Of all its national traits, America's religiosity is probably the most baffling – and infuriating – for the rest of the world. Where does it come from? Why do Americans think they're on the side of right? And why it will not go away.

If Palestinians only want changes in what Israel is doing (such as building towns on the West Bank), then it is reasonable to ask Israel to alter those actions - and the main burden of resolving the conflict falls on Israel.
But if Israel's existence remains at issue, then it follows that the conflict will end only when the Palestinians finally and irrevocably accept the Jewish state. Seen this way, the main burden falls on the Palestinians.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Roman Catholic bishop accused mainland China on Monday of tightening repressive controls against Catholics, a move he said could affect church followers in Hong Kong if a proposed anti-subversion law is enacted there.

Military action against Iraq has the potential to lead to a serious worsening of the humanitarian situation demanding more extensive collaboration between military and humanitarian planners than was experienced during the war in Afghanistan, according to the Church of England's Community and Public Affairs Unit (formerly the Board for Social Responsibility).

'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!" So declared Lieutenant Howell Forgy, chaplain aboard the USS New Orleans, as the ship's ammunition hoists broke down and anti-aircraft shells had to be handed from sailor to sailor and on to the gunners during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.
The moral options were much clearer in that conflict than they are over Iraq, and their choice much more urgent. But that only makes more significant the almost unanimous consensus among religious leaders that a war against Saddam Hussein declared solely on the say-so of the United States and its most compliant allies (including Australia) would be wrong.

Child deaths in Africa could be cut by a quarter for as little as half a billion dollars a year, according to a leading malaria researcher.

March 9 has been selected as an international day of prayer for the Christians of Iraq.

Millions of protesters - many of them marching in the capitals of America's traditional allies - demonstrated Saturday against possible U.S. plans to attack Iraq.
The protests that started Friday in Australia continued through the weekend with a massive Sunday demonstration of more than 100,000 people in Sydney. The protests were the biggest in Australia since the Vietnam War three decades ago.

Iraqi exiles in Britain yesterday condemned the anti-war march and warned that it would make it easier for Saddam Hussein to continue massacring his own people.

The Indian Government has formalised legal powers to crack down on the abuse of pre-natal screening techniques as part of increasing efforts to curb female foeticide.
The cultural preference for sons rather than daughters has skewed sex ratios in India.

She was a copy. And, like most copies, she faded a little bit quicker than the original.
Dolly the sheep, the world's first animal to be cloned from an adult cell, has been put to sleep, it was announced yesterday. She was only six and a half years old - barely 40 in human terms.

Freemasonry is still common in the Church of Scotland despite calls more than a decade ago for Kirk members to "reconsider" their position with the secret organisation.

The Diocese of New Westminster posted a news article on its website saying that the reconciliation between the parish and diocesan representatives have been terminated, with a headline reading “the representatives of the eight parishes want to talk about separation, not reconciliation”. While it is true that talks towards reconciliation per se have ended, the allegation that the ACiNW refused to discuss anything but separation is entirely false.

Britain remains an overwhelmingly Christian country, with more than seven out of ten people stating this as their religion on their census form.
Islam was the second most popular religion after Christianity, with more than 1.5 million Muslims in England and Wales, or 3.1 per cent of the population.

The Archbishop of Dublin has condemned the efforts to tip public opinion in favour of war against Iraq. He said that they had “all the characteristics of a propaganda exercise devoid of moral principle”.

Most people in England and Wales - 71.1 per cent - still regard themselves as Christians, the first official count of religious affiliation has found.
Despite the sharp decline in churchgoing and the growth of secularism, 37.3 million described their religion as Christianity, according to the 2001 Census published yesterday.

When Robert Mugabe's regime eventually falls, when the true extent of the atrocities committed against Zimbabwean people are revealed to the world, two brave, proud figures will remain in our collective memories.
Andy Flower and Henry Olonga - the Zimbabwean cricketers who dared to defy a tyrannical president. Two men who, before a worldwide audience, wore black armbands in protest against a ruler with a chilling record of torturing and murdering opponents.

The Church of England saw �400 million wiped off the value of its assets last year, according to figures from the Church Commissioners.
>> Church of England puts positive spin on �400m pension fund loss : The Independent

One of the Church of England's most senior bishops broke ranks with his colleagues yesterday by suggesting that Britain and the US could be justified in using force against Saddam Hussein.
>> Bishop sets out terms for first strike on Iraq : The Church of England Newspaper

There's never been a time when I've been an unbeliever. There have been times when I have not been able to make much sense of it but I never had a period right outside the Church.

A more intellectual, but less earthy, disciple of Augustine is, as the interview we publish today reveals, the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr Rowan Williams tells us that, as a young theologian, he discovered Augustine's commentaries on the Psalms. "Augustine as a preacher is someone we can still read with terrific profit," Dr Williams declares.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has firmly discouraged the Prince of Wales from becoming Defender of Faith rather than "the Faith" when he is crowned king.
>> Prince Charles' 'Faith' Idea Opposed: The Guardian

VANCOUVER - The message Sunday night from a thousand Vancouver-area Christians to eight orthodox Anglican parishes was crystal-clear: we strongly support your stand for the biblical understanding of marriage taught by the Christian church for two millennium.

NASHVILLE, Feb. 10 -- President Bush has addressed countless audiences as commander in chief. Today, he was introduced as "our friend and brother in Christ."

The widening rift between America and its supposed NATO allies in what Donald Rumsfeld labelled "Old Europe" reflects both genuine anti-war sentiment and a deep and growing European dislike of perceived US imperialism.