A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by atheists and agnostics that challenged the state's sending of children and money to the church-affiliated Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch.

A Methodist leadership group on Thursday endorsed building George W. Bush's presidential library center at Southern Methodist University, essentially ending nearly two years of opposition.

The spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans said he feels "great grief" that more than 200 bishops are boycotting the Lambeth Conference, calling it a wound to the once-a-decade meeting of the Anglican fellowship.

During services in May, Rabbi Yosef Landa opened the holy ark in his St. Louis-area synagogue and reached for the sacred Torah.

Starting a ministry requires little more than faith, but a Troy, Mich., company has launched a growing business by supplying all the tools the faithful need to get a new church on its feet.

A Torah scroll valued at about $30,000 that was reported stolen from a St. Louis-area synagogue is one of a handful of Torah scrolls stolen in the past year in the United States, mystifying police and the Jewish community.

They filled the cafe night after night. To the casual observer, it might have appeared to be a roomful of 20-somethings with enviable amounts of idle time.

Stirring her morning coffee, lifelong Republican Grace Droog voiced her doubts - and those of many evangelical voters - about what she isn't hearing from John McCain in this year's presidential election.

Pope Benedict XVI says the world's natural resources are being squandered by "insatiable" consumption and urges people to care more for the environment.

While he didn't expect to travel much, Pope Benedict XVI is actually keeping pace with his globe-trotting predecessor John Paul II. The difference is their destinations.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by five men who claimed two Roman Catholic dioceses should have reported sexual abuse claims against a teacher before he moved on to a Kentucky diocese and molested them.

The Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade summit of the world's Anglican bishops starting this week, will be a tense, closely watched family reunion.

Voices of faith: Should clergy or faith groups give any kind of support to political candidates?

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia exhorted followers of the world's leading faiths to turn away from extremism and embrace a spirit of reconciliation, saying at the start of an interfaith conference Wednesday that history's great conflicts were not caused by religion itself but by its misinterpretation.

In a story July 12, The Associated Press reported that federal immigration officials have ordered the deportation of Flor Crisostomo, a Mexican immigrant living in a Chicago church.

More than 100,000 Roman Catholic pilgrims from around the world swarmed Sydney Harbor on Tuesday, waving the flags of their countries and singing as they awaited a Mass opening the World Youth Day festival.

A massive Catholic youth celebration kicked off Tuesday with an Australian "G'Day" and a welcoming text message from Pope Benedict XVI to the tens of thousands of pilgrims who have traveled here from around the world.

When he was playing professional soccer in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck would seek comfort in the churches to satisfy his spiritual needs and remind him of childhood Sundays spent at Holy Trinity in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.

One shot pigeons, another played bocce ball with the Swiss Guards, and John Paul II skied and hiked.

The creator of a calendar that featured shirtless Mormon missionaries was excommunicated Sunday after a disciplinary meeting with local church leaders in Las Vegas.

The Dalai Lama said Sunday that "it's totally wrong, unfair" to call Islam a violent religion.

Tayeeb Foods Inc. always enjoyed a modest profit, but Nazar Osman said running his six-year-old Sudanese grocery was never about the money.

The first openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop was barred from a once-a-decade Anglican meeting so he wouldn't become a focus of the global event.

Pope Benedict XVI has raised expectations he will apologize directly to victims of past clergy sexual abuse while he is in Australia this week for a Roman Catholic gathering of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.