L.A. Times - Religious News

What do scientists think about religion?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Members of the scientific community are often seen as doubting Thomases, but the reality is more complex. Even Charles Darwin may have made room for God.

Today, a century and a half after Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection," the overwhelming majority of scientists in the United States accept Darwinian evolution as the basis for understanding how life on Earth developed. But although evolutionary theory is often portrayed as antithetical to religion, it has not destroyed the religious faith of the scientific community.

Officer who helped capture Garrido tells teens to trust their instincts

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

On a visit to Santa Margarita Catholic High School, UC Berkeley police Officer Ally Jacobs says she learned as a youngster to listen to the inner voice telling her to do the right thing.

She watched "The Silence of the Lambs" as a girl and so related to Jodie Foster's character that she wanted to become an FBI agent and go after psychopaths.

Los Angeles-area leaders urged to better coordinate anti-hunger programs

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

With an estimated 1 million residents struggling to put food on the table, a coalition creates a blueprint to address the problem. But one group said better utilization of a federal program is key.

Seeking to stem a mounting hunger crisis in Los Angeles County, Jewish community leaders Monday urged government agencies to better coordinate their splintered efforts and to expand access to unclaimed food assistance programs.

Catholic teachers find themselves intensely immersed in Jewish history

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Bearing Witness series of seminars created by the Anti-Defamation League is designed to teach educators about anti-Semitism and the history of the relationship between Jews and the church.

The challah was blessed, the Manischewitz wine was poured, the candles were lighted. It could have been any Shabbat dinner in Los Angeles, were it not for the fact that it took place midweek and the room was full of Catholic schoolteachers.

Sabbath protest in Jerusalem

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Thousands of the city's ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrate at a new Intel chip factory that operates on Saturdays.

About 3,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated Saturday outside an Intel plant in Jerusalem to protest its operating on the Jewish Sabbath, an action they view as a desecration of the sanctity of the holy city.

Lawmaker apologizes after 'savage religion' remark

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) says his remark about terrorism suspects did not refer to Islam generally. Also, the Senate avoids an effort to block spending for U.S. housing of Guantanamo inmates.

An Illinois congressman who opposes the idea of moving terrorism suspects to a prison in his district issued a qualified apology Tuesday after a comment that critics viewed as insulting to Islam.

Gap's Christmas cheer makes a boycott backfire

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The American Family Assn. attacked Gap for not using the word 'Christmas' in its advertising -- but in fact it does, and in a big way too.

The Mississippi-based American Family Assn. last week issued a fatwa against Gap Inc. -- the retailing giant whose brands include Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic -- calling for a "two-month boycott over the company's failure to use the word 'Christmas' in its advertising to Christmas shoppers."

Catholic bishops' influence on healthcare bill

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The church's support of Democratic healthcare efforts gave it a seat at the table during last week's healthcare vote -- and helped it add a controversial antiabortion amendment.

For weeks, the Catholic Church has asked its U.S. parishioners to work toward ensuring that tough language restricting federal funding of abortion is included in healthcare overhaul legislation.

Service members bridge gap between mosque and military

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

It's never been easy for Muslims in the military, but as their ranks grow, the armed forces become more accommodating and families more accepting.

Lt. Col. Shareda Hosein, who lives dual lives in Army fatigues and an Islamic head covering, sometimes encounters what she calls "Islam anxiety" among her fellow soldiers, saying they pepper her with direct questions about jihad and Islamic law.

Our enemy is not Islam -- it's extremists

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The U.S. response should be zero tolerance for political cultists who try to achieve their goals through violence.

Both left- and right-wing accounts of the mass murder at Ft. Hood are haunted by the specter of "political correctness."