For decades, abortion was thought of as an issue that riled up religious zealots in the Bible Belt. “Enlightened” Americans, however, saw abortion as the key to women’s liberation and a more egalitarian society.

It’s not every day a Bible verse lights up social media, but a relatively obscure verse from the Hebrew Bible – what Christians call the Old Testament – was trending on Twitter worldwide Thursday.

People who attend religious services regularly are less likely than others in this country to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, a new study suggests, adding a Canadian dimension to the growing but contentious body of research linking faith and good health.

David Cameron is set to give his MPs a free vote on whether gay couples should be allowed to marry, after a major rebellion by his own ministers.

As Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, which marks her 60-year anniversary as head of the British monarchy, a poll has found that most British people agree that she should continue to have an important faith role in the country.

It's 5.30pm on a Thursday - peak hour in the city. Snarls of cars curdle with the foot traffic, thousands of workers pour from the buildings like angry bees. And right in the middle of it, sitting above Town Hall Station, is the 144-year-old St Andrew's Cathedral, home to some of the sweetest voices in the city.

THE main lobby group promoting gay marriage yesterday distanced itself from polyamorists demanding to be included in the proposed reforms, saying marriage involving more than two people would undermine a traditional institution.

The Book of Common Prayer, a work considered by many to be as influential as the King James Bible and the plays of William Shakespeare, turned 350 this month.

Opponents of same-sex marriage outnumber declared supporters of marriage equality in the Federal Parliament, according to a stocktake by campaigners.

THE question of equal rights for polyamorists is not an issue on which The Australian is inclined to declare its hand, since multiple simultaneous relationships, conducted within the law by consenting adults, are a private matter.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his status to “married” Saturday and received over one million “likes” from his followers. But the site he founded isn’t always so marriage-friendly. In fact, lawyers say the social network contributes to an increasing number of marriage breakups.

No arrests have been made since 600 Islamists hurled bags filled with urine and ditchwater at about 100 members of a church last week and threatened to kill its pastor.

Nimuli struggled to rise from a rope bed to greet pastor James Mading Bui at an Episcopal church where she lives in a suburb of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, waiting to travel back home to the newly independent south.

Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old seal that bears the inscription "Bethlehem," in what experts believe to be the oldest artefact with the name of Jesus' traditional birthplace.

A Christian psychotherapist struck off after attempting to convert a homosexual man to heterosexuality said yesterday that counsellors with traditional views now face being “closed down”.