ENI – The American Religious Newswriters Association held their annual poll in December to name the top religion news:
1. Muslims in a number of countries react violently to publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark and other European nations.
2. Pope Benedict XVI angers Muslims by including in a speech a centuries-old quote linking Islam and violence. He apologizes and smoothes the waters on a trip to Turkey.
3. The (U.S.) Episcopal Church riles conservatives when it elects as presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supported the consecration of a gay bishop.
4. Charismatic leader Ted Haggard resigns from the National Association of Evangelicals and is dismissed as a pastor after allegations surface of gay sex and drug use.
5. American religious right candidates suffer defeats in the November elections, with many voters citing morality as one of their strongest motivators.
6. Religious voices grow louder for peace in Iraq.
7. The schoolhouse shooting deaths of five Amish girls draws international attention on the Amish community's ethic of forgiveness after some Amish attend the killer's funeral.
8. (tie) The release of the movie The Da Vinci Code.
8. (tie) Same-sex marriage bans pass in seven of eight U. S. states; meanwhile, New Jersey rules that same-sex couples can get the same benefits as married couples.
10. President George W. Bush casts his first veto to defeat a bill calling for expanded stem-cell research.
