Christian creationists have long railed against the theory of evolution. But you may not have heard anything yet.

A new Canadian paper in the journal Science suggests that Christianity itself may be a function of evolution.

In a review article that is sure to prove controversial, University of British Columbia researchers say that the world''''''''s great religions may have emerged as a codification of cultural traits that allowed people to be more successful breeders.

"We''re setting aside the question of whether religions are true in a metaphysical sense," says Ara Norenzayan, a UBC psychologist and lead author of the paper. He and his team reviewed dozens of studies on the emergence of religions from disciplines as diverse as psychology, history, sociology, anthropology, economics and ethnography.

"We''re trying to understand what religion is and explain it in terms of human nature and human culture."

The paper argues that social co-operation and altruism conferred an evolutionary advantage as populations grew larger, and that moralizing religions were key to creating large-scale cohesion.

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, dominated by critics of the liberal direction of their denomination nationally, today voted to leave the U.S. Episcopal Church and to become a part of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, which includes the nations of South America from Peru south. The leadership of the Pittsburgh Diocese had many criticisms of the national church, but the precipitating event for the split was the denomination''s approval of the election of a gay priest, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, to be bishop of New Hampshire. A statement from the Rev. Peter Frank, director of communications for the diocese:

“We deeply value our shared heritage and years of friendship with those still within that denomination, but this diocese could not in good conscience continue down the road away from mainstream Christianity that the leadership of The Episcopal Church is so determined to follow."

The decision will likely lead to a battle for control of the church buildings. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, told the Episcopal News Service that she plans to re-establish an Episcopal diocese in Pittsburgh:

    Maybe Islamic cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid is just more of a Bugs Bunny sort of guy?

    In an interview with Al-Majd Television the sheikh, a former diplomat who once served in the Saudi embassy in Washington, condemned cartoons that endear rodents to their viewers.

    Islamic law, he said, sees the mouse as “a repulsive, corrupting creature” while children today see mice as loveable and “awesome” because of animated shows like Tom and Jerry, and Disney staple Mickey Mouse.

    “Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases,” Al-Munajid tells the interviewer.

    “The shari’a refers to the mouse as ‘little corrupter,’ and says it is permissible to kill it in all cases. It says that mice set fire to the house, and are steered by Satan. The mouse is one of Satan’s soldiers,” he goes on to say.

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Courtesy Religion News Blog

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

State election rules allow parties to assign “election challengers” to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they “have a good reason to believe” that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a “true resident of the city or township.”

The Michigan Republicans’ planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being “true residents.”

One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.

The Church of England will tomorrow officially apologise to Charles Darwin for misunderstanding his theory of evolution.

In a bizarre step, the Church will address its contrition directly to the Victorian scientist himself, even though he died 126 years ago.

But the move was greeted with derision last night, with Darwin’s great-great-grandson dismissing it as ‘pointless’ and other critics branding it ‘ludicrous’.

Church officials compared the apology to the late Pope John Paul II’s decision to say sorry for the Vatican’s 1633 trial of Galileo, the astronomer who appalled prelates by declaring that the earth revolved around the sun.

The officials said that senior bishops wanted to atone for the vilification their predecessors heaped on Darwin in the 1860s, when he put forward his theory that man was descended from apes.

The Church is also anxious to counter the view that its teaching is incompatible with science. It wants to distance itself from fundamentalist Christians, who believe in the Biblical account of the creation of the world in seven days.

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Courtesy: The Daily Mail. (UK)

If you were looking for an object lesson on why the separation of church and state is a good idea, look no further than Italy, where a satirist is being prosecuted for insulting Pope Benedict XVI.

"Italy''s Ministry of Justice has given prosecutors in Rome permission to proceed under the Lateran Treaty against comedienne and satirist Sabina Guzzanti. She is charged with "offending the honour of the sacred and inviolable person" of Pope Benedict XVI. During a comedy routine Guzzanti criticized the Vatican''s interference in issues such as gay rights, saying: ''Within twenty years the Pope will be where he ought to be, in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils...''"

All hyperbole aside, Guzzanti is literally being charged under a fascist law. The Lateran Treaty of 1929 was the great solution to the "Roman Question", a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy. This treaty recognized the sovereignty of the Holy See, and established a concordat giving the Catholic Church certain privileges within Italian society (including the punishment of insults against the Pope). The whole thing was approved by arch-fascist Benito Mussolini, a fact that hasn''t escaped critics of this prosecution.

"Nobel prize-winning playwright Dario Fo said of the decision to take action against a comedian: "This is Fascism pure and simple." Ms Guzzanti''s father, a centre Right MP, was shocked by the prosecution. According to The Times Paolo Guzzanti branded it: ''a return to the Middle Ages. Perhaps my daughter should be be submitted to the judgement of God by being made to walk on hot coals.''"