There has been a revival of cultural interest in Joan of Arc, the 15th-century French peasant girl who became a French national hero and a Roman Catholic saint. One piece of the new interest is a CBS television miniseries, JOAN OF ARC, which begins May 16th. Our critic Martha Bayles took a look.

Joan of Arc was a 15th-century peasant girl who became a French national hero and a Roman Catholic saint. She was burned at the stake in 1431, but over 500 years later, St. Joan is getting new attention through modern eyes. Kim Lawton has our special report on the Joan of Arc phenomenon.

Earth Day is the day set aside each year for reaffirming a commitment to protecting the environment. In recent years, because of a shift in thinking about the natural world, many faith communities have been taking up the cause of the environment. This movement is particularly strong along the banks of the Columbia River, where salmon has been declared an endangered species.

Most of the refugees from Kosovo are Muslim. Most of those being bombed in Serbia are Eastern Orthodox Christians, for whom, this has been Holy Week and this Sunday is Easter. America's more than five million Orthodox Christians began their Holy Week in prayer for the people of the Balkans. On Orthodox Palm Sunday, a gathering in Washington also protested NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia.

Holy Week is a time that millions of Christians pay tribute to the period in life of Jesus from Palm Sunday through Good Friday and Easter. The practices of Holy Week weave together a remembrance of the last events in the life of Jesus and a recognition of the continuing spiritual significance of those events.

The eight-day Jewish festival of Passover commemorates their ancestors exodus from Egypt. To celebrate, Jews will gather for a Seder, Hebrew for "order," to retell the story of the ancient Israelites' deliverance from slavery. Many of us know about the Seder, but few know about the extensive preparations for Passover, preparations which are supposed to cleanse the home and the spirit.

For many Christians, Easter is the most important celebration of the year. It is also a time when many Christians ask: What really happened on the first Easter morning? Did Jesus, in fact, rise bodily from the dead? Two eminent Christian historians, N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg, have been debating that and other issues of Jesus' life in a new book and in joint appearances around the country.

Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn live an 18th-century way of life. Hasidism, Hebrew for both "pious" and "saintly," began in the 1700s in Eastern Europe and was brought to the U.S. during the 1880s. There are numerous Hasidic groups in the U.S., the best known being the Lubavitchers, headquartered in Brooklyn. The Hasidic way of life is strictly defined by religious commandments, particularly for women.

In 1999, as the Senate searched for dignity, fairness, and bipartisanship in its trial of President Clinton, we wondered about the role of religion at the Capitol. One way religion can be influential is through pastoral counseling, and Religion and Ethics has often covered the spiritual advisers to the president, but who counsels the Senate, now the president's jury? What influence do they have?

Stanley Hauerwas is a blunt, controversial, and profane teacher whose Christianity is as unvarnished as his speech. The professor charges that the Christian Church in America has compromised so much with the modern world it is in mortal peril. As he tells his students, Hauerwas believes that the Church is losing its soul and it's up to them to restore it by becoming like modern saints.

The late C. S. Lewis was one of the most influential and beloved Christian writers in this century. Our critic, Martha Bayles, recently traveled to England to examine Lewis's legacy.

He's preached the gospel to more live audiences than anyone in history, he's been a friend and counselor to numerous presidents, and he is arguably one of the most influential men of the 20th century.

South Africa's retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his nonviolent opposition to apartheid. He remains a charismatic leader and South Africa's premier symbol of moral authority. Tutu later chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the official body that brought to light the atrocities of apartheid on both sides, hoping truth would heal bitterness.

Can gays become straight? For years, experts have said no, that homosexual orientation cannot be cured by therapy. But first quietly, now with national publicity, some Christians are saying yes, gays can change with religious counseling. The claims are controversial, the data elusive, but as Mary Alice Williams reports, the movement thrives.

The House is preparing to vote on a bill that could severely curb a doctor's ability to prescribe lethal drugs for the purpose of suicide. That ability is at the heart of the Oregon law that went into effect last fall. At age 35, Brian Lovell was diagnosed with colon cancer and was given six months to live. Now, he is ready to use Oregon's Death with Dignity law.

Despite the fact that its name means City of Peace, Jerusalem continues to be a place of tension, division, and bitterness. Many of the religious communities are conflicted, but the most visible are Jew against Arab and Jew against Jew. Join Correspondent Herbert Kaplow as he discusses the issues between faiths with renowned scholar and teacher Rabbi David Hartman.