Ala. pastor charged with murder, arrested trying to flee country

Richard Shahan tried to get on a flight to Germany but was stopped--and now faces charges he shot and killed his wife. He resigned from the First Baptist Church of Birmingham on Tuesday. WVTM-TV has a video report.

WVTM-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Birmingham, AL

Atheism’s 10 defining moments

Atheism found its way into the headlines several times this year. One of the writers for Religious News Service has put together a list of 10 of "atheism’s defining moments and trends from the last year." This includes congregations of nonbelievers meeting, atheists becoming more visible in the U.S. military and the rise of "compassionate atheism." Read more from Religious News Service.

Mennonites to license first openly gay pastor

from First Mennonite Church of Denver

Mountain States will be the first Mennonite Church USA conference in to license an openly gay pastor. Theda Good will serve at the First Mennonite Church of Denver. She's been on staff for more than a year. Good earned a master of divinity degree from Virginia's Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Read more details in the Mennonite World Review.

Katy Perry says she's left her childhood faith

Katy Perry says she is no longer a Christian. The pop star told Marie Claire Magazine she no longer believes in Heaven or Hell either--just a "higher power bigger than me because that keeps me accountable... I’m not Buddhist, I’m not Hindu, I’m not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God." Perry's parents are evangelists and she started out as a Christian singer.

Don’t like hearing Merry Christmas? Here’s some advice for you…

Texas megachurch Pastor John Hagee advises atheists who don’t like Christmas to “leave the country” or “take your Walkman and stuff it into your ears.” Here's what he had to say this past Sunday to his congregation.

Belief in the Virgin Birth among Americans

More than two-out-of-three Americans (73%) say they believe Jesus was born of a virgin. That's the finding of a Pew Research survey. A third of those with no religious affiliation (32%) say they believe in the virgin birth as well. There's a split though among the young and those that are older. Two-thirds of adults under age 30 say they believe Jesus was born of a virgin, compared with three-quarters (76%) of those age 30 and older. Read more at the Pew Research Center.

Megachurch pastor passes

Megachurch pastor Ken Hutcherson has died at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer. Hutcherson led the Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington. The church has posted this message:

“Antioch Bible Church sadly announces that shortly before noon today our Senior Pastor Dr. Ken Hutcherson was ushered in the [presence] of the Lord. Please pray for comfort and peace for the family. The family asked that you give them some privacy at this time.”

2013 report on Megachurches

There are megachurches in 48 countries with 1,650 residing in the U.S. That's according to new research published on Church Executive. The denominations with the most megachurches: Southern Baptists, United Methodists, Evangelical Lutherans. Read more details on megachurches here.

Prophecy Preacher dies

Harold Camping has died. The end times preacher who made a splash in 2011 for predicting Judgment Day would take place in May of that year was 92 years old. He changed his date from May 21 to Oct 21 when he was proven wrong. Camping did the same thing in 1994. Camping fell at his home last month and never recovered from his injuries. Camping helped to found Family Radio, a Christian radio network based in Oakland, which was severely hurt financially by Camping's mistaken proclamations.

Part of polygamy law struck down

The stars of the TV show Sister Wives has won a lawsuit against the part of Utah's law banning polygamy. Read more at CNN here.

Man of the Year: Pope Francis

TIME magazine has selected Pope Francis as its man of the year, saying "What makes this Pope so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all... Francis has elevated the healing mission of the church—the church as servant and comforter of hurting people in an often harsh world.. Francis is a former janitor, nightclub bouncer, chemical technician and literature teacher." Read more here or watch TIME's video below.

Megachurch pastor's son: Apparent suicide

A former Florida megachurch pastor was found dead inside his apartment yesterday, according to numerous media reports. Isaac Hunter was pastor of Summit Church in Orlando, and the son of Joel Hunter, who pastors Northland church in Orlando. WESH-TV is reporting that church insiders says it was an apparent suicide. Hunter resigned from his own megachurch after he admitting to an affair. The Orlando Sentinel reports that his wife of 13 years had filed a domestic-violence petition against him saying he abused drugs and alcohol, and calling Hunter unstable. Read more in from WESH-TV here here and the Orlando Sentinel here.

Half-time challenge

A student at Mars Hill Bible School won $100k to pay for college during a halftime event at the SEC championship football game today in Atlanta. Brooks Bergman is a cancer survivor. Read the story here.

Underwood tweets Bible verse in response to critics

In response to criticism over her performance in Sound of Music Live!, Carrie Underwood tweeted, "Plain and simple: Mean people need Jesus. They will be in my prayers tonight...1 Peter 2:1-25." Read more here.

Evangelical Numbers are now Falling

Catholics and evangelical Protestants have joined oldline Protestants in declining numbers. The Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches also shows the Pentecostal/holiness stream has slowed from the 1980s from 4 percent to barely more than one percent now. Read more details from the Christian Century here.

Airport chaplains

Many (airports) have chapels and are staffed by 350 chaplains worldwide. Read more from Associated Press here.

Paul Crouch Dies

Televangelist Paul Crouch died at his Southern California today at the age of 79, according to his ministry's website. Crouch built TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which claims to be the largest religious TV network in the world. Crouch and his wife, Jan, founded TBN in 1973. It has grown into 84 satellite channels and some18,000 affiliates. The ministry has had its share of detractors over finances and theology. A challenge came from within the Crouch family last year-- when their   granddaughter sued (along with others) accusing TBN of $50 million in financial improprieties. There is more on the accusations here and more on TBN here. Because of Crouch's health problems, particularly heart issues, his son Matthew has dealt with the day-to-day operations of TBN recently.

Reagan: "Not afraid of burning in hell"

Ronald Reagan's son is supporting atheism in a new radio advertisement. The ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundation features Ron Reagan saying, "I an unabashed atheist, and I’m alarmed by the intrusions of religion into our secular government...Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell."

Plagiarism charges against megachurch pastor

Syndicated radio host Janet Mefferd is accusing megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll of plagiarism in several of his books. Driscoll leads Seattle's Mars Hill Church. Read more at Religious News Service here. You can hear the radio interview below.

Supreme Court takes up contraceptive mandate

Can a Christian business opt out of Obamacare's contraceptive mandate? A FoxNews panel takes a look at the battle between religious liberty and women's rights.