Author: Gordon Govier

As I type this, I am looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. You could have seen a similar sight out the window of the hospital where I was born, just a few miles down the road here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Now, though, those waters I grew up with, gently lapping against the sand, are threatening to bring with them millions of gallons of oil spewing up from an exploded rig out in the Gulf. Five years after Hurricane Katrina leveled this hometown of mine, it is bracing for the worst environmental disaster in the history of…

TURIN, Italy — Pope Benedict XVI all but gave an outright endorsement of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin on Sunday, calling the cloth that some believe is Christ’s burial shroud an icon "written with the blood" of a crucified man.On a visit to the shroud in the northern Italian city of Turin, Benedict didn’t raise the scientific questions that surround the linen and whether it might be a medieval production. Instead, he delivered a powerful meditation on the faith that holds that the shroud is indeed Christ’s burial cloth.

Come join us this Thursday, May 6, from 12-1 p.m. at the King Street entrance of the State Capitol for the National Day of Prayer! Wisconsin Family Council is working with the National Day of Prayer Task Force state coordinator to facilitate a time for Christians to gather in Madison to pray for our state, nation, families, churches, communities, culture and military.

Several weeks ago a local organization generated national headlines by convincing a federal judge to rule the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. But lest you think that that represents Madison, like a lot of people might, you should see what I saw the last few weekends.

Since Habitat for Humanity started operating in the Dane County area in 1987, local volunteers have built or remodeled homes for 169 families. House blessing ceremonies for the latest three families to join that group were held Saturday on Oregon Parks Avenue in Oregon.The ceremony lasted for a little over an hour, as volunteers who had assisted with the project crowded into one home after another for congratulations, introductions, a presentation of gifts, and a liturgy of prayer and thanksgiving. Afterwards everyone was invited next door to the People’s Methodist Church for a potluck lunch.

For 72 hours last fall, FBI agents and local police targeted truck stops, casinos, night clubs, and adult entertainment spots in 36 American cities to rescue teenagers being trafficked for sex.During the October raids, law enforcement rescued 52 minors (children under age 18) trafficked into either prostitution or adult entertainment. Nearly 700 people, including 60 pimps, were charged. Since June 2003, the task force has recovered 886 minors from the sex industry. The raids have resulted in 510 convictions and $3.1 million in property seizures.Despite these victories, new research indicates that the sex-trafficking problem in the United States is more…

In the beginning, there was partisanship. When Daniel Coughlin was chosen to be the first-ever Catholic House chaplain in March 2000, Democrats made clear that he wasn’t their pick. A top Democratic spokeswoman called the decision to appoint him — made unilaterally by then-Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) — "a graceless, tactless, partisan maneuver." Ten years later, Coughlin is still in the job, and there is ample evidence that the rancor that accompanied his selection has disappeared: Last week, lawmakers from both parties streamed onto the House floor to honor his decade of service.

How did ex-Toledoan Mike Sares – a self-described "straight arrow" who grew up in a "very" Greek Orthodox family, was an athlete, a National Honor Society member, and president of his high school class for three years – become the pastor of a nondenominational church in Denver called Scum of the Earth?

Most young adults today don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows.If the trends continue, "the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships," says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources.

Understanding U.S. politics without understanding U.S religions is impossible, according to UW-Madison political science professor emeritus Robert Booth Fowler. Fowler, a co-author of Religion and Politics in America – Faith, Culture and Strategic Choices, is considered a leading authority.The fourth edition is just out in 2010 with new information covering Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The original edition was published following the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976, when the interest in the relationship between religion and politics first accelerated.