Getting to Know.. J.K. Rowling

Although brought up in a nonreligious home, in her youth, the author of the Harry Potter books would go to church by herself. J.K. Rowling still regularly attends services and her children have all been christened. Her Potter books do not mention of God or Scripture except in the last one. Harry discovers on his parents' graves a Bible verse that, Rowling says, is the theme for the entire series. It's a passage from I Corinthians in which Paul discusses Jesus' resurrection: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

The Response

The Freedom from Religion Foundation has filed a lawsuit to stop Governor Rick Perry's day of prayer and fasting. The group of atheists and agnostics say it would violate the constitutional ban on the government endorsing a religion. The August 6th event is called The Response and will take place at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

NBC "Pledge" Apology - Again

NBC has issued a formal apology to Congress for editing out "under God" from its broadcast of the U.S. Open golf championship. The network's presidents says the people involved have been "reprimanded" and "the mistake will not be repeated." A letter signed by 108 members of Congress to the network complained about the omission even after NBC issued an on-air apology.

Former Bible Student Heading to Prison

A former Moody Bible Institute student is now a convicted sex offender. Aaron Dodds pleaded guilty pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated child pornography and may spend up to four years in prison. He took his computer to the Chicago school’s IT department revealed for repair where a technician found more than 500 images of child pornography.

New Kentucky Tags

An anti-pornography group in Kentucky has gotten the go ahead to raise funds through the sale of state license plates that say "In God We Trust." It took more than three years of legal maneuvering to get the effort approved by ROCK Cares, whose name will appear on the plates. The only stipulation is that at least 900 applications for the tags must be made before they go into production. A plate without the ministry's name became available in January with more than 70,000 sold.

Prez Candidate Family Under Fire

Michele Bachmann's husband, who runs a Christian counseling clinic, is coming under fire from former clients and a group that went undercover at the clinic for the clinic's therapy related to homosexuality. Here is a video report from ABC News.

Hollywood's First-ever Atheist Hero

The Philistines

Archaeologist in southern Israel are piecing together the history of the people known in the Bible as the Philistines. A report from Associated Press is here.

Evangelicals, Republicans and the Civil War

A New York Times article takes a look at the influence of Evangelicals in the foundations of the Republican Party and the Civil War. Read about it here.

School Prayer Dispute Settled

A Florida school district has hashed out an agreement over prayer and the use of religious phrases in schools. The Santa Rosa School District school board voted unanimously to approve the agreement between the district, the ACLU and Liberty Counsel. The school district has dropped its ban on teacher-led prayer and religious activities within the district. Criminal indictments had been filed against school employees. The issue came to the public view when the ACLU filed a complaint against the district, saying it was illegally sponsoring prayer and proselytizing at school events. The Liberty Counsel is holding a victory rally at Pace Assembly Ministries today.

SCOTUS to Consider Church School Case

This fall, the Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether an elementary school operated by a Michigan unfairly fired a teacher attempting to return to work after a disability leave related to narcolepsy. The Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church where the woman worked is a part of the Missouri Synod Lutheran church. U.S. courts have generally held that federal employment discrimination statutes do not apply to church employees performing religious functions. The question is whether this applies not simply to religious leaders, but also to teachers at a religious elementary school.

Megachurch Responds to Stories about Founder

The Crystal Cathedral says it's not true. A spokesman for the megachurch says Robert H. Schuller was not voted off the board of the ministry, even though Schuller's son has said that he was voted off. Robert Anthony Schuller had said his 84-year-old father was booted off after proposing putting adding more seats to the board. But the spokesman says Schuller is now board chairman emeritus. However, the church spokesman admitted that Schuller lost his vote and now has only a non-voting position.

Schuller Out

The Crystal Cathedral board of directors have voted founder Robert Schuller off the board. Because of bankruptcy brought on by massive debts, the Southern California megachurch is in the process of selling its famous glass-spired sanctuary.

The Valedictorian and the Constitution

AG Jump in Membership

The Assemblies of God says it gained 4% in membership in the last reported year - the biggest jump since 1983. The denomination claims 3,030,944 members in 2010. Church officials report more than 63 million Assemblies of God followers worldwide in 2009.

VA Lawsuit

The VA is releasing new cemetery guidelines after complaints by local veterans and volunteer groups that there's a ban on religious speech at VA National Cemeteries. The Department of Veterans Affairs says invoking the name of God or Jesus is allowed and common. But a federal civil suit fined by the Liberty Institute against the VA claims the opposite. In one instance, the suit describes how a cemetery director told volunteers they had to stop telling families "God bless you" at funerals and ordered them to remove the words "God bless" from condolence cards. Several members of congress have expressed their concerns over the matter.

Software Attempts to Identify Biblical Writers

A new computer program is being used by software programmers in Israel to look for patterns in the Biblical record. Researchers from Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv and Hebrew University in Jerusalem say the analysis of style and word choices matched with the traditional academic division of two authors for the Pentateuch. The findings were presented at the Association for Computational Linguistics meeting in Portland.

Billboard Comes Down

A billboard on church property in Ohio proclaiming, "I can be good without God" is down. The sign, paid for by the Freedom From Religion Foundation was placed on land owned by Christ Cathedral Church. The ad agency said the placement was just a mistake.

Bishop Leaving

A bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is leaving to become interim pastor at the largest ELCA congregation in the U.S. Bishop Craig Johnson leads the Minneapolis-area ELCA, but is resigning to become interim pastor of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis.

Bachman the Evangelical Feminist?

Is Michele Bachman an Evangelical feminist? CNN offers an article addressing the question. Read the story here.