by Institute on Religion and Democracy Oldline church disputes, threats to religious freedom and Middle East proxy battles made news throughout 2012. Below are IRD’s top church news stories for the year. Presbyterians and Methodists vote against Anti-Israel Divestment: Churchwide gatherings of the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) […]

Eugene pastor at center of abuse case  Oregon Faith News Note: A lawsuit has been filed against the United Methodist Church in Eugene. A Portland man claims he was sexually abused by the pastor in the 1980s when he was a youth. Below is some of the details of the […]

By Holt International Eugene based chairty Great News: Adoption Tax Credit Made Permanent! on January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act, which includes a PERMANENT extension of the Adoption Tax Credit! Thank you to everyone who advocated for this vital financial resource. You have helped clear the […]

In July 2012, 13 Oregon State University students traveled with Holt to Silti, Ethiopia. While they came to build homes for families in Holt’s family-strengthening program, they also brought with them over 200 pairs of shoes to distribute among the families. For some, these would be the first pair of […]

The photo was taken in Florida.  It added to the mystery that it happened just after Pope Francis was elected new Pope. It made NBC’s Today Show the third most popular Facebook post.

By Catholic League for Religious and Civil rights The top religion story of 2012 was The Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of American charitable giving, “How America Gives”; it was released in August. Its central finding was that the more religious a city or state is, the more charitable it is; […]

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life America’s “Mormon moment” is over, and public opinion appears to be little changed. Eight-in-ten Americans (82%) say they learned little or nothing about the Mormon religion during the presidential campaign, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Most Americans still are unable […]

This month Russia passed a law that outlawed American adoptions in Russia. Below is a charting showing the slide in adoptions by Americans across the various counntires.

2012 Top 10 List of Most Impactful Charities When it comes to end-of-year charitable giving, the number one questions a donor usually ask is:  Where can my donation make the greatest impact in the lives of others?  To answer this, ROIministry.org challenged exhaustive research, strategic givers and the largest Christian […]

Christian Group Demands Hollywood Ratings Board Give Quentin Tarantino’s New Western an NC-17 RatingBy Movieguide The Christian Film & Television Commission®, an advocacy group in Hollywood, is petitioning the Motion Picture Association of America to change the rating of the ultra-violent new western from Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED, from R […]