shrubberies and obscured from view unless one is standing close by.”
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The man who presided over the disintegration of the Evil Empire denies reports that he’s embraced Christianity. For more, click here.

Paul Weyrich, a godfather of the Christian conservative movement and former Romney supporter, apologized recently for not supporting Mike Huckabee’s presidential bid when it might have mattered. “Friends” he told a gathering of key Christian right activists “before all of you and before almighty God, I want to say I was wrong.”
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You saw him in…Anyone, anyone? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And…Anyone? Anyone? American Pie. Now he’s starring in…Anyone? Anyone? A movie about Intelligent Design.
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The Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade (BGMC) will now be called the Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge. (more…)

A new poll by the Pew Center for People and the Press shows continuing confusion about Barack Obama’s religious affiliation. (more…)

John Hagee, the San Antonio televangelist says he has criticized the Catholic Church for its “anti-Semitic” history. But Hagee says he has also criticized Martin Luther for anti-Semitism. To see the video, click below.
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A survey of the National Association of Evangelicals’ board of directors found only one who tells members of his church who they should vote for. The unnamed member “comes from a minority group where church endorsements may be part of the tradition,” the head of the NAE said. (more…)