Unlocking and interpreting the secrets hidden in DNA used to be the province of scientists and medical researchers. But now it's a growing business, one that's selling genetic information directly to American consumers, making a DNA test as easy to buy as housewares or clothing.

Dr. Joseph Tate delivers babies the old-fashioned way, using methods some obstetricians call risky. But his patients say God guides his hands.

"I think a lot of our people are going to go into culture shock when they get to heaven, and they get to sit next to somebody that they didn’t maybe sit with while they were here on earth. So we’re trying to get them acclimated a little bit," says pastor Rodney Woo. His church now has 500 members divided almost equally among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, with the remainder made up of Asians.

For nearly six decades, Dave Brubeck has been dazzling listeners worldwide. With his unique, inventive style, he has become a jazz immortal. What is less known is that for much of that time, Brubeck has also composed religious music like “The Commandments,” which he recorded for the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music. In his religious scores, Brubeck achieves what he cannot achieve in jazz.

Watch additional excerpts from our interview about same-sex marriage with Reverend Pam Werntz of Boston’s Emmanuel Episcopal Church which does not perform any marriages, gay or straight, but instead provides blessings for couples who are married by the state.

Watch more of our interview about same-sex marriage and mainline Protestant denominations with Rev. Jennifer Wegter-McNelly, interim minister of the Church of the Covenant.

Reverend Mary Holder Naegeli is among those urging the Presbyterian Church to resist changing its policy on same-sex marriage. Watch additional excerpts from our interview with her.

Barry Shelly, Lucy Williams, and Sharon Wright, members of the Church of the Covenant in Boston, talk about same-sex marriage and mainline Protestants.

Watch additional excerpts from our interview about same-sex marriage with Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, an advocacy group that supports conservative positions within mainline denominations.

For decades, mainline denominations have been wrestling over issues surrounding homosexuality: whether to ordain gay clergy and whether to recognize same-sex unions. Now that six states have legalized gay marriage, those battles are taking on a new urgency. Some church members are pushing the denominations to reassess their policies, while others are fighting to hold the line.

We take a look at congregations of different faiths who are working to make their worship services more accessible for people with disabilities and to promote better understanding of the challenges they face.

Patients at this hospital in Madurai, India are among the world's poorest people. It was founded by a pioneering eye surgeon who was a disciple of the spiritual teacher Sri Aurobindo, and its business success and social mission have long made it a model in public health textbooks.

Rami Elhanan and Mazen Faraj are members of the Parents Circle-Families Forum, a grassroots group that unites bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost immediate family members to the Middle East conflict. Together they promote a message of dialogue, reconciliation, and peace.

Riverside Church in New York has been widely known for its great preaching, liberal theology, interracial congregation, and commitment to social justice. But now it’s also known for a bitter controversy surrounding its new senior minister, Brad Braxton.

For much admired Trappist monk Thomas Merton, the “deeply spiritual life” meant the “experience” of God’s presence and love at all times, combining that with action in everyday life. He was a prolific writer on topics ranging from contemplative prayer to non-violence. He also wrote poetry, essays and criticism.

In inner cities across the United States, high numbers of African-American men are caught up in the criminal justice system. It’s costly to keep them in prison, and it's also costly to the communities they leave behind.

Proposition 8 passed in California mainly because Mormon churches mobilized for it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints withstood blistering criticism from outside the faith. Now, resentments are festering inside the Mormon community.

Some parents rely only on God, not a doctor, to heal their children. As a result, many pass away because they are not diagnosed and do not receive proper treatment. Should there be any exemptions from prosecution because of religious faith?

Is it appropriate for a Catholic university to honor a president whose views on abortion differ from the teachings of the Catholic Church?

Watch more of our interview about hookup culture on college campuses with Laura Sessions Stepp. Stepp is the author of “Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both,” a book about how hooking up impacts the young women who are involved in it, and why they do it in the first place.