Julia Duin

DUIN: Treat kids to tales with moral lessons

How does one convey to children stories that make good seem just as attractive as sorcery and witchcraft?

November 1, 2009

DUIN: Anglicans wary of pope’s invite

More than a week has passed since Pope Benedict XVI put out a call for disgruntled Anglicans to cross the Tiber after a nearly 500-year separation.

October 29, 2009

DUIN: Halloween spurs tales of the occult

With Halloween approaching, it's the time of year to talk about mystical philosophies, Ouija boards, secret lodges, New Age thought — in other words, the "occult" aspect of religion that deals with secret ways of acquiring knowledge.

October 25, 2009

DUIN: Atheist sees global faith revival

Although I think religion is the queen of beats, it's not often I hear journalists from other disciplines admit how important covering God really is.

October 22, 2009

Vatican clears way for Anglican converts

The Vatican took the bold step Tuesday of announcing a new and simplified process for thousands of disaffected conservative Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church en masse.

October 21, 2009

DUIN: All groups have a right to free speech

Lots of folks were outraged in May when Liberty University severely restricted its Young Democrats Club because the Lynchburg, Va., institution had a problem with moral stances taken by the Democratic Party.

October 18, 2009

Notre Dame feels political heat again

A surprise decision by the University of Notre Dame to send five students to last weekend's gay rights march in the District has produced fury among alumni still smarting from the Catholic institution's invitation to President Obama in May.

October 16, 2009

DUIN: An evangelist extravaganza

The first one was in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974. The second was in Manila in 1989. The third will be in Cape Town in 2010.

October 15, 2009

Rev. Sun Myung Moon passes the torch

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, has turned over day-to-day control of the church and financial empire he founded to a daughter and three sons, one of whom had a brief flirtation with Buddhism during his years at Harvard before returning to the family fold.

October 14, 2009

Dalai Lama ends D.C. visit

The Dalai Lama capped off a five-day visit to Washington on Saturday by offering a 75-minute lecture on the basics of Buddhism to 4,300 people at American University, then dropping by a prominent synagogue.

October 11, 2009

DUIN: Lutherans leave over vote on gays

The last weekend in September was pivotal for Lutherans. Six weeks after the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) voted in Minneapolis to allow gays and lesbians in "life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships" to be ordained, the exodus began.

October 11, 2009

21st-century Messiah

What if Jesus Christ showed up in the 21st century? What would he look like? What would he do?

October 8, 2009

DUIN: Book imagines modern Jesus

I first glimpsed the new book as I was strolling past some exhibits at a religion writers conference: "Journeys with the Messiah," a thin volume of gorgeous, sepia-toned photos.

October 8, 2009

DUIN: Children’s books lack moral lessons

Such is the 21st century, where much juvenile literature is a mile wide and an inch deep. The discerning parent and teenager will have to seek meatier stuff from previous centuries, when heroism and ideals still carried the day.

October 4, 2009

Catholic University head to step down

Catholic University President the Rev. David M. O'Connell, credited with raising at least $180 million for the institution and steering the school back into Catholic orthodoxy, announced Friday he will resign in August to pursue other interests.

October 3, 2009

Survey: Pro-life views gain under Obama

Popular support for abortion rights has dropped seven points in the past year due in part to the election of a pro-choice Democratic president, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said Thursday.

October 2, 2009

DUIN: Film explores Christian anger

A bumper sticker becomes a Michael Mooresque indie film in "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers: Why is the Gospel of Love Dividing America?" that's headed to a theater near you.

October 1, 2009

DUIN: Rabbi preaches need for patience

It's not often that I run into a rabbi who takes his spiritual inspiration from the martial arts, but not long ago, "The Challenge of the Soul: A Guide for the Spiritual Warrior," by Rabbi Niles E. Goldstein caught my eye.

September 27, 2009

Thousands of Muslims rally, pray at Capitol

About 3,000 Muslims gathered Friday for a first-ever prayer service in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol in what turned out to be a peaceful assembly despite the taunts of Christian evangelists on the surrounding sidewalks.

September 26, 2009

Muslim ‘apostates’ in U.S. ask for protection

Five ex-Muslims who founded a group called Former Muslims United put out a public appeal Thursday to the U.S. government for protection, saying the lives of thousands of "apostates from Islam" are in peril.

September 25, 2009