NPR People: Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Gay couples lined up to apply for marriage certificates Wednesday as Washington, D.C.'s gay-marriage law took affect. The law caused the diocese to change its policies so it wouldn't have to give gay spouses benefits or handle adoptions for them. The change may allow the diocese to keep city contracts, but it could also push the faithful away.

Last weekend, Pope Benedict XVI took 24 Irish bishops to task for the sex abuse crisis in Ireland, calling the scandal a "heinous crime." But some U.S. victims want more action and fewer words.

Mass weddings have long been a hallmark of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, but the practice may soon come to an end. Facing dwindling numbers, the church is trying to go more mainstream to appeal to young prospective followers — including letting them choose their own spouses.

Pope Benedict XVI recently called on priests to "proclaim the Gospel" through blogs, videos and Web sites. Bloggers have some advice for the pontiff if he decides to start his own: Write daily, keep it short and think hot links, not footnotes.

While most Haitians say they are Catholic, many practice a faith mixed with Voodoo's tenets of spirit worship and reincarnation. The practice of Voodoo is typically underground, but since last week's earthquake, Haitians are flocking to Voodoo priests and asking for prayers for themselves and their lost loved ones.

The battle over homosexuality has torn apart Christian churches in the U.S. American ministers helped bring the same debate to Uganda, and now the country is facing the potentially deadly consequences.

The feminist theologian Mary Daly, one of the most influential feminist thinkers of the 20th century, died Monday in Massachusetts. She was 81. Her first book, The Church and the Second Sex, got her fired from Boston College, but student and public outcry led the Jesuit college to rehire her. She taught there for 33 years.

For members of the National Cathedral Boy Choristers in Washington, D.C., Christmas is not about angling for video games or iPods, but parsing each note in Handel's Messiah, performing before thousands of people — and wondering when their voices will change.

Evangelist Oral Roberts died at the age of 91 on Tuesday. He pioneered televangelism, founded a university, and was known for faith healings and his belief that he directly communicated with God.

A new generation of U.S. bishops is both more conservative on social issues and more vocal. They are irked by the new political landscape: Abortion remains legal, President Obama lifted a ban on stem cell research, and a few states are allowing same-sex marriage.

Catholic bishops and other church institutions are renewing an aggressive stance against the advance of social polices they see as contrary to their beliefs. The U.S. Catholic bishops pushed for the passage of an amendment to the House health care reform bill limiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.

There's a schism in the world of atheism. New atheists — led by Richard Dawkins — insist that religion is stupid and dangerous. The old guard may not believe in God but are willing to work with religious liberals on shared goals.

Marilyn Schlitz, the president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California, woke up one morning and realized she was the heroine in Dan Brown's new novel, The Lost Symbol. Since Brown's book was released, traffic to her institute's Web site increased twelvefold, and new members continue to sign up.

A Christian conservative group, fearing a liberal drift in the country's leadership, has put 11 prominent politicians and activists on an "Adopt a Liberal" roster. They're asking God to help their targets change their stances on a variety of social issues.

In the days before Yom Kippur, which begins on Sunday evening, many Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, N.Y., will wave chickens over their heads and say the prayer of Kapparot (or Kapparos, depending on heritage). But the more than 1,000-year-old atonement ritual has concerned some in the community, who worry about animal cruelty.