Study: Leaving Religion May Be Bad for Health

For some people, leaving their religion means more than taking a spiritual risk. They could be risking their physical health as well, according to one recent study.

In the study conducted done by Christopher Scheitle, a senior research assistant in sociology at Penn State University, 40 percent of those who said they practice a religion with strict social, moral and physical guidelines reported themselves to be in excellent health.

As they moved further from their strict religion, the percentage of those describing themselves in excellent health declined. About 25 percent of those who switched to a more liberal religious group said they were in excellent health, and the figure dropped to 20 percent for people who quit religion all together.

Conservative Leaders Mobilizing Christians to 'Pray & A.C.T.' for America

Christians across America are being called upon to unite in prayer and fasting for the nation from Sept. 30 to Oct. 30 as America faces “unprecedented challenges.”

“We call on all faithful Christians to join us in the fight to defend life, protect and revitalize marriage, and preserve religious liberty and the rights of conscience,” says Jim Garlow, pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, who is spearheading the prayer effort.

“We must work tirelessly in all the ‘seven spheres of cultural influence,’” he adds, referring to the home; the church; civil government, law, and military; business and technology; education; media; and arts, entertainment and professional sports.

“The foundational moral principles of life, marriage and conscience need to be preached in our churches, affirmed in our daily conversations and demonstrated in our private decisions and our personal lives,” Garlow states.

Christians Urged, Equipped to Pray During Islam's Holy Month

As Muslims around the world marked the start of Ramadan on Wednesday, Christians were urged to make a deliberate effort to learn about, pray for, and reach out to Muslim neighbors across the street and around the world during Islam’s holiest month.

For the next 30 days, Muslims around the world will fast, pray, give to charity, and put more effort into following the teachings of Islam. From dawn to dusk, Muslims will try to abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse. They will also try to overcome emotions such as anger, envy, greed, lust, sarcasm, and gossip in their effort for self-control.

A Lebanese Muslim woman, shops for decorations in preparation for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday Aug. 9, 2010. Muslims traditionally decorate their homes, shops and streets for the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims throughout the world will be celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, refraining from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset.

Trapped Chilean Miners Survive on Faith

The families of 33 trapped Chilean miners are asking God to deliver their men safely and soon.

Earlier this week, the families received the miraculous news that the men were still alive after being trapped for 17 days. However, the miners may not see the light of day again until sometime in December.

Throughout the South American country, people are praising God and thanking Him for sparing the lives of the 33 miners. The men were feared dead since the mine they were working in had collapsed.

After 17 days of uncertainty, handwritten notes were recovered from the miners confirming they were still alive after being buried 2,000 feet underground.

How to deal with Abortion - Your are not alone.

Your worst fears have now been confirmed ... you're pregnant! You are afraid, confused, angry ... and feeling very much alone.

You are asking yourself:

What am I going to do?

What will people say?

What will my parents say?

How will the baby's father react?

Will my boyfriend or husband leave me?

Who can I turn to?

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

I’ve found that when most people ask this question, there’s a hidden personal pronoun in it. It usually is “Why do [you God, let…] bad things happen to people?

It’s an accusation we bring to God, sometimes because we don’t understand, but most usually when we are experiencing an acute pain in our life…a relational hurt; a physical problem or illness; maybe even a painful circumstance, like being falsely accused, blamed, fired, or generally put upon.

You get the idea. Now, let’s take the most gut-wrenching example, the death of a child, and see if together we can’t make better sense of why God would allow the bad to exist.

Gulf Coast Churches Seek God to Stop Oil Flow

With a third of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico now closed to fishing and leaked oil continuing to spread, local churches are banding together Sunday for a day of prayer.

They're calling it the Oil Spill Day of Prayer and participants include The Wesleyan Church, the Church of Nazarene and Southern Baptists.

"The current oil spill is not only causing harm to the coast, marsh lands, the gulf and the future of oil exploration but to the economic future of many [states]," said Dr. Dan Berry, the South Coastal district superintendent of The Wesleyan Church. "This is a case of denominations coming together, saying we are desperate."

Some 23 million to 47 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20 and sank. It is the worst oil leak in U.S. history.

Prayers for N. Korean Christians Urged as Tensions Rise, Sanctions OKd

Presiden Kim of North Korea.

The oppressed and voiceless Christians in North Korea particularly need prayers amid escalating tension on the Korean peninsula, reported a persecution watchdog group this week.

Tensions between the two Koreas have been rising since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that resulted in the deaths of 46 people. Though South Korea concluded that North Korea torpedoed its warship, North Korea has vehemently denied the South’s accusations and even held a rare press conference with the media.

The Real Prince of Persia

Finally the moviemakers are getting it, right? We want big action big effect big-time battles in our films that take us away from our everyday lives and transport us to…

Well, name your place. Hogwarts, Sherwood Forest, Pandora, and so many other places are just plain awesome to visit for a few hours and have our imaginations captured and entertained.

And now you can go back in time to 6th Century B.C. Persia in a movie called Aladdin…wait, I mean Prince of Persia. It’s about a street rat who gets adopted by a king and saves the day from an eeeeevil eyeliner wearing dude named Jafar…sorry, I mean Nizam.

U.S. evangelicals gather to pray for creation care-Evangelical leaders from several prominent organizations gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to pray, repent and sing about creation care.

Galen Carey, director of government affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals, prays at the first National Day of Prayer for Creation Care on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 in Washington, D.C

The afternoon rally at the Upper Senate Park was among several events that took place for the first-ever National Day of Prayer for Creation Care.

“We pray today especially for those who suffer because of our mistreatment of your world,” prayed Galen Carey, director of government affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals, on Tuesday.

“May we be your faithful servants and may we your people lead the way that others will see not only how to care for your good creation, but will come to know you as their loving creator through the witness of our lives and deeds,” he said.

Christians in U.K. called to pray for new Parliament and Government

In this file photo, a commuter passes a street sign on Whitehall, in the political district in central London.

In the aftermath of the General Election, Christians are being called to pray for the new Parliament and Government.

As the incoming Government gets to grips with the challenges facing the country and Members of Parliament take their seats, many for the first time, the Evangelical Alliance said now was a key time to support them in prayer.

Church grieves for Air India crash victims

Friends and relatives of victims of an Air India Express plane crash attend a prayer meeting at a church in Mangalore, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka

The Catholic Church has expressed its sorrow over the deaths of 158 people who died when an Air India flight crashed in Mangalore on Saturday.

President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, said in a message of condolence that the Church in India was grieving over the "great loss of life in the air tragedy".

"We are aware that words cannot take away the grief, sorrow and pain, but we offer our prayers and solidarity to the families," he said.

"The Church prays that those who have survived this ordeal may soon recover.

"We extend all support to the survivors to enable them to cope and recover, and to help them in all ways possible.

Christians pray to heal Britain

Christians gathered in every borough of London on Pentecost Sunday to pray for God to heal Britain.

The prayer gatherings were held as part of the Global Day of Prayer, which united an estimated 250 million Christians worldwide as the movement marked its tenth anniversary.

Global Day of Prayer London facilitated prayer gatherings in churches and parks in all 33 London boroughs, testimony to the movement’s huge growth in the UK since it was launched in Westminster Chapel, London, in 2006.